272 LAND AND LABOR. 



hausting toil of their long hours of labor to the 

 saloons and drink as the only accessible relief from 

 the monotonous slavery of their lives. Ten to twelve, 

 and even eighteen hours of work a day in shop, fac- 

 tory, or field, for six months in the year, drives the 

 laborer out of bed whilst it is yet dark, to a hasty 

 breakfast, then to toil till it is again dark, and into 

 another night before the supper can be taken. In 

 the morning the father leaves his children still in bed, 

 and at night, when he gets home, they are again, or 

 should be, in bed. He does not see enough of his 

 family by daylight to become really acquainted with 

 its members. In the long days of summer the laborer 

 has greater opportunities to see his children. The 

 wife is as much a slave as the husband and father. 

 The dwelling is a home of poverty and destitution, 

 without a single comfort or attraction of any kind. 

 The only wonder is that saloons do not multiply more 

 rapidly, and that intemperance is not more prevalent. 

 At a great temperance gathering at Liverpool recent- 

 ly, Cardinal Manning spoke of wretched homes being 

 the greatest temptation to drink. He went to the 

 very heart of the whole matter. Out of the two con- 

 ditions of idleness on the one hand and excessive toil 

 on the other have grown the great evils of poverty and 

 intemperance with which we are now cursed. There 

 can be no hope of improvement till the causes which 

 produced these evils have been removed. The moral 

 condition and family relations of the workingman can 

 not be improved so long as he is a slave to toil for the 

 full time that he is out of bed. He must have time 

 for rest and improvement, as well as means to make 



