18 OCTOBER 1890, Page 16

THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE IN IRELAND.

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."]

Sin,—To-day is the day appointed to commemorate the Irish Apostle of Temperance. Accordingly, in this village, my servant this morning found every shop in the village closed, except those in which drink is sold!

The fact is, that Father Mathew's most benevolent attempt to make the Irish sober was a complete failure. There was a slight diminution of drunkenness at the time; but so soon as his personal influence was withdrawn, the masses reverted to the intemperance from which he tried to rescue them. And to-day's celebration is nothing short of a hypocritical attempt to conceal this melancholy truth.—I am, Sir, &c.,