"
Today the people and the 'Trade' have come to close quarters in
their conflict; and all Temperance workers must join with dedicated
fervour in unremitting and widespread agitation, till the danger is past.
Deep and living must be the zeal and the faith that inspire our work.
The campaign of protest and of "active resistance" has started vigorously,
and it must never slacken till victory is won. Day by day the pressure
of public opinion must increase, till the impression made on Parliament
by resolutions and petitions shall be overwhelming. The struggle against
the 'Trade' and its Government backers is hard, but we must fight straight
on, for the issue is of vital importance and we should be ready to make
a determined and triumphant resistance to the Prime Minister's sinister
and unashamed attempt to sell our immemorial rights to England's
most dangerous foe, that gigantic Drink Trade, which lives and thrives
on the sorrow and degradation of our people.
The worth of our temperance party as a fighting force is once more
being tested, and I trust that we shall not be found unworthy servants
of the great cause which is in our keeping. It rests with the Temperance
stalwarts, leading the conscience of the nation, to win the day. They
fought and they won the same battle in 1888, and again in 1890, and the
achievement of those years can assuredly be repeated today, if we rightly
grip the principles that underlie our old Temperance beliefs, holding fast
to them without wavering or losing heart, and if we work ever zealously,
glowing with the cheerful faith which belongs to those who know that
Right will win in the long run, if only reformers are patiently steadfast
in their task, even when the ultimate goal is not yet in sight.
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