The Great Acceptance: The Life Story of F. N. CharringtonThorne, Guy
History
The Great Acceptance: The Life Story of F. N. Charrington
Thorne, Guy
Charrington, Fredk. N. (Frederick Nicholas), 1850-1936; Poor -- England -- London
On the subject of the Temperance question Mr. Charrington used some
illustrations of the evil effects of drink, and said, "Only recently
we have had a case of a young man who was otherwise a respectable
young fellow enough until he got intoxicated. Although the facts of
the case were scarcely known, because he was alone with his mother at
the time, it was said by the doctor afterwards that he had kicked his
mother to death. He must have kicked her for nearly an hour, and her
head was battered to a pulp, and he had kicked out all her teeth. She
was most horribly disfigured. All this was through the effect of
strong drink. He was a very affectionate son otherwise."
Just then, Mr. Carr-Gonn, in a state of great excitement, rose.
The chairman on that occasion was Lord Rosebery. It had been decided a
short time ago that the chairman was always to be addressed as "Mr.
Chairman," regardless of his title.
Mr. Carr-Gonn, being in a very excited condition, hardly knew what he
was saying. He cried, "Mr. Rosebery! No, I mean my Lord Chairman! No!
no! I mean Mr. Rosebery! My Lord Chairman, will you stop him! will you
stop him!"
Lord Rosebery rose and said, "I am sorry, Mr. Carr-Gonn, but I must
rule that Mr. Charrington is perfectly in order, and if he likes to
illustrate the subject, he is at liberty to do so. I cannot interfere.
Please proceed with your speech, Mr. Charrington."
At this, Mr. Charrington went on to tell another story of a poor Irish
couple who lived in a very dark little alley in the East End of
London. They were a respectable and loving couple. The husband,
however, would generally get drunk on Saturday nights. One Saturday
night he came home drunk as usual, but his wife had made a point of
never nagging him, and always spoke kindly to him when he was like
that. She got him to rest on the bed on this particular occasion,
saying, "Lie down for a little and sleep. You will be better when you
wake up."
When he woke up, she said kindly to him, "Oh, Tim, Tim, do give up the
drink; it will be better for us all." His only reply was to pick up a
bar of iron that was lying on the fender, and did duty for a poker,
and with one blow smash in her skull. She never spoke again. He had
killed her on the spot. And when Mr. Charrington heard of this, he
said, "Well, he stopped her voice, but so long as I have got breath in
my body, she being dead, shall go on speaking through me--I will
repeat her words: 'Give up the drink; it will be better for us all.'
It will be better for the nation, it will be better for the families,
it will be better for us all to give up this cursed, damning drink."
We know that all this started the temperance policy of the L.C.C.
I now come to an incident in Frederick Charrington's splendid work
for Temperance which shows, as clearly as anything can show, the
enormous stir that his determined opposition to the liquor traffic
made in London at the time of which I speak.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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