enness. The reverend chairman’s opening address was listened to with much attention and was concluded amidst a warm response of approval. The Rev. Maguire, the chief speaker of the evening, addressed the meeting at great length, in the course of which he expressed his delight at being in the midst of so large and so enthusiastic a meeting. His address throughout was very instructive and was listened to with profound attention, the audience frequently testifying their approval by loud plaudits. At the conclusion of Mr. Maguire’s eloquent address, the chairman called upon Mr. Higginbottom to say a few words. This gentleman – 74 years of age – said he had been an abstainer for 54 years, and after detailing his experience of teetotalism, observed that altho’ during the last 30 years he, as a medical practitioner, might have lost six or seven thousand pounds by banishing alcohol and intoxicants from his practice, instead of regretting, rejoiced that he had done so. Some other gentlemen addressed the meeting, and at the close, twelve persons signed the pledge. As a non-abstainer Mr. Hume’s position in being placed in the chair was somewhat anomolus(sic) an explanation will be found in the following further remarks in his opening address:- It was, he said the first anniversary of the opening of that room, and from what he had heard, those who established it had met with considerable success in their efforts to diminish the sin of drunkenness. But he was rather surprised that they should have asked him to take the chair on the occasion, because as he did not like to sail under false colours, he must admit that he was not a professed teetotaller. Yet, though he had never taken the pledge, he had for a long time been convinced of the importance of any attempt to suppress the vice of a drunkard. He often thought of the song he had heard boys sing in the streets “What would I do with the drunkard? Why, put him in a stye and feed him on grains!” [Laughter]. It was better surely to feed him on grains than upon that which was extracted from them. Mr. Hume then reverted to the dignified position in which man had been placed as exhibited in his power over the inferior creatures, and the low and degraded state to which he brought himself by his own folly and evil deeds. Drunkenness was a sin which drowned the power of reason and rendered a man equal to any crime. Mr. Hume pictured to his hearers the career of a young man courting and winning the affections of a young woman to whom he was afterwards honourably united, and with whom he lived in happiness until drink came, which made the once happy home an abode of so much wretchedness that it were a libel to call it home. When he returned to his family his wife dreaded to see him, and his children were obliged to crouch down to get away from his cursing and perhaps blows. In conclusion, the worthy chairman maintained that they were doing good at all times when by any means they reformed a drunkard. He would himself do anything he could to induce a man to give up the sin [Great applause].
Licensing Day. After the old licenses had been renewed to such applicants as were present, no fewer than ten applications for new licenses were read by the -
