We are sorry to have hurt the feelings of Mr. Mason, and other temperance enthusiasts by the headline on the telegram reporting how the American Anti-Saloon League is setting out on a world campaign. But we are bound to say that that headline was written advisedly. We yield to none in desire for temperance, in the sense of abstention from excessive drinking, or in abhorrence of the results of excess. But we are not going to pretend that we think wine, spirits and beer per se to be bad things, or the use of them. Still less do we wish to be thought to sympathize with the efforts of people like the Anti-Saloon League, because we believe that in the long run they do more harm than good. It is an old and perfectly true saying that men cannot be made good by Act of Parliament. Control of liquor there can be up to a point as we saw during the war. But to say that no one in the country shall make or sell or buy or drink alcoholic beverages, is' an unwarrantable in dividuals and what is more to the purpose is bound to lead to trouble—
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.