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CHURCH OF ENGLAND TEMPERANCE…

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CHURCH OF ENGLAND TEMPERANCE SOCIETY. 1 BANGOR DIOCESAN BRANCH. I YESTERDAY'S CONFERENCE AT I PEN MAEN MAWIt. PROHIBITION OR STATE PURCHASE? I (From Our Own Reporter.) I The anDuai confcreuce of clergy and parochial delegates of tho Bangor Diocesan branch of the Church of England Temper- ance Society was held i-terday at the Church Institute, Penmaenmawr. Tlie • Bishop of Banger presided over the confcrclice held m the afternoon, when a letter was read from Concn E. T. Davies iDyfrig) regTetting his inability to be pre- sent and hoping that satisfactory measures >ould be taken to restrict the sale of drink in the country, especially in present circum- stances THE BISHOP, in a short address, said the waj called upon ubemi to practise temperance, ■which had been describee as &eif-conrurol and Beli-ma&tery, and this maxLe a distinct call on all Christians. fc.onio of them might say that the question did not affect them as they were total abstainers, but the war call IWas not alone to exerciso control in wha.t one drank, but in what one ate. There was now a special call upon them to exercise feelf-denial and self-control in what they ate. 1he newt-papers were full of demands upon them as patriotic citizens to reduce the am-aunt of food they had boon accustomed to in their housee in order that the nation's food supply would last longer. They were Jepeatedly told that unless they, as a point of honooir, kept within their rations and deigned all the food they intended consum- ing and refused to consume one ounce more it would cause a great deal of trouble and might possibly be the means of robbing us ef victory. That was a very much wider use of the word temperance and was a direct call to them. He ventured to suggest they should all ask themselves whether, not only in regard to drink, but also in regard to food, they observed tho rule of temperance, the direct call of the present waa (hear, hear). no, attent i a-Li tr-, -7th e e-vils which fol- fol- low over-indulgence in strong drink, the Bishop said one was the valuable time loat in munition centres. The result was that the Government were taking strong steps to reduce the temptations of drink, and these restrictions were evidently not a war measure —they were likely to be continued after the jrar. It was true that the cases ot drunken- ness in this country had been reduced from 155,000 to 77,000, whioh was satisfactory, but nevertheless it was not satisfactory that 77.000 such cases remained. Their duty was to try and get the nation tober? and the more sober the nation the more the nation (Would exercise self-control (lioar, hear). DRINK TRAFFIC A DEADWEIGHT. I The REV. J. D. JONES, M.A., Bangor, lead a paper. He said that anything in the piescnt war which hampered us ouglit to be swept out of the way completely ant1, at once. Drink was a deadweight of that description. Let them consider its effect on our sailors and yoidicrs. Sir John Jellicoe said that he attributed 30 per cent. inefficiency in shoot- ing to drink, while Lord Kitciherter urged the men of the New Army to ehun alcohol saying that without it they would make better soldiers, l'hero was its influence over ÐeIne of the men in munition factories, ship- yards, and dockyard* No one suggested that the workintg classes as a body were drunkards, but a few men could cause a great deal of delay and inconvenience by staying away from work. Over j6500,000 a day was spent on drink. This would buy three super-Dreadnoughts every fortnight. It childish, to point to the income derived y the Government from the trade and the ftia&unt (relatively small) which was paid in ,:o}.ges. Argumen"of that kind would not l. uiatify alY sort of expenditure. They were not fanatics. Tihey had no desire to say one unkind word of the brewer or the publican The position of those who derived their in- come or made their living by the trade was not at the present time an envious one. They deserved sympathy. Fair-minded people "Would not wish them to be heated with harshness. But the problem of the moment —What ought to bo done to enable them to put forth all their strength in this great etruggle? The trade itself, owing either to a desire to co-operate in this effort to secure National efficienc3- or to a calm estimate of tho poedibilities of tho near future, had shown a disposition to accept a measure of State purchase. Soome earneat advocates of temporaries objected to iiationalisation of tho drink traffic for the timple reason that it appeared acceptable in that quarter; but it waa well to remember that moderate opinion was alienated by the exhibition of an un- reasonable or vindictive attitude (bear, hear). Sound arguments, expressed without any trace of animue, would find a public ready to liear and to bo converted. It was said that Nationalisation would remove the widespread influence, political and social, national and local, exorcised at present by the trade. This influence barred the way to reform. Brewers, distillers, publicans, and shareholders made up a large and well organised force whose hostility could not be despised by any poli- tician. TEMPERANCE ADVOCACY FROM THE I PULPIT. It was too much to ask human nature to eypect them to acquiesce in measures de- signed to reduce their incomes. It was this which made the strong advocacy of temper- ance from the pulpit so difficult. Such teach- ing when accepted effected a reduction in the receipts of the publican. It was no won- der that licensed victuallers sought shelter in ecclesiastical asylums where exhortations of that naturo wete rarely heard. State con- trol would at any rate remove that difficulty. A clergyman would not be hampered in his advocacy of temperance by the reflection that brewers had geaerously helped him to secure a Church institute, or that some of the most generous supporters of parochial funds were publicans. It was stated th.;ot State pur- c hase was repulsive to the consciences of many people. They felt that if the State provided the opportunity of cultivating the insidious habit of indulging in intoxica-nts it must be held responsible for exposing the young and inexperiencod to grave tempta- tion. An attitude of this kind was said by & North Wales Canon to border on hypo- crisy. That was rather a delicate point which required. the insight of a Church dignitary to fully appreciate. Many people would feel uncomfortable if a scheme of that kind wore carried. Personally ho would prefer seeing It rncaflure of total prohibition restricted to the period of the war and demobtlisation, With reasonable coijipensation to those upon jyhom the loss would be inflicted. He bc- lieved tho whole question should be thrashed out after the war. Urging the more general provision 01 Church institutes, the speaker regretted that clubs had hcn established where drink Was BOld. He said thege clubs were the greatest enemies of temperance, and it would be well if the Unionist paJ-ty in Wales Jfcanishod al1 drink from its clubs (hear, hear). lie added that questions of this kind should be discussed oftener at ruricTeca.