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About fifteen months ago, several persons, in tlie City of
Toronto, deploring the wide-spi'ead evils of intemperance,
resolved to form themselves into a Christian Total Absti-
nence Society, with a vie^y of aiding the temperance cause.

The reason which Led to the formation of the Society on
its present basis were these : —

First,.

A belief that a very large number of practical abstainers
were not in full sympathy with the existing temperance
organizations.

SecoTid.

A strong conviction existed in the minds of many, that
in order to insure the ultimate success of the temperance
cause, it must be kept in close alliaace with. Christianity.

Third,

It was felt to be important that the hearty co-operation of
, ' «lie Ohiirdies should be secured, and that this was most
likely to be accomplished by a. Society formed on a Christian
basis.

Acting on these convictions, a public meeting was called,

./ , a pledge and .constitution submitted ; eighty-six persons

" «• vsigmed the pfedge, and organized the Society, which, in the

'B[)jirCi^ of fiftetn months, has received six hundred and

seventy names tx) its pledge — ^thus more than fulfilling the

largest expectations of its promoters.

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Price :— Single Copy, 6 cents ; 10 to 100 Copies, 8 cents per Copy ; 600 Copies,
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I City of ^ * |l
tperance, '"

i Absti-

ce cause,
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A PLEA FOR TOTAL ABSTINENCE.

BY THE REV. A. SUTHERLAND,

YOBKVIIiLE, ONT.

I. THE QUESTION STATED.

I SUPPOSE it is quite safe to assume that every one who
attempts, in the present day, to speak or write on the tem-
perance question, feels a difficulty arising from the some-
what hackneyed character of the subject The main facts
and arguments have been so frequently presented, that it is
doubtfid whether it is possible to advance anything new.
Still there is an importance which attaches to the question,
when rightly viewed, which may serve as an apology for
frequent repetition, And when we consider how much
misapprehension still exists in reference to the principles
and objects of the temperance reform, we shall see that
there is as much need as ever for the statement of first
principles, and the repetition of old arguments.

The misapprehension to which I refer, exists both in re-
ference to the principles of total abstinence, and the persons
by whom those principles are held and advocated. In re-
gard to the first, it is supposed that the principle of total
abstinence is an interference with certain vested rights and
liberties, and the view of many is expressed in the common
phrase, " You have no right to dictate what I shall eat or
drink." Now, I wish to say on behalf of temperance people
that they have never claimed any such right ; they have
never sought to " dictate what people shall eat and drink ;"
they only seek to persuade people to give up the use of
certain injurious stimulants. Besides this, they seek, by

%e, sM a real benefitVo no*^* "^ *f *« county at

'^'^ that there is a wide dj^erencfw"™*''*^''' '^«''
niMi "you must not eat anrf ^^ i "»*ween sayine to a

o-inJu^toll^tS^^^-jJ^^wh^^h is'a^t!

P^^.STlXb^SST/?**"''*^' » Wea seen,, to

everybody down to tb*.;" „ J° ''"°« everything Zl
above them in the ^ZeZ\l^'l'\ """ <>«P&?se
abU.ty-_the right to «rtd^rii** **^8e of their resZ?
•t must be admitted tS '^^^t ^'''"*''*' ">«? P'ease. 7^
have given their influ^ce to trf «^'*' "« "any nobD
do not number in onr^Tthl,^^'^^ "f"™- We

whose ambition is to live ^1^. i ""^^ °^ y^^^g men
W style without pJZt^t 7"^^. ^'^^ ^ dressin ,he
we claim as curs thnu/^ ®^^ tailor's bills • iiAifi, " ?

s^biiity by"^rai°»s :rr- ""'' ?-« ^'r i°

would not, fortheworW ^n *f-^.^f "">*''«'^ and w^o
™«fol employment; nor 'yeTdo ^^ "^"'^ *'"•'» ^ia" "nv

have amongst us no smalfsh^ Tf^' ^* *» * clair^
»«««, and heart, and 6mj„ of7). ^* ^"^ ^^ anew-the
and women with h^JT^l ? "■* countrv. Wa i.. ®

"ot afraid of^i^l'?, '«/««J f* '^notL'sloe ^^ "'"'

'o-itatetheir ^Zt^^ ^Xt^'i'^'P^^

^ ^'ying to seek and to

^ selling
mtry at
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things,"
and sell
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hat he
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We
their
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their
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i i>he
r do
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who
any
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en
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save that which was lost." While, therefore, we are sus-
tained by noble men and women who have hearts to feel,
and heads to plan, and energy to execute, we need not feel
dismayed though • the priest and the Levite should pass by
on the other side.

Now, what does this whole question amount to, when
divested of the drapery with which ignorance and prejudice
have surrounded it 1 Simply this : There is a certain social
custom — the use of intoxicating drinks — which has long
prevailed throughout society. The most casual observation
shows that the excessive use of these beverages is injurious,
while more careful examination proves that even their
moderate use is neither beneficial nor necessary ; nay, that
it is positively injxirious, inasmuch as it leads, in the major-
ity of cases, to positive drunkenness. Looking at these facts
thoughtful men began to ask, many years ago, " Would it
not be better to abstain from the use of these intoxicating
drinks altogether?" A few tried the experiment, and
found it most beneficial. Hence, the next enquiry was,
" Cannot something be done to save those who have become
slaves to the appetite for strong drink, and to prevent
others from falling into the same snare V While seeking a
practical answer to this question, the importance of united
effort became apparent j — and this was the origin of Tempe-
rance Societies.

