THE HAND OF GOD IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TEMPERANCE SOCIETY IN
BEAUPORT AND VICINITY.
“My thoughts are not your thoughts,” saith the Lord. And, we may add,
His works are not like the works of man. This great truth has never been
better exemplified than in the marvellous rapidity with which the great
temperance reformation grew in Canada, in spite of the most formidable
obstacles. To praise any man for such work seems to me a kind of
blasphemy, when it is so visibly the work of the Lord.
I had hardly finished reading the letter of Ireland’s Apostle of
Temperance, when I fell on my knees and said: “Thou knowest, O my God,
that I am nothing but a sinner. There is no light, no strength, in thy
poor, unprofitable servant. Therefore come down into my heart and soul,
to direct me in that temperance reform which thou hast put into my mind
to establish. Without thee, I can do nothing, but with thee, I can do
all things.”
This was on Saturday night, March 20th, 1839. The next morning was the
first Sabbath of Lent. I said to the people after the sermon: “I have
told you, many times, that I sincerely believe it is my mission from God
to put an end to the unspeakable miseries and crimes engendered every
day, here and in our whole country, by the use of intoxicating drinks.
Alcohol is the greatest enemy of your souls and your bodies. It is the
most implacable enemy of your husbands, your wives and your children. It
is the most formidable enemy of our dear country and our holy religion.
I must destroy that enemy. But I cannot fight alone. I must form an army
and raise a banner in your midst, around which all the soldiers of the
gospel will rally. Jesus Christ himself will be our general. He will
bless and sanctify us—He will lead us to victory. The next three days
will be consecrated by you and by me in preparing to raise that army.
Let all those who wish to fill its ranks, come and pass these three days
with me in prayer and meditation at the feet of our sacred altars. Let
even those who do not want to be soldiers of Christ, or to fight the
great and glorious battles which are to be fought, come, through
curiosity, to see a most marvellous spectacle. I invite every one of
you, in the name of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, whom alcohol nails anew
to the cross every day. I invite you in the name of the holy Virgin
Mary, and of all the saints and angels of God, who are weeping in heaven
for the crimes committed every day by the use of intoxicating drinks. I
invite you in the names of the wives, whom I see here in your midst,
weeping because they have drunkard husbands. I invite you to come in the
names of the fathers whose hearts are broken by drunkard children. I
invite you to come in the name of so many children who are starving,
naked and made desolate by their drunkard parents. I invite you to come
in the name of your immortal souls, which are to be eternally damned if
the giant destroyer, Alcohol, be not driven from our midst.”
The next morning, at eight o’clock, my church was crammed by the people.
My first address was at half-past eight o’clock, the second at 10.30 A.
M., the third at 2 P. M., and the fourth at five. The intervals between
the addresses were filled by beautiful hymns selected for the occasion.
Many times during my discourse, the sobs and the cries of the people
were such that I had to stop speaking, to mix my sobs and my tears with
those of my people. The first day seventy-five men, from among the most
desperate drunkards, enrolled themselves under the banner of Temperance.
The second day I gave again four addresses, the effects of which were
still more blessed in their result. Two hundred of my dear parishioners
were enrolled in the grand army which was to fight against their
implacable enemy.
But it would require the hand of an angel to write the history of the
third day, at the end of which, in the midst of tears, sobs, and cries
of joy, three hundred more of that noble people swore, in the presence
of their God, never to touch, taste, nor handle the cursed drinks with
which Satan inundates the earth with desolation, and fills hell with
eternal cries of despair.
During these three days, more than two-thirds of my people had publicly
taken the pledge of temperance, and had solemnly said, in the presence
of God, at the feet of their altars, “For the love of Jesus Christ, and
by the grace of God, I promise that I will never take any intoxicating
drink, except as a medicine. I also pledge myself to do all in my power,
by my words and example, to persuade others to make the same sacrifice.”
The majority of my people, among whom we counted the most degraded
drunkards, were changed and reformed, not by me surely, but by the
visible, direct work of the great and merciful God, who alone can change
the heart of man.
As a great number of people from the surrounding parishes, and even from
Quebec, had come to hear me the third day, through curiosity, the news
of that marvellous work spread very quickly throughout the whole
country. The press, both French and English, were unanimous in their
praises and felicitations. But when the Protestants of Quebec were
blessing God for that reform, the French Canadians, at the example of
their priests, denounced me as a fool and heretic.
