Proceedings of the International Temperance Convention. (CaudwelL) —Some of our
readers may possibly not be aware that the advocates of Temperance and Total Abstinence had a grand gathering in London on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of last September. During those three days they appear not to have wasted much time ; for they read and talked to such good purpose that the records of their proceedings, after having been subjected to what the editors feelingly call a "painful" degree of com- pression, occupy not less than 500 closely printed pages. The matter contained in those records is, for the most part, of the usual temperance stamp. Thus we have an independent minister announcing that he "could tell a fearful tale about several ministers falling by the monster Drink ; " while Dr. F. R. Lees, one of the editors of the volume, com- mences a discourse on "Certain Fallacies of Biblical Interpretation put forth by the Advocates of Alcohol," by "assuming, of course, as a truth established by experience, statistics, history, and experiments1 that alcohol is not food but poison." But the gem of the volume is a paper by the Rev. W. Caine, M.A., on "Drinking in Schools and Col- leges." This gentleman is much distressed at the general beery tone which pervades Tom Brown's Schooldays. He has discovered the remarkable fact that "Dr. Arnold gave the boys a double allowance of beer on Saturday night," and observes thereupon, "What a prepara- tion for the approaching Lord's Day !" He goes on to remark, with a gravity which even his audience, one would think, must have found it somewhat difficult to share, "The Rugby boys were constantly singing songs in honour of the infamous Beer Bill. One of them began thus :—
" Come, neighbours all, both great and small, Perform your duties here ; And loudly sing, live Billy, our King, For 'bating the tax upon beer."
Surely the editor's apology for the extent to which they have carried their painful duty of compression is somewhat superfluous.
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