It has generally liappened that social Reformers have, at
the outset, been ignorant of the real power of the evils they
have sought to- remove. This has been the case in regard
to the temperance reform. So long as its principles were
confined to a few, opposers contented themselves with small
sneers at the " cold-water fanatics ;" but when the movement
assumed sufficient proportions to make its influence felt in
opposing the drinking customs of society, and especially
when it sought to arrest the course of intemperance by
legislative enactment, then the Rum power awoke in all its
strength, and the friends of temperance soon found that
this power was not merely a bold intruder, but a deadly
enemy that had entrenched itself in the social customs and
commercial interests of the country, and could be expelleiT
only by a long and vigorous siege.

Let lis endeavor, then, at the very outset, to understand
clearly the true nature of the question at issue. Intemper-
ance is admitted, on all hands, to be a great evil. What is
the remedy ? We answer, — Total abstinence from all that
can intoxicate. How can we induce men to abstain ? By
argument, persuasion, entreaty. But there are many who
cannot be reached by argument or persuasion ; and ii they
could be so reached, what would it avail so long as the traffic
continues — tempting the rescued ones back to their former
habits, and training up a new generation of drunkards for
coming years? To this I can only answer, — We must
strike at the root ; we must seek the legislative proscrip-
tion of the entire traffic, we must invoke against it the
power and majesty of Law, — that power by which it
is now upheld and made respectable.

The main objects contemplated by the advocates of total
abstinence are these : —

1. To reclaim those who have become victims to the ap-
petite for strong drink.

2. To induce moderate drinkers to abstain, boih for their
own sakes and for the sake of those who will be influenced
by their example.

3. To enlist the sympathy and co-operation of the moral
and religious part of the community on the side of total
abstinence, as the only efiectual remedy for the evils of in-
temperance.

4. To educate public sentiment on the question, until it
will demand and sustain a legislati^'e enactment prohibiting
the entire traffic in intoxicating drinks.

( *

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n. THE QUESTION DISCUSSED.

Having endeavored to present the Temperance Question
in its simplest form, divested of all the surroundings of
prejudice and misapprehension, I now propose to discuss
the matter a little, with a view of presenting the grounds
on which we oppose the traffic in, and use of, intoxicating
drinks. In doing so it is but fair that I should state the
arguments usually employed on the other side of the ques-

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tion. Tliese may be reduced to three : — 1. The financial
benefit which the trafiic confei-s upon the country at large ;
2. The benefit of alcoholic drinks to the consumer when
used in moderation ; and, 3. The right of every man to do
as he pleases. The latter argument has been briefly re-
ferred to already. I shall therefore confine my present
remarks to Nos, 1 and 2. My first proposition is —

That the Country gains Nothing, in a Financial

POINT OP VIEW, BY THE TRAFFIC IN STRONG DrINK. — In

arguing this point it is important that we clearly under-
stand what is meant b}' the expression, " A fina.i nal benefit
to the country," as applied to the trafiic. Does it mean
that the country at large is made richer ? Not at all ! It
simply means that a considerable sum of money passes
annually into the provincial treasury, from the excise and
import duties on intoxicating liquors. Bjit does it follow,
therefore, that the country at large is financially ^benefited?
Let us not jump to a conclusion, but examine the matter a
little. I suppose that Capital and Labor are universally
regarded as the great representatives of a nation's wealth.
In order, therefore, to prove that any business is a financial
benefit to a country, we should be prepared to show that it
increases the amount of active capital, or else that it de-
velops some branch of national industry. Now it may
appear at first thought that both of these are true as re-
gards the liquor business — but it is onli/ in appearance.
That a large amount of capital is invested in the business
is undeniable ; but a little consideration will convince any
unprejudiced mind that this capital, if directed into other
channels, would be productive of far greater good to the
community. The large income derived by the Government
is admitted ; but there is a heavy contra account — ^a debit
as well as a credit side. On the credit side you may put
the amounts received for licenses, and for excise and import
duties ; then, on the debit side, put the salaries paid for
collecting those duties, to which add the amounts paid for
the suppression of crime caused by the use of strong drink ;
the amounts paid by public and private charity for the sup-
port of paupers, owing to the same cause ; the value of the
property which strong drink annually destroys, — ^and you

will have an array of figures considembly greater than those
on the credit side. And this is not all ; for we have yet to
estimate the loss which the industry of the country sustains
through the drinking customs of the day. Let it be re-
membered that every day spent in idleness by a working-
man— say a mechanic — is not only so much lost to himself
and his family, but it is so much taken from the aggregate
wealth of the country at large. If any one doubts this,
let him calculate what would be the result, financially, if
all the laborers, farmers, mechanics, &c., were to suspend
labor entirely for one year. The result would be national
bankruptcy and universal famine. Every day, therefore,
which is lost to productive labor, tends so much to im-
poverish the country. Now let us look at this more
closely. There are in the Dominion of Canada, on a
moderate computation, thirty thousand persons who use
intoxicating liquors to excess, that is, who lose more or less
time through their drinking habits. The average of time
thus lost will be not less than thirty days in the course of
a year. Now, what will this amount to at the rate of
$1 50 per dayl which is a very low estimate, scarcely
above the wages of a common day laborer. It will amount
to one million three hundred and fifty thousand dollars per
annwm I And every careful observer will say that this
estimate might be doubled without exceeding the truth.

But it may be said. Suppose the traffic in strong drinks
were abolished, have we any gurantee that the time now
wa^sted would be better employed ] A single fact may per-
haps furnish the answer. A short time after the prohibitory
law was first passed in the State of Maine, a gentleman en-
quired of a tavern keeper, " Where are all those men that
I used to see lounging around your bar-room every day 1"
" Where ?" said the tavern keeper with an oath, " they're
gone to work, I suppose." The answer tells the whole
story.

