Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1877-06-20
A Remarkable Movement.

BY Philadelphia letter we learn the par
tic ilars of most remarkable meeting held
inthat city two Sabbaths since. Mr.. Murphy,
the celebrated temperance lecturer, issued
invitations to the liquor-sellers of that city
to meet him in public assembly on Sabbath
evening. lie had himself been a liquor
seller, as he acknowledged with sorrow and
shame, and so he addressed his invitation to
them as his Dear Friends and Brothers,"
and said, "Come, and let us reason to-
gether." Tickets for seats in the body of
the house were issued only 10 iquorsehers.
On the opening of the house, and in just as
short space as would allow for the giving up
of the tickets, the body of the building was
filed. Mr.. George II. Stuart, who was with
Mr.. Murphy, must have put this strange au-
dience into frame for attention, when he
told them that under the present effort in
that city alone more than .ftiy thousand sig
natures had been given to the pledge of
total abstinence, and that seventeen temper
ance services were at that moment being
held in that city. Among the things said
by Mr. Murphy, as taken down by the re-
porters, were these; "Long and earnestly
have prayed for the privilege of speaking
10 the liquor-sellers. believe in my heart
there are as kind and true men in the liquor
traffic as there are on the face of the earth.
know if the poor call upon them for aid,
they are not turned away empty. ! know
that if the country needed defenders the
liouor-dpalers would not be called on in vain.
know that we are all men and brothers,
and that God loves us all. Unfortunately,
many of us drift into the liquor business UNI
consciously and when | preach to you of
temperance you shake your heads and say,
What is the use of talking about it?
have my family to support, and cannot get
out of it, Now, my brother, don't blame
you for talking that way, for | have said the
same thing myself"
He told them, also, the story of his own
life, and how often and tearfully he had been
begged by his wife not to sell liquor and
thrill in the audience was manifest as the
inquiry broke upon it" Brothers, how
many of your wives oppose you i'll the bust
ness? You need not answer | know all
about the business, and you know as well a>
! do" The scene had its effect. Several
dealers came forward and placed their names
on his book and if all accounts of the inhu-
cnce Of the meeting are correct, this new
phase of effort opens another wide door
Of help.
This same correspondent goes on to speak
of the ordinary Murphy meetings" which
have become so popular in all that region.
H. says d" A more touching thing in the
a pect of these meetings is the kind of peo-
pie who are often large element of the
audiences The Moody effort went down
into the depraved and neglected classes, and
brought up many one, robbed and wounded,
whom the Priest and Levite had passed by.
But Mr.. Murphy has found still lower
stratum of humanity, and by locking over
some of his audiences you see where and
with whom much of his choicest work is
done. He has, with competent company,
made personal exploration of some of the
streets of the most squald and abandoned
quarter of the city, aud talked to the people
in their own wretched homes of what he has
himself been, and what the grace of God has
done for him, and invited them to come to
his meetings. And they have come, for it
was the first CLEAN OF hope which through
long years of sin and misery had passed
along their city,