The second day of our revival, I had sent messages to four of the
neighboring curates, respectfully requesting them to come and see what
the Lord was doing, and help me to bless Him. But they refused. They
answered my note with their contemptuous silence. One only, the Rev. Mr.
Roy, curate of Charlesbourg, deigned to write me a few words, which I
copy here:
Rev. Mr. Chiniquy, Curate of Beauport.
My dear Confrere:—Please forgive me if I cannot forget the respect I owe
to myself, enough to go and see your fooleries.
Truly yours,
PIERRE ROY.
Charlesbourg, March 5th, 1839.
The indignation of the bishop knew no bounds. A few days after, he
ordered me to go to his palace, and give an account of what he called my
“strange conduct.”
When alone with me, he said: “Is it possible, Mr. Chiniquy, that you
have so soon forgotten my prohibition not to establish that ridiculous
temperance society in your parish? Had you compromised yourself alone by
that Protestant comedy—for it is nothing but that—I would remain silent,
in my pity for you. But you have compromised our holy religion by
introducing a society whose origin is clearly heretical. Last evening,
the venerable Grand Vicar Demars told me that you would sooner or later
become a Protestant, and that this was your first step. Do you not see
that the Protestants only praise you? Do you not blush to be praised
only by heretics? Without suspecting it, you are just entering a road
which leads to your ruin. You have publicly covered yourself with such
ridicule that I fear your usefulness is at an end, not only in Beauport,
but in all my diocese. I do not conceal it from you, my first thought,
when, an eye-witness told me yesterday what you had done, was to
interdict you. I have been prevented from taking that step only by the
hope that you will undo what you have done. I hope that you yourself
will dissolve that Anti-Catholic association, and promise to put an end
to these novelties, which have too strong a smell of heresy to be
tolerated by your bishop.”
I answered: “My lord, your lordship has not forgotten that it was
absolutely against my own will that I was appointed curate of Beauport;
and God knows that you have only to say a word, and without a murmur, I
will give you my resignation, that you may put a better priest at the
head of that people, which I consider, and which is really, to-day, the
noblest and the most sober people of Canada. But I will put a condition
to the resignation of my position. It is, that I will be allowed to
publish before the world, that the Rev. Mr. Begin, my predecessor, has
never been troubled by his bishop for having allowed his people, during
twenty-three years, to swim in the mire of drunkenness; and that I have
been disgraced by my bishop, and turned out from that same parish, for
having been the instrument, by the mercy of God, in making them the most
sober people of Canada.”
The poor bishop felt at once that he could not stand on the ground he
had taken with me. He was a few minutes without knowing what to say. He
saw also that his threats had no influence over me, and that I was not
ready to undo what I had done.
After a painful silence of a minute or two, he said:
“Do you not see that the solemn promises you have extorted from those
poor drunkards are rash and unwise; they will break them at the first
opportunity. Their future state of degradation, after such an
excitement, will be worse than the first.”
I answered: “I would partake of your fears if that change were my work;
but as it is the Lord’s work, we have nothing to fear. The works of men
are weak and of short duration, but the works of God are solid and
permanent.
“About the prophecy of the venerable Mr. Demars, that I have taken my
first step towards Protestantism, by turning a drunken into a sober
people, I have only to say that if that prophecy be true, it would show
that Protestantism is more apt than our holy religion to work for the
glory of God and the good of the people. I hope that your lordship is
not ready to accept that conclusion, and that you will not then trouble
yourself with the premises. The venerable Grand Vicar, with many other
priests, would do better to come and see what the Lord is doing in
Beauport, than to slander me and turn false prophets against its curate
and people. My only answer to the remarks of your lordship, that the
Protestants alone praise me, when the Roman Catholic priests and people
condemn me, proves only one thing, viz.: that Protestants, on this
question, understand the Word of God and have more respect for it than
we Roman Catholics. It would prove also that they understand the
interests of humanity better than we do, and that they have more
generosity than we have, to sacrifice their selfish propensities to the
good of all. I take the liberty of saying to your lordship, that in
this, as in many other things, it is high time that we should open our
eyes to our false position. Instead of remaining at the lowest step of
the ladder of one of the most Christian virtues, temperance, we must
raise ourselves to the top, where Protestants are reaping so many
precious fruits. Besides, would your lordship be kind enough to tell me
why I am denounced and abused here, and by my fellow-priests and my
bishop, for forming a temperance society in my parish, when Father
Mathew, who wrote to me lately to encourage and direct me in that work,
is publicly praised by his bishops and blessed by the Pope for covering
Ireland with temperance societies?