There is another question, however, which remains to be
disposed of. Suppose the traffic were abolished, would not
the large amount of capital now invested in it be lost to the
country ] Not at all ; it would simply be turned into

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other channels, which, if not quite «o remunerative to the in
vestor, would bo much more beneficial to the country. I
think every unprejudiced man will adrriit that the gain to
the country would be inconceivably great if the capital now
invested in the liquor business was employed in developing
the mineral or other resources of these noble Provincer.
Enough has now been said to show that the country gains
nothing financially by the traffic.

My second proposition is:

That the use of Intoxicatinq Liquors as a Bevekaox
IS NEVER Beneficial to the Individual. — There are,
doubtless, many persons who take an opposite view, and
every man has a right to hi^ own opinon ; but if any
one asserts that a man is benefited by the use of strong
drink, he should be prepared to show in what respect ho is
benefited. Most assuredly.

1. He is not benefited finavicially. — No one supposes for a
moment that indulgence in strong drink helps a man's
finances. This is so plain that it needs no argument.
Every year hundreds of men are reduced to poverty by
drunkenness ; but who ever heard of such a habit helping
a man to fortune !

2. He is not benefited physicalli'. — ^This used to be a
strong point with anti-teetotallers ; and some of them still
contend that by the moderate us'? of alcoholic liquors a man
is made stronger, and better fitted to endure fatigue, and
that the habit conduces to ht ilth and long life. In order to
see how much force there is in this argument, it will be
necessary to ascertain, — 1, Of what these alcoholic beverages
are composed ) and, 2, What is their efiect upon the human
system. As to the first, most of them are composed chiefly of
two substances, water and alcoIioL Now, from which of these
is the benefit derived I Is it from the water ? Truly, water
is a most useful and important element in the economy of
nature. It dissolves the food in the stomach, holds it in
solution, carries it to the various parts of the system, to
repair the waste of tissue tliat is continually going on. But
let it be carefully not'Cd that just so soon as water is mi:^ed
with alcohol, its solvent power is neutralized, and the pro-

cess of digestion is at once impeded. Alcohol interferes
with digestion in two ways, — by impaii'ing the action of the
gastric juice, and by injuring the coats of the stomach.
Jfow, that whicli impedes the process of digestion, must
take from, instead of adding to, the vital power of the
system.

I have said that most alcoholic liquors are composed of
two substances, water and alcohol. But what is alcohol 1
Iti is a substance never compounded in Natures laboratory,
but is produced by a process of fermentation, that is, of decay.
Suppose we put the question to an intelligent chemist,
" What is alcohol % — Is it an article of food ]" He will
reply, " Certainly not ; it is not food, and you cannot con-
vert it into food. Take any quantity you please into the
system, and it goes through no process of digestion ; it
repairs no waste, nor can you by any possible method
convert it into nourishment." We further ask, "What
then, is alcohol T And he will promptly answer, "It is a
powerful narcotic poison ; just as really a poison as prussio
acid is. Poison is its true name, and poison is its nature,
and you cannot make anything else of it." Now what is the
effect of this alcohol when taken into the human system %
Let me answer in the words of Dr. Alden, of Massa-
chusetts : —

' On every organ they touch, ardent spirits operate as a
poison. Nowhere in the human body are they allowed a
lodgment, until the vital powers are so far prostrated that
they cannot be removed. They are hurried on from one
organ to another, marking their course with irregularity
of action and disturbance of function, until at last they are
taken up by the emunctories, the scavengers of the system,
and unceremoniously excluded. When, through decay of
organic vigour this process ceases, the work of destruction
is drawing to a close, and the last glimmerings of life are
soon extinguished. To a man in health there is no such
thing as a tempemte use of spirits. In any quantity they
are an enemy to the human constitution. Their influence
upon the physical organs is unfavourable to health.
They produce weakness, not strength; sickness, not healtli j
death, not life."

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But, while alcoliol produces derangement and disease
among the digestive organs, the principal effect is upon the
great nervous centres, especially the brain. At first the
effect is pleasing, but as the quantity is increased, and the
habit grows, the effect is fearful. That which at first gave
rise to a pleasing exuberance of fancy, now rouses up a
whirlwind of baleful passions. Reason loses its controlling
power, and the shattered bark drifts hopelessly onward till
it strikes upon the rocks of crime, and goes down forever.
If these are some of the effects produced by strong drinks,
who will say that a man is made physically better by using
them)

3. NeitJier is he bettered in a moral and social point oj
view ; for strong drink so blunts all his moral perceptions
that the most solemn appeals are thrown away ; and it so
destroys all the finer feelings and sympathies of his nature
that the once loving husband and father becomes a brute —
nay, worse, a fiend. A painful illustration of this came
under my own observation. During my residence in one of
our cities, I was called upon by a Christian lady who de-
voted most of her time to visiting the poor. She stated
that she had that morning visited a family where she found
the infant child lying dead, and the parents incapable, from
intoxication, of making any preparation for its burial. The
father had been a man of intelligence and respectability,
had owned considerable property, and held a lucrative posi-
tion in a large manufacturing establishment ; but in an evil
hour both father and mother began to use intoxicating
drinks. The usual result followed — they both became con-
firmed drunkards. " I discovered, however," continued the
lady, " that they formerly attended one of the churches be-
?onging to your denomination, and I thought if you would go
and see them you might perhaps do them some good." I went
without delay, and very sad was the sight that met my eyes
as I entered the house. The room was filthy, cold and
cheerless ; on a chair sat the father, his head drooped on his
breast, in a state of stupefaction from the effects of alcohol ;
in an adjoining room lay the mother in a state of beastly
intoxication ; while on a table lay the white corpse of the

little baby that two days before had died from neglectj and
had not yet been shrouded for its burial. Such is one
specimen among many of the moral and social effects of
strong drink.

