Mexborough and Swinton Times, March 18.
Water v Alcohol.
A temperance meeting was held in connection with the Wesleyan Band of Hope (which now numbers over 60 members) in the schoolroom, on Monday evening.
Mr J Slack, the assistant manager at the Denaby Main Colliery, presided, and he was supported by the reverent, J Pickup, the respected pastor, and Mr Henry Hibbert, of Bradford, and Mr Palin of Barhead Scotland, agents to the United Kingdom Alliance.
There was a good attendance.
After the customary devotions, the chairman introduced Mr Hibbert to the meeting.
He said everyone admitted that drunkenness was a terrible curse in this land, even the maltsters, brewers and publicans said so. He was tired of hearing people make this sad lamentation and do nothing to remove the evil (hear, hear).
One of our judges at the Leeds Assizes recently added a case brought before him in which was proved that a father had dashed out the brains of his infant, six-month-old, whilst he was in a state of intoxication and the observed, “if this will not convince the people of the folly of sin, I don’t know what will.”
In looking through a calendar, he stated that drunkenness was, as usual, at the bottom of all the crimes which the jury would have to deal with. However, when dismissed to consider their verdict the German was served with refreshment, and the 12 were provided with 4 gallons of beer over it. This looked a strange way of doing things.
It seemed to him. (The speaker) that we had got into the way of talkingand uttering a lot of phrases, at the same time having no idea of meaning what we said.