One hundred years ago
Mr Bright made two speeches on the Temperance question at Birmingham, on Wednesday, on the occasion of open- ing a new coffee tavern, to be called by Mr Cobden's name. In the first speech, he explained that for ten years he had never taken wine or spirits, and had not suffered in any way by that change of habit; but when he spoke of a coffee- house as a place where people cannot get anything that will do them harm, surely Mr Bright was romancing. We doubt if there are not at least as many people whose health would be more injured by three cups of good coffee in the day than it would be by three glasses of good claret, as there are people whose health would be more injured by three glasses of good claret than it would be by three cups of good coffee. Intemperance in wine is both commoner and more dangerous than intemperance in coffee; but taken temperately, light wine is, we suspect, less likely to disturb the system than good coffee.
Spectator, 1 September 1883
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