-' »

III. GROUNDS OF TOTAL ABSTINENCE.

I have thus far considered the grounds on which we
oppose the traffic in, and use of, intoxicating drinks. Let
me now present some of the grounds on which we urge the
adoption of the total abstinence principle.

1. It is a reasonable principle. — It is simply asking a
man to abstain from the use of that which does him no
good, and which to say the least, may do him much harm.
And when we show a man that the traffic in strong drink
18 an injury to the country at large, and that the use of
strong drink is an injury to a man both physically, morally
and socially, it seems to us that total abstinence is the
only reasonable plan he can adopt.

2. The principle is safe. — And this is more than can be
said of the moderation plan; for we hold that no man is
absolutely safe, as regards drunkenness, who uses intoxicat-
ing liquors, as a beverage, however moderately. Some will
not admit this, and they cite instances of men who drank
moderately all their days, and yet lived to a good old age ;
but what are these few isolated cases in comparison with
the vast multitudes who began on the moderation principle,
and yet filled drunkards graves at last ? Let me illustrate
the point. A few years ago, a vast crowd of persons were
assembled on both banks of the Niagara river, a short
distance below the falls ; probably not less than 20,000 were
on the ground. What was the attraction ? Why, a man
had advertised that he would walk across the gorge of the
Niagara on a single rope / And he did cross quickly and
safely. But how many persons amid that vast concourse
could have done the same thing? Probably not one. So
we meet here and there an individual who has passed
through life on the single rope of moderation with ap-
parent safety ; but for every such case there are tens of

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thoii^nds who, iu tiying to imitate their example, have
perished miserably. Be assured the total abstinence
principle is the only safe one : without it a man mai/ become
a drunkard, with it he never can.

3. It is a principle sanctioned hy the Spirit and precepts
of Christianity.-rSome time since I heard a minister give
notice from his pulpit of a temperance festival to be held
in connection with the assembling of the National Division of
the Sons of Temperance. While urging his congregation,
to attend the meeting, he used these woixis : ^' A man may
be a total abstainer and yet not a Christian ; but I cannot
understand how a man can be a Christian and not a total
abstaiuer."

It is quite likely that many persons would say, on hearr
ing such an expression, " This is going too far; this is inr
fringing our Christian liberty. What right has he to judge
his brother 1 Does he suppose a man cannot get to heaven
unless he belongs to a temperance society V &c. &c. Now
it seems to me that such answers are wide of the mark*
The question is not, — Can a man get to heaven without
joining a temperance society ? but simply, — Do the precepts
and spirit of Christianity require abstinence from intoxicat-
ing drinks ? In other words, Should every Christian be a
teetotaller 1 Let us see.

It is admitted on all haifds that the requirements of
Christianity are summed up in the two grand precepts, —
Love to God, and Love to man. Each of these general
precepts branches out into almost endless ramifications, em-
bracing all possible duties. With regard to the first it may
be said that it requires a single eye to the glory of God in
all that we do — in small matters as well as great. This is
settled by an authority which no Christian will dispute, —
" Whether therefore ye bat ob drink, or whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glory of God." But it is not even pretended
that, in the use of intoxicating liquors, there is any refer-
ence to the glory of God at all ; on the contrary, it is purely
a selfish gratification. The question may very well be asked,
then, ''Is i' "ight for a Christian to indulge in that which,
to say the ioast, is of ^o benefit to himself or others, and

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which positively unfits him for a right discharge of the
duties which he owes to his Creator? Does a-ny one dispute
this latter view ? What are the facts 1 It is a Christian's
duty to pray; but would any serious man ever think of
prepai'ing himself for the closet or prayer meeting by a
copious draught of alcohol) It is a minister's duty to
preach the gospel ; but is he better fitted for his high and
holy functions by frequent, or even occasional, indulgence
in that which intoxicates 1 Nay ; is not the very instinct
of every religious community against such a supposition 1
I do not wish to be thought personal in these remarks ; I
am merely stating what is the felt conviction of religious
people, namely, that there is something so incongruous
between the spirit of Christianity, and the habitual use of
alcoholic beverages, that he who indulges in the latter rarely or
never gets credit for high attainments in the former. Let
the matter be tested. Point out, in any community, the
men in whose Christian profession the highest con^dence is
placed, and we venture to say they will be found to be men
"who rarely or never touch the intoxicating cup. I do not
mean to say that their abstinence is the sole cause of the
confidence reposed in them, but it is an indiapensible element
in it. Now, all this leads us to a conclusion which should
b» seriously pondered by all whom it may concern, — that
the use of intoxicating drinks by professing Christians, as it
lessens public confidence iiT their piety, very materially/
hinders their influence for good. Has a Christian, then, for
the sake of a little, selfish gratification, a right to raise a
barrier in the way of his own usefulness ?

The matter may be pressed still further, on the ground
of example. A Christian is bound to set such an example
as others may safely follow. It will not do to ignore the
responsibility, and say, "Am I my brother's keeper?"
God will hold us to strict account for the influence of the
example we have set. That the example of using intoxica-
ting liquors is evil, ten thousand mtnesses testify. This is
so generally felt, that, among moderate drinkers especially,
there is a manifest endeavor to keep their practice as secret
as possible, especially from their children, thus proving that,
in their own estimation, the example is one which cannot be

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safely followed. It is often said that we over-estimate the
danger arising to others from the example of those who use
alcoholic stimulants ; but we contend that, if there is any
danger that such an example may lead a weak brother into
a coui-se of intemperance, the law of Christian charity de-
mands that we forego the customary indulgence. " Where-
fore if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh
while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."

