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TEETOTAL TEACHINGS.
(Daily Press, 19th August). A book which deserves some attention is Mr. Edwin A. Pratt's latest publication, "The Licensed Trade." It is described as an independent survey, but though it may not be strictly independent it is interesting as presenting in broad outlines the case for the defence of the liquor trade and the licensed trader. The dogmatisms of the teetotaler have been so loud in the land of late years that the claims of the other side have been somewhat neglected, with the result that injustice has been done to a large section of the community and evil has followed where good was expected.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
That people should live sober useful lives is not an ideal confined to the teetotaler. The temperate man abhors all excess, whether in eating or drinking, or in any other manner of life, and the man as sociated with the licensed trade, be he distiller, brewer or publican, has no liking for the drunken sot. Indeed the drunkard is of no use to any one but a teetotal lecturer. He is a horrible example without doubt, but what treatment should be meted out to him is rather an open question. Should he be regarded as one of the mentally deficient, then he ought to be treated as other im- beciles, but if he be placed under the category of those who over-indulge one ur other of their appetites, then som form of restraint ought to be recommended. Those who come under the latter heading are departures from the normal type, and as Society has not yet decided upon the proper method of treating abnormalities we are still faced with the problem of what to do with these unhappy people. But because the mentally defective aud the morally deficient du go astray and though it be unfortunate that the weak-minded
individuals who constitute so substantial a proportion of the drunkard clasa do exist, that is no reason why the community should be deprived or deprive itself of the be. verages which it likes. Admittedly it would he better that these people become total abstainers, but it would be grossly unfair to interfere with the rights, liberties and rational enjoyment of the sober in order to practise a doubtful ex- periment upon these abnormal persons. One might as well argue that because a few scorchers do harm to themselves and make themselves a menace on public roads that cycling should not be enjoyed by more rational people, or that a similar sacrifica be imposed upon those who spend their leisure in yachting because a few foolish ones are not wise enough to keep out of danger. The evils of "drink" are admittedly great among those of an abnormal type, but it is too much to expect that Society as a whole should be remodelled to meet their special conditions and requirements. It has been recognised that a man cannot be made sober by Act of Parliament, but while legislation in regard to drunkenness and drunkards may well be applied to the classes concerned, unfair and unnecessary restric- tions should not be imposed on the reasonable enjoyment of persons who can tee stimulants without either abusing or being prejudiced by them.
[August 24, 1907. but also because the liquor imparted a pleas | Emperor's state of health both bodily and ing feeling of warmth, modified the pangs mentally is fairly satisfactory, and there is of hunger, produced a sense of enjoyment no reason to anticipate a shorter term of and comfort, gave zest to social intercourse, life than falls to ordinary mortals, and this lessened pain, deadened care, and imparted may throw light on the manifest unwilling- fresh vigour to the healthy man. Having neas on the part of both the Empress all these reasons for partaking of stimulants Dowager and the Emperor himself to is it any wonder that their use grew with appoint a crown prince, without attributing the centuries? Of course most of these it to any dark scheme on the part of either. earlier beverages possessed considerable There is in fact at the moment no eligible nutritive value, a claim which is not made prince of sufficient age to have a character for many modern liquors beyond ale or beer formed, and the nomination of an infant, and it is doubtless due to this cause that and his almost necessary segregation from the regrettable drunkenness of to-day may the outside world, would probably result in be attributed. The modern prohibitionist worse evils than leaving him to grow up and would not decry the use of tea or coffee. mix freely with his contemporaries. Since Yet they are stimulants in the same sense the time of Kienlung no Emperor has had as the much abused wine, spirits or beer. an opportunity of moving about and seeing In their respective ways they meet the his empire, or making acquaintance with natural demand for a stimulant, and either, his people, and the natural result has been if indulged in to excess, is harmful to the that the empire fell to debauched and individual. All these beverages, alcoholic incapable princes like Kiaking or Hienfung. and non-alcoholic, serve distinct purposes. Taokwang was possibly an exception to the In the first place they satisfy the physical rule of degeneracy, but his failure to know sensation of thirst, in the second place they what was going on in his empire, as well as respond to the instinctive desire for a stimu his utter unacquaintance