&al and other clerical meetings. The clergy seemed to be father shy of the question, and it was no tt- J concealing the fact. ll. HUGH JONES, Talyearn, in a IVelsh papar dwelt on the many evil effects of in- Pe ranoe-cruelty, poverty, crime aanoug cm. Was it possible, he asked, for them as Churchmen to remain quiet wHo this great evil was devastating the landP They must start their campaign by self-discipline and example. They must Aght all those evils which hurt the eoul. More sympathy must be shown towards those who fell to raise them back again. There must bo unity amomg temperance workers of all denomina- tions and politics to fight the evil. He de- clared himself an absolutoo prohibitionist. THE INFLUENCE OF WOMEN. SIR HUGH J. ELLIS-NANNEY, Bart., moved a vote of thanks to the readers of tho papers. Referring to the work of the Bangor Diocesan branch of the Society, Sir Hugh said it was very wise to change the venue of the annual conference as it engend- ered interest in the work throughout the whole diocese. It must be agreed that some progress had been made in tho temperance cause, and even those "who previously took but a fleeting interest in the question now agreed that there were tremendous iuæ de- pendent upon the sobriety of the people (hear, hear). By reducing the manufacture of beer there had been a great saving in the use of barley and sugar. In regard to tho temperance campaign we Wleir4a deeply in- diebted to the women, who could appeal to their own sex irn a way whicih had a direct influence on the country. They could show women tho evil offeel. drink had on their progeny, a matter of supreme importance in these days when the birth rate was diminish- ing, a fact which, combined with the war wastage, would have a tremendous effect on the future of the oountry. It was necessary tftac the coming generation should be heaMiy and strong and that they could be safely entrusted with the destinies of our great Empire, and be enabled to hand it down un- impaired to future generations (hear, hear). DEAN OF BANGOR FAVOURS LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD. The DEAN OF BANGOR said he agreed that probation during the war and six months afterwards was not within the range of practical politics. As to the State pur- chase proposal, he said their own Cfourrfi Society was divided on the subject. From ail he had heard and read tftiie experiment of the nationalisation of drink in Russia was anything but a success; it was a dead failure, and the author of tihe measure acknowledged that fact. It was contended that the condi- tions in England and Russia were dissimilar, and there was a good deal of force in that argument. In Russia the whole trade was transferred to the Emperor, but in England "was proposed to transfer the trade to the nation, who would control it. After a good deal of tihinkinig he came to the concl usion that the best scheme would be the establish- ment on a permanent basis of the Central Control Board, who had already done a great deal towards the diminution of drunkenness, s they had done such successful work dur- ing the war the Board should be established on a firm basis with well-ooaisidered powers. We must not rely too much on Acts of Par- liament. During the last sixty years sixty Acta with regard to drink had been passed, some of Which bad done a great deal of harm, among them the granting of grocers' iicences (hear, hoar). They must turn to the Church. They could not do without re- ligion (hear, hear). No effort oould prosper without bringing God in (hear, hear). The nation was now re-estimating values, and was it not a significant fact fiat in the present crisis Ministers of the Crown were appealing to ministers of religion to emph,a, sise the spiritual side of national service? MR EVILL, Penmaenmawr, stated he was surprised to read that 60 per cent, of the clergymen held aloof from the Church of England Temperance Society. He was as- t-onished at that, especially when the leaders of the nation had taken up such a decided attitude on the subject. EQUITABLE SOLUTION WANTED. I CANON LEWIS remarked that he sup- ported any well-considered measure of State purchase which would give them an equit- able solution of the question. It would meet the conscience of all concerned. It would break down opposition amd being equitable, would facilitate an iunmediate solution of the question. They must have something to stop excessive diinlcing, which made in- effective our soldiers, hindered our soldiers, discouraged our nation, and encouraged the enemy. Unfortunately, they had not the wholehearted support of the Churchp-eoplc in tne dioceee. ISnoy wanted the abst^ners and the abstemious to fight against the common enemy (hear, hear). He moved that inas- much as the National Mission is a call to more fellowship and service on behalf of our Church and country, this meeting strongly recommends parochial agencies to affiliate with the C.T.S. in order to secure more united co-operation to promote temperance, purity and thrift throughout the diocese. The R: J. A. REæ, rector of Rhos- oolyn, seconding, said he was a prohibition- ist, but perhiatps the country was not ripe for it at the present moment, and he thought more powers should' be given to the Central Control Board. The resolution was carried.

PUBLIC MEETING.I

I MEETING AT FORTMAJDOC.

IQUARRYMEN AND NATIONALI SERVICE.

CRICCIETH URBAN COUNCIL. I

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PWLLHELI TOWN COUNCIL.

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