The matter, then, is sufficiently plain : the spirit of
Christianity is love, — " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself." Now this " love worketh no ill to his neighbor ;"
but the man who uses strong drink does work ill to his
neighbor, — ^to the extent of his example, at least. Then the
precepts of Christianity, bearing upon the point, are nu-
merous and decided : " Keep thyself pure ■" " Abstain from
all appearance of evil;" "It is good neither to eat flesh,
nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother
Btumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak ;" " But judge
this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block, or an occa-
sion to fall, in his brother's way f " Take heed, lest by any
means this libert;y of yours become a stumbling-block to
them that are weak." We might multiply quotations ad
infmitum, but let these suffice for the present.

It should be remembered, too, that the Christian is a
Steward, — that God has entrusted him with nioans to feed
the hungry, clothe the naked, and send the gospel to those
who have it not. Whether he can justify himself in spend-
ing his Lord's money in that which is injurious both to
himself and others, — especially at a time when thousands
are perishing for bread, and tens of thousands for lack of
knowledge, — we leave each man's conscience to decide.

4. It is the only principle which can effectually check the
progress of drunkenness. — So long as there are moderate
drinkers there will be drunkards, for it is from the ranks of
the former that the army of inebriates are recruited. No
man becomes a drunkard all at once — he reaches that
wretched state by the short and easy route of moderation.
The proportion of moderate d»"iiiker8 who make that brief
but fatal journey is appallingly great. Where there is one

who can govern the appetite for strong drink all through life,
there are a thousand who cannot. A lady once said to
Dr. Johnson, " Doctor, why don't you take a little wine?"
" Madam," said the doctor, " I cannot take a little, and
therefore I never take any." Would that thousands in our
day had the moral courage to make as frank a confession,
and the prudenco to adopt as wise a course ! Could every
moderate drinker in our fair Dominion be induced to adopt
the total abstinence principle, the dread plague of drunken-
ness would soon be stayed, and the drunkard and the
drunkard-maker would soon be numbered with the things
of the past i

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IV., OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED.

All experience proves that every good cause is doomed to
meet with opposition ; and hence it need not excite surprise
that numerous objections have been made to the principle
of total abstinence. 1 now proceed to notice the more pro-
minent of these objections, and to append such replies as
each may seem to require.

And first, as regards the principle of total abstinence
from intoxicating drinks : a common objection is, —

X . " You a/re putting total abstinence in the place of re-
ligion." Now if we could put total abstinence in place of
the religion of some who make this objection, there can be
no doubt they would gain immensely by the transaction ;
for surely that religion which, to vindicate its right to a
mere sensual indulgence, will see a brother go down to de-
gredation and ruin, without an effort to save him, cannot be
a very valuable commodity. To say the least, it is hardly
in the spirit of him who said, "If meat make my brother to
offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth." But
be that as it may, the charge is not true ; we do not put
total abstinence in the place of religion. We do not sup-
pose that total abstinence will make a man a Christian ; but
we do say that there are thou ands of men who without
total abstinence never can btcome Christians, and thou-
sands more who without it never will. We are often asked,

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"Why resort to Temperance Societies to save the ineberiate?
Why don't you preach the gospel to him?" Preach the
gospel to a drunkard I Preach the gospel to a man whose
intellect is muddled, and whose passions are all on fire
with strong drink ! As well might you preach the gospel
to a stock or a stone. The gospel is addressed to men ; but
the drunkard has, for the time being at least, ceased to be
a man, and become a brute ; and the only hope for him is
in persuading him to abstain from that which produces his
temporary madness, so that he once more may have a head
to understand, and a heart to feel, the sublime and saving
truths of the gospel. I think I have as much faith in the
power of the gospel as any one — I have faith in it as " the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth,"
but to me it is plain that faith is an utter impossibility
to one whom strong drink has fired into raging madness,
or sunk into drivelling idiocy. Let it be understood,
then, we do not claim that total abstinence makes men
Christians, but we do claim that it saves them from becom-
ing drunkards.

2. There are others who object, saying, " These Tem-
perance Societies lead to infidelity.*' The reasons for this
charge, so far as I can learn, are two-fold ; 1st, because
many total abstainers are not professors of religion ; and
2nd, because temperance advocates sometimes administer
pretty sharp rebukes to those churches which connive at
the traffic in, and use of, strong drink. No ' it is true
there are many teetotallers who are not Christians ; but
there are also many church members who are not Christians.
Does it therefore follow that the church is an organization
which tends to infidelity 1 That there are men who prefer
the Temperance Society 'x) some of the churches of the day,
is, perhaps, true; but this is hardly to be wondered at when
we consider the circumstances. These men, as a rule, have
been the victims of strong driak. Feeling at once their
degradation and their bondage, they looked round for some
one who would lend them a helping hand. On the one
side they saw the Temperance Society — an organization whose
members were banded together to protect themselves and
their families against the ravages of intemperance ; on the

other they saw a church, some of whose leading members
were engaged in the manufacture or sale of the poisons
vrhich had nearly ruined them, soul and body. Can we
wonder, then, that they chose the Temperance Society
rather than the church 1 I do not say that such persons do
right ; I think thsy ought not to turn their backs on the
church of Christ because some churches practically en-
courage the drinking usages of society ; rather should they
give their influence to produce, in the church, a healthier
sentiment on this great social question. At the same time
it is well both for churches and individual Christians to see
how their eflforts to do good are neutralised by the coun-
tenance they sometimes give to this great evil. " Don't
talk about religion to me," said a broken-hearted woman,
as she sat by the body of her husband who had been killed
by strong drink, " don't talk about religion to me, while
the leading member of your church sells the poison which
robbed my poor husband of his manhood, his reputation,
and at last of his life ! "