“Is your lordship ready to prove to me that Samson was a heretic in the
camp of Israel, when he fulfilled the promise made by his parents, that
he would never drink any wine or beer; and John, the Baptist, was he not
a heretic and a Protestant as I am, when, to obey the voice of God, he
did what I do to-day, with my dear people of Beauport?”
At that very moment the sub-secretary entered to tell the bishop that a
gentleman wanted to see him immediately on pressing business, and the
bishop abruptly dismissed me, to my great comfort; and my impression was
that he was as glad to get rid of me as I was to get rid of him.
With the exception of the secretary, Mr. Cazeault, all the priests I met
that day and the next month, either gave me the cold shoulder or
overwhelmed me with their sarcasms. One of them who had friends in
Beauport, was bold enough to try to go through the whole parish to turn
me into ridicule by saying that I was half crazy, and the best thing the
people could do was to drink moderately to my health when they went to
town.
But at the third house, he met a woman, who, after listening to the bad
advice he was giving to her husband, said to him: “I do not know if our
pastor is a fool in making people sober, but I know you are a messenger
of the devil, when you advise my husband to drink again. You know that
he was one of the most desperate drunkards of Beauport. You personally
know also what blows I have received from him when he was drunk; how
poor and miserable we were; how many children had to run on the streets,
half naked, and beg in order not to starve with me! Now that my husband
has taken the pledge of temperance, we have every comfort; my dear
children are well fed and clothed, and I find myself as in a little
paradise. If you do not go out of this immediately, I will turn you out
with my broomstick.”
And she would have fulfilled her promise, had not the priest had the
good sense to disappear at the double-quick.
The next four months after the foundation of the society in Beauport, my
position when with the other priests was very painful and humiliating. I
consequently avoided their company as much as possible. And as for my
bishop, I took the resolution never to go and see him, except he should
order me into his presence. But my merciful God indemnified me by the
unspeakable joy I had in seeing the marvellous change wrought by Him
among my dear people. Their fidelity in keeping the pledge was really
wonderful, and soon became the object of the admiration of the whole
city of Quebec and of the surrounding country. The change was so sudden,
so complete and so permanent, that the scoffing bishops and priests,
with their friends, had, at last, to blush and be silent.
The public aspect of the parish was soon changed, the houses were
repaired, the debts paid, the children well clad. But what spoke most
eloquently about the marvellous reform, was that the seven thriving
saloons of Beauport were soon closed, and their owners forced to take to
other occupations. Peace, happiness, abundance and industry, everywhere
took the place of the riots, fighting, blasphemies and the squalid
misery which prevailed before. The gratitude and respect of that noble
people for their young curate knew no bounds; as my love and admiration
for them cannot be told by human words.
However, though the great majority of that good people had taken the
pledge, and kept it honorably, there was a small minority, composed of
the few who never had been drunkards, who had not yet enrolled
themselves under our blessed banners. Though they were glad of the
reform, it was very difficult to persuade them to give up their social
glass! I thought it was my duty to show them in a tangible way, what I
had so often proved with my words only, that the drinking of the social
glass of wine, or of beer, is an act of folly, if not a crime. I asked
my kind and learned Doctor Douglas to analyze, before the people, the
very wine and beer used by them, to show that it was nothing else but a
disgusting and deadly poison. He granted my favor. During four days that
noble philanthropist extracted the alcohol, which is not only in the
most common, but in the most costly and renowned wines, beer, brandy and
whiskey. He gave that alcohol to several cats and dogs, which died in a
few minutes in the presence of the whole people.
These learned and most interesting experiments, coupled with his
eloquent and scientific remarks, made a most profound impression. It was
the corner-stone of the holy edifice which our merciful God built with
his own hands in Beauport. The few recalcitrants joined with the rest of
their dear friends to show to our dear Canada that the temperance
societies are nothing else than drops of living water which comes from
the fountains of eternal life, to reform and save the world.