with the outer lant, and in the third place the alcoholic world, brought on the war of 1842 with its beverages are readily available. It being disastrous effects to the dynasty. Did the shown, then, that the craving for a resignation become a real fact it would stimulant is natural, the question naturally probably be the wisest thing for the arises in what form should it be taken. Emperor to imitate the rôle of Kienlung, Medical opinion is divided on the subject, and initiate a progress through his estates, but as many of the experts affirm that the which would enable him to see both sides moderate use of alcohol is beneficial from a of the questions at present dividing the Empire, as well as improve his bodily health. Physically he can by rail visit the chief cities of Chili, Honan and Hupeh, and from Wuchang he can arrange to go on one of his own vessels down the Yang- tse, and back along the coast to Tientsin, so that the journey would not, even if he declined to follow the example of his great progenitor, be a severe one. These rumours of resignation are curiously coupled with the advance in power and influence of YUAN SHIKAI, the able Viceroy of the Metropolitan province. Two years ago, there was apparent a very decided attempt to set aside YUAN, and various men were tried, and to all appearance his fall had come. Little by little he was deprived of honours and emoluments; like a wise man YUAN held his tongue, and made no com- plaint. The result justified his discern- maut. As a fact the new mea placed in various positions to supersede or check YUAN have not answered to the expectations formed of them by the Viceroy's enemies; and his power, temporarily checked, has recently been reviving. Though not a reformer in the usual acceptation of the word. YUAN sees very plainly that the old machine needs repair and oiling, and he has been pressing changes, which seemingly do not fall in with the preconceptions of the Empress Dowager. One of the foremost of these ideas is the appointment of a 'abinet in lieu of the old Grand Council. This may seem merely a matter of nomenclature, but in reality it is much more. The title of Grand Councillor in one of the highest to which Chinese Officialdom can hope to attain, and as such it is con- fined, as a reward for past services, to men past the prime of life, and already falling into inactivity. The Cabinet on the other hand is meant to be composed of com. paratively young men, men who have their spurs to win, and will not be afraid, nor be deterred by old associations from adopting a progressive attitude. To prevent it from falling into the ban 1 of revolutionists it is proposed that th. head shall be a near relation of the Emperor, so that Imperial interests in the stability of the state shall not be forgotten. The new Cabinet is, indeed, intended to be a check on Emperor
Leaving the drunkard let us consider whether the craving for stimulant is as pernicious as some of the teetotal faddists would have us believe. From the earliest times, when mead was prepared by adding water to wild honey and allowing the mixture to stand for some days until fermentation had taken place, men were accu- stomed to some form of intoxicating drink. They drank not merely to quench their thirst
health point of view, people will doubtless continue to take spirits, wine, beer ог aerated water, not for the alcohol they con- tain but because of the stimulating effect which they produce. In other words, we have to distinguish very little between the teetotaler and the non-teetotaler inasmuch as an examination of the temperance drinks patrouised by the former show that in these he partakes of alcohol, and that being so the abstainer, as he calls himself, ought to be less inconsiderate to his brother. whose drink is different to his own, The writer of this special plea deals with many incidental aspects of the trade, in interesting fashion, but for these readers are referred to the book itself. His best or most telling point, we consider, is that with which he refers to the reaction likely to follow in the case of scholars who ultimately discover the exaggerations of the present temperance" teachings permitted in Board Schools.
THE CHINESE THRONE.
(Daily Press, August 20th. ) Later information makes us return to the subject of the rumours that the Empress Dowager Tsehsi intends to resign. It seems that she really has been contemplating the step for some considerable time, but always drew back when the time for putting the step in practice came, so that her present seeming determination must be accepted with many reservations. That she would like to avoid the working necessities of rulership is likely enough, but that she could be induced to take her hand off the tiller after having held it for so many years unchallenged is, ns we said the other day, in the last degree unlikely. The desire for power is probably the last that dies out in the human subject, and probably the Dowager's resignation will simply imply that, while things go on to her entire satisfaction, she will permit others to do the work, but as soon as she finds her ideas crossed in any one particular she will return, and attempt to jerk back the machine of state into its old settled groove. Meanwhile, according to private reports from people in a position to judge, the
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