This cry of " Infidelity " is somewhat plausible, but it is
utterly without foundation. It is quite possible there may
be teetotallers who are infidels ; nay, more, it may be that
some of them make a pretence of advocating temperance
principles, when their real design is to attack the Christian
religion. But temperance should not be condemned for
this, any more than Christianity should be condemned be-
cause Judas betrayed his master. And I must confess that
wore I compelled to choose between the two, I would ra-
ther have a sober infidel than a drunken Christian — if 1
may be allowed such an expression ; for I may succeed, by
fair argument, in convincing the infidel of his error ; but
with the man whose brain is beclouded with the fumes of
alcohol, argument and appeal are both thrown away. Total
abstinence never made a man an injidel ; hut whisky-selling ^
whisky-drinking Christians have made infidels by the score t

3. There are others who say that the principle of total
abstinence is contrary to Scripture ; and they will talk
very piously about " :he good creatures of God," and
"every creature to be received with thanksgiving," and
"^taking a little wine for thy stomach's sake," and so on.

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BO on.

Now, in the first place, alcohol is not a creature of God, —
it is a product of that Satanic alchemy which, instead of
transmuting the baser metals into gold, reverses the pro-,
cess, and transmutes the gold of healthful food into poison.
But the objection is sometimes put in another form, and we
are asked, — Where do you find total abstinence commanded
in the Bible 1 Now, this looks exceedingly plausible, but
its force vanishes the moment we remember that the Bible
no where professes to give a particular precept for every
duty, but lays down general principles for our guidance,
leaving the application of those principles to ourselves. As
I have already pointed out, on a previous page, some
of the Bible precepts bearing upon this point, 1 need not
repeat them hei-e.

Having noticed some of the more common objections to
the principle of total abstinence, I now proceed to notice
objections which are made to the practice. Perhaps some
of these might be more properly called excuses for not
adopting the principle and practice ; but the facts and
arguments which apply in one case will apply equally in
the other.

There is a class of objections which may all be summed
up in the statement, that total abstinence is not necessary.
That means, I suppose, that it is not necessary either for
the prevention or the cure of drunkenness. In other words,
it is assumed that moderate drinking is legitimate and safe.
But as this general view of the subject is presented in a
variety of ways, it will be necessary to look at it a little
more in detail.

" / can take it when T please, and I can let it alone when
I pleascy' says one. So you say now, and so have thou-
sands said before you, who now fill drunkards graves. At
first the cry is always, " I can let it alone when I please ;"
but, alas ! they don't " let it alone," and so the appetite
becomes stronger and stronger, until they are utterly help-
less in its iron grasp, and then the cry is, "I would give
worlds to let it alone, but I can't." A man was once play-
ing with a huge serpent. He had often done so before, and
it had never harmed him ; and so he went on with his per*

formance. At length the serpent began slowly to twin©
itself around the man's body. The spectators became
.alarmed, but he laughed at their fears ; it was only a jmi-t
of the performance ; he could throw off those dreadful folds
when he pleased. But soon the terrible creature began to
contract its coils until the man sensibly felt the pressure.
It was time now to end the performance. He seized a fold
of the serpent ; it was rigid as a band of steel ! Redoubling
his effort he tried again — the folds were immovable ! Thor-
oughly alarmed, he now exerted all his remaining strength
— all in vain ! Steadily, yet irresistibly, those terrible coils
continued to contract ; bone and muscle gave way beneath
the tremendous pressure, and before the horror-stricken
spectators could interfere, that wretched man lay before
them a crushed and lifeless mass. So the moderate drinker
is wont to say when warned of his danger, " I can throw
off the habit when I please ! " but you are playing with a
ser|)ent whose deadly folds, unless cast off at once and for-
ever, will yet crush out the last spark of your manhood,
and send you unprepared into the presence of your God.
If you think it so easy a matter to " let it alone," just try
the experiment. Perhaps you will discover that the habit
has become far stronger than you suspected.

" / toill stop when I Jmd it is hurting me" says another.
A man once undertook to pilot a vessel into a harbor where
tliere were a great many sand-banks and sunken rocks.
" Now, Captain," said he, " you take the wheel, and I'll
stand at the bow and let you know when you are nearing
any of the dangerous spots." For a short time all went on
smoothly, when suddenly the vessel struck with a shock
which threw everybody off their feet. Up jumped the
pilot, and shouted at the top of his voice, " Captain, tliat's
one of 'era ! " It's just so with the majority of moderate
drinkers. They intend to stop when it begins to hurt
them ; but they keep on until they get a hurt so deadly
that it cannot be healed. " The prudent man forseeth the
evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are
punished."

" i'm not such a fool as to become a drunka/rd" is a com-
mon remark with such as do not want to give up their

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favorite indulgence. Now, there is a grand fallacy under-
lying the remark. It is assumed that all who become
drunkards must be persons deficient in intellect and weak
in purpose. This is a mistake of which any one may con-
vince himself by a little observation. Who are the men
who most readily fall into intemperate habits ? They are
the men of kindly social feelings, of generous impulses, full
of poetry and fire ; men of warm hearts and open hands, —
these are the men -who most readily fall victims to the de-
basing appetite. Once they were as high in hope, as strong
in purpose, as lofty in aspiration as you ; but strong drink
dashed their hopes to earth, drowned their aspirations in
sensuality, paralyzed their strength of will, and then
dragged them, unresisting captives, at its chariot wheels.
When once the appetite for strong drink is fairly established,
the strongest resolutions become like baiTiers of sand before
a driving flood. The only wise course — the only safe course
— ^therefore, is to abstain entirely, at once and forever.

