The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1884-03-21
DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF STRONG
DRINK IN THE HINDRANCE OF
CHRISTIANITY.
Article Third.

Article Third.
1t is the one, great, fatal and universal foe
to the christianization of the world. Were it
not for this vice (of those countries processing
to be christian) long, long ago the gospel of
Christ would have subiugated the entire
known race of man. Every missionary of the
cross will testify to the great difficulty that
everywhere confronts him, in convincing the
heather mind Of the truthfulness of the re-
ligion of the Bible, and its superiority, over
his (the heathen's) religion, from the fact that
intemperance is one of the marked peculia-
rites of those mailing from christian countries.
Dark as is the heather mind naturally with
respect to tile truth it seems light sufficient
is possessed, to at once discover the gross i'm
propriety of this awfully prevalent and con-
Trajectory habit. Canon Farrar says in
speaking of this subject, that the example of
England in the use of strong drink has caused
her name to be "held in execration over
whole continents, and the ruin of her efforts
over whole populations. Could l summon
Che says the Maories of New Zealand, once
SO hearty that you might smite man with a
broad-axe and in few days he would be well,
now, in the language of high government
official, almost as bad as the English, pol
luted and contaminated by their drink'-what
would they say? If I could summon the
Indians of North America, once not unhappy,
now degraded, maddened, exterminated by
our accused re-water, what would they say
They have said that because of it they spit at
the name of christian. If we ask the Moham-
medans, what do they say? Why they say
when they see one of their number drunk,
He has left Mohammed and gone to Jesus )"
If we ask the Hindoos, what do they say?
They have said, by the lips of their eloquent
representative Keshub Chunder Sen, that
s. all the splendid benefits of English rule have
been nullifed and counterbalanced by teach
ing them the use of beer and brandy that
the wailing of the widows rends the air of
India with curses against the British govern
ment for having introduced this thing" And
again, from the Southern sea the voice of yet
another missionary says to us: eff you love
missions, work, help-help to dethrone this
demon of intemperance; our reproof before
the heather, the blight of our infant churches"
What awful testimony. What crying curse
before God and humanity. Is it any wonder
our missionaries fail Rather, is it not a
greater wonder that they in any sense, sue
coed? And one (if not the most) humiliating
feature of this whole subject is, that oe know,
well know and acknowledge, the above testi-
mony to be wholly true. Right on our own
borders, in the West Indies, where the writer
has been, is this shameful record illustrated
Right here, at our very doors, are found
thousands of miserable beings, almost naked
and but half civilized, yet far worse de-
moralized by American and English trades
men who not only drink themselves, but hand
the liquor round like water, and yet 1--WE
blush to say iD openly profess to be christians
Almost two years the writer spent among the
fertile, but sin oppressed and rum ridden
islands, and could, if he would, recite ex-
periences that would crimson the cheek of
our home churches with shame because of the
disgraceful examples set to the degraded
people, by many of their would-be members
Men known to be leading members of the
church at home and openly protesting to be
christians abroad and yet living lives of
shame, guilty of repeated acts of drunken
ness and keeping in some sense open house
where wine and stronger liquors were prof
fered, free to all. In short, English and
American officers and sailors with others,
many OF whom are professedly pious (repre-
sentatives of the religion of Jesus Christi
have been, and are now, drinking and carous-
ing IN the different ports of the world, until
christianity (among the natives) has become a
by-word and the religion of Jesus Christ a
matter of disgust We have the authority of
Hon. james Black, of Lancaster, Pa, IRE
ceived personally from him) for saying, that
In one place where a missionary was laboring,
the natives-so incensed at the drunken
carousals of the English and Americans who
were present in that place-reiected the truth,
held meeting and decided to send a mis-
slonary to England and the United States, be-
llevlng that these countries because of their
gross inconsistency through strong drink