The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-05-19
TERRIBLE INDICTMENT.
Part Christian Nations Play in De,
bauching Native Tribe Through
Liquor Traffic.


brought upon native tribes by the intro
duction of intoxicating liquors on the
part of Christian nations, Rev. Mark
Guy Pearse says:
I'VE Englishmen, SO proud of our
country, must bow down with an awful
shame at the thought of it. All that
England has done and is doing to adj
vance the welfare of the nations is I'M
done, and worse than undone, by the
curse of strong drink. 1t hurts one in
deed to think of it, but it is just the
awful and terrible truth that in spite
of our Bible societies and of all our
great missionary societies. the world
would be better to-day if there were no
England.
In India it is said that for every ma
tive converted to Christianity, 100 ma
itveS are made drunkards. When the
natives see a drunken man, they are
accustomed to say: He has left Mo-
manned and gone to Jesus Now that
Burmah is annexed says missionary,
it has become a place of cheap drink
and great crimes
81 have only once been near a Mo-
hammedan town, and this is what l
saw: l had not landed five minutes be-
fore l was surrounded by a group of
Arab boys carrying bottles of spirits
Mohammedan lads, whose religion for
bids them to drink strong drink-and we
were assailed with cries in broken Eng
lish: Master, buy bottle brandy
three-siX.' Miss, nice bottle brandy
three-six.' My heart prayed God that
these lads might be kept sober MOham-
medans rather than become such Chris
tians' as they are accustomed to see.
Little wonder that one of the most en-
lightened Brahmins cried; oh, that we
had never seen a European face; oh,
that we had never tasted the bitter
sweets of your civilization, rather than
that it should make us a nation of drunk
ards and brutes.'
Thus writes Arnold White, who has
lived amongst the natives:
1.-The Indians of America and Hin
doostan, the wild races of Australia, the
Kaffirs, the debased Hottentots, the
West Coast negroes, the effeminate Gin
galese, and the sinewy aborigines of
Canada, have bitter reasons to rue the
first day of their communication with
the Anglo-Saxon race. England has pol
luted with drink and honeycombed with
foul disease the lives of those races who
still survive a contact all unsought by
them. When our countrymen return
from eastern lands, they tell us that
for every missionary sent out there go
also some 5000 gallons of rum; that it
is better to carry out Mohammedanism
than Christianity, because Moham-
mechanism is temperate and Christianity
is not
Mr. Mackay of the Nyanza mission,
writes:
"'Oh, how often shall I write in my
journal as pass through many tribes:
Drink is the curse of Africa?" Go
where you will, and you will find men,
women and children Keeling from the
effects Of alcohol. The vast west of
Africa is ruined with rum.
CIV lllNl ldN SNNu OppOI tulliIltS VI
seeing the world as Sir George Grey.
His life has been spent in constant con-
tact with savage races in Africa, with
Zulus and Kaffirs, in New Zealand with
the MaOris. He declared that when he
came home to London he saw in a sin
gle week sights more shameful than he
had seen during all those years among
the savages, and it was all through
strong drink.
REV. P ]. Richie, of Queenstown, in
an address delivered as chairman of the
Congregational union, said:
" is it not clear that the spread of
drinking habits amongst the natives
must inevitably tend to render them I'M
fit for any useful service, to deprive
them of the means of honest livelihood,
and consequently to drive them into
criminal courses, until they are good for
nothing but to be cast out and troCden
under feet of men? The voice of their
blood will cry from the ground unto
heaven against their white destroyers.
Our boosted civilization has given them
the Bible with one hand and the brandy
bottle with the other. 1t brings all
heaven before their eyes in the mission
church, and opens hell for them in the
canteen. 1t gives the missionary the
opportunity to put upon them the pres
sure of moral suasion for their saliva
ton, whilst 1t gives its legislators power
TO take on the excise duty on Cape bran
dy for their damnation. ,"