" / canH think of joining the Temperance Society ; there'8
80 many low-bred people connected with it." Don't be
alarmed, my patrician friend ; the lowest you will find, in
all probability, will be some poor reformed inebriate, who
mayhap has been your boon companion in many a revel.
You were not ashamed ol his company when he was making
himself a beast; you should not be ashamed of it now when
he is trying to be a ma>n. A young man in one of our
Canadian cities fell into intemperate habits. His family
saw it with alarm, but knew not what to do. A friend
urged him to sign the pledge and join a temperance organ-
ization. Beginning to realize his danger, he consented to
do so ; but when his family heard it they dissuaded him,
saying there were so many low, common people connected
with the society that it was not a suitable place for him.
He listened to their remonstrances, and to to avoid the low
company he was likely to meet with in the temperance
association, he betook himself to the select company usually
found in the bar-room. His dissipated habits soon ruined
his business, and he left the country. A short time after-
wards he was found in the American army. The exposure
incident to camp life brought on sickness, against which his
constitution, weakened by former indulgences, could not

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stand, and so in a few weeks lie was taken to the hospital
and there died The reader can make liia own application.

"77^ never sign away my liberty." We don't ask you to
" sign away your liberty." We ask you to sign the pledge
that you may gain your liberty — liberty from the tyranny
of a pernicious social custom. What kind of liberty do you
want] Liberty to destroy your manhood ? — to impoverish
your family] — to waste your energies?— to becloud your
intellect? — to ruin your soul? If that be your boasted
"liberty," then I say give me the "slavery" of total
abstinence !

" But wJiat use ia there in temperate people joining a
Temperance Society i CarUt they abstain without t/iatf"
Doubtless they can ; but yet they ought to connect them-
selves with some temperance organization for just the same
reason that pious people should join a church. No man
ever pretends that because he is pious there is no need to
become a member of the church ; and no man should think
that his sobriety is a sufficient reason for withholding his
influence from the temperance cause. In a matter like
this, where the highest interests of men for time and eter-
nity are at stake, it won't do to play neutral. " He that
is not with me," said Christ, " is against me ; and he that
gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."

IV. THE QUESTION APPLIED.

In bringing these hastily written pages to a conclusion,
I T^ould respectfully urge upon the various classes of my
fellow-countrymen the adoption of total abstinence prin-
ciples, for reasons which appear to me solid and weighty.
I would urge it —

1. Upon the habitual drinker, — You began, years ago it
may be, the practice of using, — in moderation, as you
thought, — intoxicating drinks. Slowly, and almost imper-
ceptibly, the habit gained in strength, until that which at
first was an occasional luxury has become a daily — almost
hourly necessity. I ask you now to pause for -% moment,
and ask yourself what has been- the eflect of this habit?
Do you feel yourself as strong in self-respect and in moral
manhood as when you first began the use of intoxicating

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drinks 1 Is bhere not, rather, a sense of degi'adation- — A
feeling that you aio not what you were years ago, and that
the change has been for the worse 1 Do you not, some-
times — though but for a moment — contrast the experience
of bygone days, when hope was strong, and when you che-
rished noble aspirations for distinction and success in life,
with the feeling of ho[)eless depression which now weighs
upon you like a mighty incubus ; and do you not feel at
such times that it is the drink that has degraded your man-
•'''Wl hood, and robbed you of your moral power? And then,

what has been the effect of this habit upon your family 1
Are they in better circumstances — happier — more respected
— because of the drinking habits of the husband and father 1
— Nay, do you not see and feel that the results of your sen-
sual indulgence has rebounded with terrible effect upon the
heads of unoffending wife and children ? For their sake,
then, as well as for your own, I ask you to abstain, at once
and forever, from all that oan intoxicate. This is your
only safe course. It is uselest for you to try the moderation
plan. In your present case moderation is excess. Perhaps
you think it is too late for you to leave off drinking. That
is the voice of the tempter. Only give the total abstinence
plan a good, hearty trial, and days of hope and happiness
will open before you yet.

2. Upon the moderate drinker. — You say that you only
take a little, and that it doesn't hurt you. Well, we won't
stop to argue that point now ; but are not the chances a
hundred to one that it will hurt you before you are done
with it. You float now jiist where every drunkard has
floated before you — in the quiet waters of moderation, with
just current enough to form a pleasant ripple; you have
only to drift a little fa/rther, and then the rapids with irre-
sistible sweep will carry you over the cataract. But sup-
posing you never become a drunkard yourself, may not your
example lead others into habi's which will make drunkards
of them ? The more I see of the facts in connection with
the drinking customs of society, the more am I convinced
that the cases in which even moderate drinkers escape retri-
bution — in either their persons or families — are exceedingly
Kare. For example, how rare is it that a moderate-drinking

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father is not called to mourn over a drunken son 1 You
may say you have a right to do as you please ; but that is
only so long as you please to do right. You have no right
to do that which may lead another to ruin. You have no
right to walk boldly over a rotten bridge, when you know
that anyone attempting to follow you will, in all probability,
be plunged into the rushing torrent below. For the sake,
then, of yourself and family, for the sake of your neigh-
l)ors, for the sake of posterity, and for the sake of the poor
drunkard, whose chains are riveted by your example, I ask
you to abstain.

