The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-10-28
Reaping the WhirIwind.I

,oi ror ages the people of Great Britiar
nav oeen noted for their generous
convlvial hospitality. All classes hos,
,nuulged IN alcoholic beverages o3
various kinds, The custom has heon v
almost universal in public and in 'uri ur;
' ua.c ne; the British public occunv;nr
nPon .nls question position ouite s;ms' ;ns
,i,I,i; ,,at 10 tnat occupied by the Amer;can
puullc ility years ago, before the aaitai ,inn
JLGn I., ~ INC temperance question. ybon
urlnking was universal. This nrost;on "uon
was held to be innocent. baalaSc,1 absIc
proper, and Scriptural. The best btru, nna,,
lndulged moderately in the 80, nso ,nea ar
strong drinks. "io use OIL
What has been the resnlt2 ~
the vice OF intemperance permoatos tay
nation, and the statesmen and rS;, .ne
thropists oil England are reused to =
sense OF impending national peril o,d
arc seeking to hold the people baoi,
from the gulf of drunkenness. Terr;h,a aJn
as arc the ravages of intemperance T.,
hmerca, they seem much greater an "a
are more universal in England vo Wa
nave very rarely seen a drnnto,, we
man in an American city, bnt fr;~us w.,
OF ours, an Englishman. renortod i1nu .LNi
in walking the streets of London CO.. .na'
hour or two one night, he met fortys;, V, ;n
drunken women upon tbe SID SA fa
street on which he walked onJ u the
after an absence of some fwent, LIN s.la
on rcvisiting London, and wa,l, ea.s,
l.ree.s Snfona py hight as he had often done
pcH pci9ie, nc Judged that intemperance
rov r,au luz anoteasuq @ more than two-hundred
per cent. we have hardly ever seen .
ico %o.n", M Gdn,Ghrlng dnuhi dram shop in Amer
~. i'a no uouDt there are many who do
Tou' r., uu, VIC nave seen such places in
London crowded and thronged with
men ana women who are drown;na
IUason u1i,': ana virtue in the cup. Mr.
William Saunders writes to the Lon
don DAILY News, that having obtained
from the chief of the bureau of Stats
tics IN Washington detailed acconn,
OIL the consumption of alcoholic lionors
IN the United States, he found II
amounted to ninety-thrce million
pounds sterling per year, or about az
teen dollars for each of the forfv.t;yo
iniiilons OF inhabitants of the TFnitod
Statcs, ana that at the same rate Greot
Drltlan, with population of thirtvs
lhree millions should consume lionors
amounting to about sixty.eipbt mil,
non pounds sterling Der annnnn.
whereas the consumption is actnaily
one hundred and forty-two million
pounds sterling, showing an excess ot
seventy-iour millions pounds sterlino
and that the consumption of alcobni;,,,
liquors in the United Kingdom is more
than double that of the same popnlat;on
in theUnitcd States. Since 1s70 tbn
consumption in the United States has
diminished, whereas during the same
period that of the United Kingdom has
grown from one hundred and eighteen
miilion pounds sterling, to one bnn-
sterling" pou"''S
:. these terrible statistics tell us the
dire results of the popular conviviaI
habits of the British people. They
have sown the wind, they are reanin9
the whrlwind. Not only are the
working people, the bone and sinew of
every nation, becoming demoralized.
but the EXTREMIST poverty is orindino
mem into the very dust. The bread
That is given by a bountiful God is
turned to poison by the deadly process
OF distillation, and the food which Le
gives to supply the wants of the peonle
and preserve them in strength and yir.
tue, is used to debase them and inca.
pacitate them for labor, and sink them
IN the depths of vice. Saws the Lon
don Times: "There is something ex.
ceedingly irritating in the fact that n
great part of the harvest, raised with
infinite care and pains, instead of add.
ing to the national wealth and bringing
rich returns, is poured, in the shape Of
liquid lire, down the throats of the ma
tons who produce it, and instead of
leaving them wiser and happier, tends
70 impoverlsh them by vicious and de-
bilitating indulgence"
Beside all this, crimes of a most bru.
tai description, directly caused by the
use OF strong drink, are continually on
the increase, and every vice which rots
down physical, moral, and national life
follows il. the wake of the intoxicatino
cup. 1t is high time for Cbristians'
Doth III Great Britain and the United
states, TO lift up their voices and in
trumpet tones warn men of their dan
ger ana their sin. Let those who are
Tree from the dire enchantment of
drink beware of the tempter's wiles:
and let those who are taking the first
steps III this downward course, turn at
once to secure their own safety and
AVOID leading others to their ruin
Christian.