Scottish Permissive Bill and Temperance Association was a British citizen organisation entirely outside of political parties. It was established in Glasgow, [1] October 1, 1858. Its membership included persons of all types of political opinion. [2] The "Father" of the Scottish Permissive Bill itself was Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet, of Brayton. [3]
It was formed to assist in procuring the entire suppression of the Liquor Traffic by the power of the national will, and through the form of a legislative enactment. Up to that time the temperance movement in Scotland had been conducted largely on moral suasion lines, but the founders of this Association, while fully recognising the principle of Total Abstinence carried out into consistent practice, as the only certain remedy for intemperance, were convinced by long and painful experience that it was next to impossible to secure anything like a general reception of and fidelity to its principles while the licensed temptations of the Drink Traffic existed, and that its suppression was only possible through the united efforts of moral reformers, whether abstainers or not. They resolved, therefore, to endeavour to unite the power and influence of the Scottish abstainers with that of all who saw the necessity for the suppression of the Liquor Traffic in the best interests of the Commonwealth. [2]
The Scottish Permissive Bill and Temperance Association worked in full harmony with the United Kingdom Alliance, especially in promoting the Permissive Bill of Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Bart., M. P. It was for a number of years cooperated with Peter McLagan, Esq., M.P., who introduced into the House of Commons the Local Veto (Scotland) Bill, which provided that the ratepayers, in any area or district, may, by their direct votes, suppress all licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors in such area or district, should they desire to do so. This Bill was brought forward session after session by Mr. McLagant. Its principle was adopted in the separate Veto Bills for England, Wales, and Ireland. [2]
The Association carried on the agitation by means of public meetings, lectures, conferences, the promotion of electoral organisation, letters to the public press, the interviewing of all candidates for Parliamentary honours, and the distribution of literature. The Social Reformer, a monthly journal, was started in 1866 and carried on until 1885, when it was merged in the Reformer, a weekly newspaper of eight pages, which circulated as The Scottish Reformer all over Scotland. [2]
The Association had six agents, resident in various Districts of the Country, and four general and financial agents. It also employed several occasional agents, besides receiving valuable help from many volunteer advocates. The income of the Association during the first year of its existence was £202.0.5; for the year ending September 30, 1892, the amount was £4353.9.3. The list of subscribers in 1859 numbered 207, while in 1892, it was 7,857. [2]
The first President and chairman of Executive was James Torrens, Esq., J.P., Glasgow, who occupied the latter position. until his death in 1884. The President in 1893 was John Wilson, Esq., M.P., and the chairman of Executive James L. Selkirk, Esq., J.P., one of the founders of the Association. [2] Mary Cranston Mason was a foundation member of the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Association, and after serving in different capacities, was president of that Auxiliary from 1903. [4]
While the Association gave its best help to every measure brought forward in the interests of true Temperance, it never swerved from its belief in the inherent evil of the Drink Traffic. [2]
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emphasize alcohol's negative effects on people's health, personalities and family lives. Typically the movement promotes alcohol education and it also demands the passage of new laws against the sale of alcohol, either regulations on the availability of alcohol, or the complete prohibition of it.
Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet was an English temperance campaigner and radical, anti-imperialist Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1859 and 1906. He was recognised as the leading humourist in the House of Commons.
The World League Against Alcoholism (WLAA) was organized by the Anti-Saloon League, whose goal became establishing prohibition not only in the United States but throughout the entire world.
The American Temperance Society (ATS), also known as the American Society for the Promotion of Temperance, was a society established on February 13, 1826, in Boston, Massachusetts. Within five years there were 2,220 local chapters in the U.S. with 170,000 members who had taken a pledge to abstain from drinking distilled beverages, though not including wine and beer; it permitted the medicinal use of alcohol as well. Within ten years, there were over 8,000 local groups and more than 1,250,000 members who had taken the pledge.
Martha McClellan Brown was an American lecturer, educator, reformer, newspaper editor, and major leader in the temperance movement in Ohio.