3. Upo7i my brethren in the Ministry. — ^You know as well
as I that intemperance is a wide-spread — and daily spread-
ing — evil ', you know that it beggars families, fills prisons,
and ruins souls without number ; you know that in this
country, at least, the drinking customs of society constitute,
without exception, the greatest hindrance to the extension of
Christ's Kingdom ; you know that if the whole liquor traffic
were abolished to-morrow the number of genuine conver-
sions to God would soon be multiplied ten-fold ; and know-
ing these things can there be any doubt as to the course we
should pursue 1 It is not only because this monster stalks
j'ampant through the land tliat there is need for tli6 watch-
men to wake, but because it is seeking to entrench itself in
the very temple of God, and to use God's Word in defence
of its soul-destroying mission. It is time that every pulpit
in the Ifnd gave a clear and certain sound in reference to
this great social evil. An occasional word will not do. An
occasional address at a temperance meeting will not suffice.
This mi<i;hty foe will never be routed until from every pul-
pit in the land it is

" Stormed at with shot and shell "

frcm the armory of God's word ; until it is made clear and
plain to the world, that wherever else this accursed thing
may take shelter, it shall find no rest for the sole of its foot
within the pale of the Church of Christ. Let me not be
misunderstood. I do not take the position of a superior,
and dictate to my brethren in the ministry what they 7mist
do, but as one of yourselves I appeal to you as to what we

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04«gfA< to do, in view of all the facts of the case. And as
precept without practice is of little avail, our first duty,
in this matter, is to abstain from all that can intoxicate.
Thousands are perishing through strong drink, and it is our
business to save them if we can. There is a voice that is
ever crying to us, " Where is thy brother 1" It will not do
for us to say, " I know not ; am I my brother's keeper,"
lest those awful tones should reply as of old, " The voice of
thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

" Blood of the soul ! — Can all earth's fountains make
That dark stain disappear ? - Stewards of God, awake !"

4. Upon members of Christian Churches. — Your duty is
to " abstain from all appearance of evil," and not only so,
but to be active in promoting all good. You do not need to
be convinced that intemperance is an evil — you have seen
enough of its dire effects to convince you of that, but per-
haps you do not see so clearly the personal duty of entire
abstinence. You say you are not responsible for the evils
of the liquor traffic. I answer, you are responsible Jt*«< so
fav as your exainple and practice give support to the traffic.
When you purchase strong drink you are supporting the
traffic ; when you use it as a beverage you are helping by
your example to perpetuate the drinking customs of society.
There is no way of clearing yourself of all complicity with
the business but entire abstiner.^^. And to this course you
are bound by the spirit of the religion you profess ; for
surely thus far the spirit of the New Testament goes, — " It is
good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything
whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made
weak." Remember, too, that you are the representatives of
the religion of Jesus Christ — that the world forms its opinion
of religion very largely from what they see in you. What
opinion, think you, will the world form if they see you up-
holding by your example that which is the source of one-
half the world's misery and crime ? " Be ye separate, and
touch not the unclean thinpr," should be your principle of
action in this matter.

5. Upon every patriot — Next to the slave trade, the
liquor traffic is the foulest iniquit) that ever found shelter

under the protecting wing of law. It is the evil which of
all others projects its portentous shadow upon the fair future
of our Dominion. It tills our prisons and asylums, it lays
upon us one-half of our financial burdens, it lessens the
wealth of the country, it debases our public men ; and not
content with the misery it has already wrought, it boldly
seeks to obtain the entire political control of the countiy.
Those engaged in the traffic are banded together for that
purpose. They have boldly declared their intention of send-
ing to Parliament only such men as will support their views,
and they have boasted that, united, they can carry every
election. Nor is this an idle boast. In some cases they
have succeeded, for it is a notorious fact that some of the
most important constituencies in the country were carried in
the late election by the combined influence of whiskey and
bribery. Nor need this excite surprise when some of our
leading politicians employ a part of the public funds to pur-
chase support, and when brewers and distillers who have
notoriously defrauded the revenues are shielded in their ini-
quity by ministei-s of the crown. The debates in Parliament
within the past fuw weeks give proof of what I say.* Now
what, in view of these facts, is the duty of every patriot 1
Is it not to use whatever influence he may possess to wipe
out this blot from our national escutcheon ? Is it not to sup-
press, as far as his influence and example can go, the drink-
ing customs of society I Is it not to meet the designs of the
liquor-sellers by counter combinations, and to use his fran-
chise in sending men to Parliament who are favorable to
the prohibition of the traffic throughout the entire Domin-
ion.

Let all, then, who love their God, their country, and their
fellow-men, unite their energies to banish forever from our
land all that can intoidcate.

* This was written in reference to certain circumstances which
transpired several years ago.

^Printed at the Guardian Office, TorotU<K

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C O 2ST S, T I X TJ T I O 3iT

OF THE

CHRISTIAN TOTAL ABSTINENCE

SOOIET"Y".

This Society shall be called The Christian Total Ab-
.s.TfNENCE Society, for the Eastern Division of Toronto City,
and shall consist of all who will sign the following pledge : —

" We, whose names are hereunto affixed, agree to abstain
from evei; description of intoxicating liquor as a beverage,
and in all suitable ways will discountenance theii' manufac-
ture, sale, and use "

This Society shall be governed by a President, one or
more Vice Presidents, a Treasurer, one or more Secretaries,
and a Committee of twelve members, all of whom shall be
members in good standing of an Evangelical Christian
Church.

The officers and Committee shall be elected at the first
j^ublic meeting in January of each year.

Every public meeting shall be opened and closed by sing-
ing and pi-ayer.

To provide funds for carrying on the Society, collections
shall be made when deemed necessary by the Committee.

Special care shall be taken that the speaking and other
exercises of the meetings shall be of a high moral character.

There shall be a Visiting Committe composed of suitable
persons of both sexes — their duties shall be to visit and-
converse with such as it td'desii-able to secure as mcmleis
and also with any who may have violated their pledge ; such
cases they are to report to the Committee of Management
for adjudication.

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