The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-11-14
Temperance.
A. Struggle Against Vice.

The temperance movement OF this CEN
fury Is something unique in the history Of
our race. A nation of men striving to
free themselves from great vice is one
of the sublimest spectacles humanity pre-
sents. 1t exhibits reserve of moral
force, a tendency to, and a capacity for,
self-elevation, which is without parallel in
any other reform movement. In future
ages it will be quoted as one of the
strongest proofs of the divine origin of
Christianity and of its power to uplift
mankind. For there never was q moral
movement more directly the outcome of
Christianity than this. 1t is quite true
that for many years the church looked
askance at it, but now it may be said that
the church has thoroughly made it her
own. In this instance, as in some others,
the church, as an organization, must not
be considered too closely as identical with
Christianity, for in the case of the temper
ance reformation the religion of Christ
was the impelling influence in the self
denying labors of its early advocates,
though the visible bodies, of which most
of them were members, for long time
stood aloof. The proportions to which
this movement has attained in Great
Britain and the United States-in fact, in
all Auglo- Saxon COUNT ies--give good
promise of that success which 30 many
sbort-sighted philosophers have long de-
clared to be impossible. The Blue Rib
bon movement in Great Britain, for in
stance, according to report issued in
May last, had already enrolled 696 855 in
five years, of which about fve-sixths were
new pledges. The remarkably success.
full labors of the two Murphys, father and
son, Booth, Noble, and other, show that
the nation itself in its most vital part
is being reached and transformed. And
then there is the extraordinary extension
of the Band. of Hope-a movement, by
the way, too much neglected on this side
the water, probably because the expert
ments of the past were not kept under
sufficient contr ol-the Woman's Christian
Temperance enterprise, and the constant
conversions to total abstinence among thu
English aristocracy, all of which give bu
an imperfect idea of the growth of tn,
temperance cause in the mother country
In the United States we find several ma
tional organizations in great activity
foremost of which in Importance must b.
placed the Womsn's National Christian
Oulou' Lib Uouy 10 VI SauiIcu III bnilby
five states, and is making its influence
felt in molding public opinion in a man
ner that excites both astonishment and
admiration. In all the English colonies
also, there is steady advance in thi
great uprising of the English-speskinl
race against its greatest enemy. Surel,
if this movement were mere spasmodit
attempt at ascetic virtue, opposed to natu
raj laws, if it were mere national delu
sion destined to pass away, it would seen
that after a career of fifty years Their
should be some indications of the COMING
relapse into the old ways. But every
thing points to an opposite conclusion. MI
Goodwin Smith is no friend of prohibit
ton, but he is close observer and grea
student of history, and he says d" Tn
ultimate issue of the struggle for temper
ance is certain. If anyone doubts tn
preponderance of good over evil, he ha
only to study the history of moral cru
sades. "-Montreal Witness.