The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-08-04
The Drink Burden.

In recent address before q temper
ance society Archdeacon Farrar said:
" / know no burden so heavy as that
caused by drink, or no passion so ter
rible. Honest and industrious poverty
is rarely intolerable, but when poverty
becomes pauperism, when poverty re-
suits from drink, then it produces, as |
can testify from experience amongst the
poor, cause of horrors which cannot
be equaled, | believe, anywhere ex-
cept in the worst condition of things
that we can imagine. Seeing and know
ing that to be the case, feel that any
thing one can do to diminish that curse
must be source of benefit to mankind
| will ask you to dismiss two notions
which | find are extremely prevalent as
regards total abstinence. One is that
they are all Pharisees, and the other is
that they are all Manichmans. As far
as the first of those charges is concerned,
| always thought that the Pharisee was
one who thought in himself that he was
righteous and condemned others. Ger
tainly the Pharisees in the time of our
Lord were not total abstainers, and
most certainly the total abstaners of
that age were not Pharisees. There is a
certain Pharisaism in the human heart,
but | can speak not for myself only,
but | am certain for thousands of total
abstainers, that while we have thought
it to be, for one reason or another, our
individual duty to take that pledge, we
do not Judge others, we do not dream
of condemning others, nor any moment
of our lives do we, because of total alb
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an infinitesimal degree superior to our
brethren who have not thought it their
duty to abstain. Let us take a common
sense view of the matter. Alcohol has
been since the days of Noah a curse
and a scouree to large number of
mankind, and we know that it is
perfectly easy and possible for every
person to save himself from that
danger We all know that there are
many evils in this world which are
not preventable, but while human
nature continues TO be what it is
these evils will always exist; but
there is one most dreadful and most
colossal evil which is perfectly remedial
and perfectly preventable? That evil
is the curse of drink; and the absolutely
effectual remedy for all who choose to
try it is the remedy of total abstinence.
1t seems to me to be our duty, whether
we are abstainers or not, to see what
means we can use to put an end to the
present state of things. We are living,
undoubtedly, in times of very great
danger. If you put your ear to the
ground you will hear far more loudly
than would have been heard a few
years ago the sort of low tones of the
ground-swell in the great depths of the
ocean of humanity, which, depend
upon it, forebodes a storm which will
soon cover the whole surface with heav-
ing waves. Socialistic ideas are getting
an extraordinary hold upon the mass of
the people. Now | am not afraid of n
great, wise and understanding people,
but people which is liable to be ruined
by this temptation to drunkenness
seems to me to be people that will
always be at the mercy of the agitator,
and that atheism and immortality will
be liable to work among them side by
side with these great socialistic notions.
l believe that England sober would be
England free. | believe that England
drunken will be England enslaved to
the most terrible of masters. An old
Latin saying runs thus: Although
we extend our dominion from shore to
shore, if we are under the domination
of low desires, if we are not masters of
ourselves and our own appetites and
cravings, we are under the sway of
cruel and injurious laws l believe
that that is essentially the case with
England, and therefore it is the duty of
everybody who desires to be a patriot
to deliver the mass of the people from
that which is to so many of them a
most terrible temptation"