The United Kingdom Alliance (UKA) was a temperance movement in the United Kingdom founded in 1853 in Manchester to work for the prohibition of the trade in alcohol in the United Kingdom. This occurred in a context of support for the type of law passed by General Neal Dow in Maine, United States, in 1851, prohibiting the sale of intoxicants.
The White Ribbon Association (WRA), previously known as the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA), is an organization that seeks to educate the public about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as gambling.
The temperance movement in the United Kingdom was a social movement that campaigned against the recreational use and sale of alcohol, and promoted total abstinence (teetotalism). In the 19th century, high levels of alcohol consumption and drunkenness were seen by social reformers as a danger to society's wellbeing, leading to social issues such as poverty, child neglect, immorality and economic decline. Temperance societies began to be formed in the 1830s to campaign against alcohol. Specific groups were created over periods of time dedicated to the different aspects of drinking. For example, in 1847, the Band of Hope was created to persuade children not to start drinking alcohol. Most of these temperance groups were aimed at the working class. Temperance was also supported by some religious groups, particularly the Nonconformist Churches. Although the temperance movement met with local success in parts of Britain, it failed to impose national prohibition, and disappeared as a significant force following the Second World War.
The Dominion Alliance for the Total Suppression of the Liquor Traffic was an organization established in 1877 in Canada that lobbied for prohibition of alcohol. Membership was largely Protestant and Anglophone. The Dominion Alliance faced passive resistance from politicians concerned about the views of their constituents, particularly in Quebec, but had some success at the local level. Sale of alcohol was prohibited provincially and then nationally during World War I (1914–18). After the war the national and provincial temperance laws were repealed and the Dominion Alliance faded into irrelevance.
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is simply said to be teetotal. Globally, almost half of adults do not drink alcohol. A number of temperance organisations have been founded in order to promote teetotalism and provide spaces for non-drinkers to socialise.
Margaret Eleanor Parker (1827–1896) was a British social activist, social reformer, and travel writer who was involved in the temperance movement. She was a founding member of the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA) in 1876, and served as its first president. Born in England, Parker resided in Scotland. She was a delegate to the 1876 International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT) meeting which led to the formation of the BWTA. She was also instrumental in founding the World Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WWCTU). In 1881, she founded another type of women's association, one which focused on horticulture and supply, but it did not flourish. Parker described her travels in the Eastern United States in Six Happy Months amongst the Americans (1874).
Nannie Webb Curtis was an American lecturer and temperance activist, widely-known as a clubwoman. She wrote essays on the topic and edited a magazine. She served as National vice-president of Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), sat on the National Executive Committee, and was also on the Official Board of the National WCTU, the lawmaking body of organization. Her father having been a Methoidist minister, she made her living lecturing as a pulpit orator on the topics of prohibition and woman suffrage on behalf of the National WCTU, Chautauqua, and the lyceum circuits. Frequently characterized as being "bigger than her state", Curtis was a patriot and a speaker of national fame.
Eva Maria Brown was an American social reformer in the temperance movement. She was the only woman in New England in her day who was registered as legislative agent and counsel, entitling her to conduct hearings before the various Massachusetts government committees and of cross-examining witnesses. Brown was the author of Laws of Massachusetts relating to intoxicating liquors (1905), which was accepted as a standard in legal cases and passed through eleven editions.
Margaret Catherine Blaikie was a Scottish temperance reformer. She became the long-standing president of the Scottish Christian Union and was involved with the Women's Foreign Missionary Society.
Christina Marshall Colville was a Scottish temperance leader. She served as president of the British Women’s Temperance Association (BWTA).
Peter Turner Winskill was an English temperance reformer and historian.
Sarah Galt Elwood McKee (1842–1934) was a Canadian social reformer and temperance leader. For many years, she worked actively in several fields of philanthropic work. McKee served as president of the Ontario Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
Ann Watt Milne was a Scotch temperance leader who served as president of the British Women's Temperance Association (BWTA).
Mary Cranston Mason (1846–1932) was a Scottish social reformer and temperance leader who served as President of the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Scottish Permissive Bill and Temperance Association. She was a prominent member of the Glasgow school board and also managed Cranston's Waverley Temperance Hotel in Glasgow.
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