Temperance Meeting at Denaby Main

February 1900

Mexborough Times, February 23.

Temperance Meeting at Denaby Main.

United Kingdom Alliance Temperance Association

On Monday, a meeting was held in the Rossington Street school room, Denaby Main, kindly lent for the occasion by Mr W.H.Chambers, the manager of the Denaby and Cadeby Main Collieries.

Owing to the late arrival of the visitors, the meeting did not commence until 7.15, when Mr J Melling, Sheffield, took the chair, there being only a moderate attendance. After the usual devotional exercises, Mr Melling gave a short address in which he referred to the drink question, the great evil, which was now raging in our midst of, and which was more awful, and caused more sorrow than the present war, which was going on in, South Africa

War and pestilence were not always stalking through the land, but the curse of the drink traffic is upon us continually. He said that the children would often take the example, if they saw their parents take drink, and they ought to be concerned about their boys and girls in this matter.

In conclusion the chairman said that he had been a totalabstainer and worked in the cause of Temperance for 59 years.

Mr Hall said that it was the first time we had been at a meeting in this school. He remarked that he earnestly hoped nobody would leave that room, without signing the pledge, ashe had been a total abstainer for 39 years, and he proved it to be the best to keep to, and he wanted everyone there that night, to make up their minds that they were in the right in supporting this cause. He had great pleasureto move the following resolution:

“That as the liquor traffic, more than anything else, destroys the sanctity of the home, leads to the neglect of the proper care and training of children, lowers the moral tone of the nation, saps and undermines the vital energy of the churches, and frustrates the work of the Sunday school. It is a manifest duty of all Christian ministers, Sunday school teachers and workers in every department of religious endeavour to aid in securing the enactment of a law, which shall place in the hands of the people themselves the power of excluding this pernicious traffic, from their respective localities.”

Mr Hall remarked that he believed everything in that resolution to be definitely an absolutely true, and said that he would like each one there to carry it out. Referring to the passage, “it destroys the sanctity of the home,” he said that total absence would make their home bright, happy and cheerful. He did not think this country ought to license an evil which brought so much trouble and sorrow. He asked everyone who had not done so to start that night to be in total abstinence, and it would make their homes, quiet and peaceful. He gave a hearty invitation to all to join

them in this great fight against drink and help with all their might, the noble cause of Temperance.

Mr T.L.Addy rendered a solo very creditably at which Mrs Vause, on rising to support the resolution, said that it gave her the greatest pleasure in seconding the same. The speaker remarked that if there was no other reason that a woman should give up the drink, the phrase of the resolution would then appeal to a very forcibly.

The speaker said she had noticed that it was a great deal easiertoconvince adrunkard that it is wrongthan it was to convince a professing Christian that it was wrong to be a moderate drinker. There are no less than 2 million boys which turn out to be drinkers every year, and those of them who had children should cast themselves a question: “can we stop our child from this growing evil of drink as a professing Christian, and as a mother, she wanted to feel that she was a safeguard in our own home.

In one night the persons that enter the public houses of London, between the hours of nine and 12 o’clock (three hours) numbered 80,680 and out of that number 30,704 were women. At the present time they had at the front 11,000 soldiers who were total abstainers. It meant talents were wasted, andhow much good men would could do if they would only leave the drink alone.

In conclusion the lady, in an eloquent peroration, urged everyoneas heroes to fight the drink traffic with all their might.

The chairman gave a hearty invitation to all were not done so to sign the pledge.

In vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Chambers also kindly lend in the room.

Mr Addy then gave another solo which brought the meeting to a close.

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