The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-10-13
DRUNKENNESS IN ENGLAND.

Cardinal Moaning Says 1t Can He Crushed
Only BY . Grand Uprising of the Peo-
pie.
What seems to us by far the most
valuable contribution that has vet been
made to the recent discussion of the
subject of Temperance is furnished by
Cardinal Manning in the last number
Of the Fortnight'y Revieso Of London.
Intemperance he treats as the ina.
tional vice" Of England, agreeing with
Mr.. Gladstone that it is the source of
more evils than war. pestilence and
famine. For upward Of thousand
years the English have had the reputa.
ton Of being hard drinkers. but the
vice was comparatively minor one
until three centuries ago. Then alcO.
hol, which previously had been almost
wholly confined to scientific expert
ments and certain trades, was intro
duced to the public. and the dangers
of the drinking habit were multiplied
many fold. 1t not only became Of it.
self a common drink in the form OF
distilled liquors, but was also used as
an agent for giving ale and wine NEW
and intenser qualities of intoxication. :"
Drunkenness increased with frightful
rapidity, SO that ut last the barriers
which Legislation has essayed to set up
against it by system of licensing laws
have been overwhelmed and swept
away in the swelling flood Of intoxicat-
ing drink"
There, as here, the great obstacle to
practical reform has been the power OF
capital, for 800. 000,00 is annually
employed in the supply and sale and
distribution of drink in England; and,
as Cardinal Manning says, although
the manufacturers aud sellers do not
intend to get the whole population
drunk. it is for the prosperity of their
trade that the facilities of drunkenness,
should be multiplied and the increase
Of drunkenness made inevitable
Therefore the number of drinking
places, which was about 80. 900 in 1929
Is now nearly POO, 600, though mean
time the population has hardly doubled
The capitalists of the drink trade an(
their friends. political and business
have also been strong enough to swa,
the elections, the House of Common
and the Government in the interests o
their tremendous traffic.
But how is the evil to be conquered
Cardinal Manning answers. as we hav'
answered, only by an uprising of tn
people themselves against the system
which has SO long made their home
desolate and their lives intolerable.
''Our national vice." he says further
with truth and force, will never b.
corrected from above. Governments
magistrates and police have labored, o
seemed to labor, for these three hun
dred years to Diminish, Or control tn
spread Of intemperance. They are tO'
remote 70 influence the millions Of PEG
ple." Coercion will not avail, and j
could not be infOrced "shOrt of mar
tial law" But let the people who sui
fer most from the evils Of drink ono
learn to recognize and hate their enc
my. and the remedy will soon be found
1--WE have been told" says the Car
dinal, THAT the people need and wis
for public houses. 1t is strange, then
that the most popular House Of Com
mons should contain nearly three hun
dred members pledged to local option
and about half of them in favor of
direct local vote" The more demo
cratic England becomes, the louder tn
call for the lessening Of the temptation
10 drunkenness.
i The resistless Temperance rovemen
which will sbatter the political pOwe
Of rum win be started by the people I
whom rum has been the greatest curs'
N y Smn