38 THE TOBACCO NUISANCE. 



helpful to iiioruls and religion. IJcnovolcnt outeipriscs and 

 institutions rofiuire su])port. The ])()or have claims that cannot 

 be ignored. TIio l>il)l(^ Society appeals for aid, and bases that 

 appeal on the purity of its principles and the success of its 

 ollorts. The Church makes her demand in the name of her 

 ]M aster, and shows how great is the need for increased liberality. 

 Her buildings are in debt, h(;r agents poorly }»aid, her ability 

 to bless, l)efriend, and save the erring and the lost is lessened 

 for ^^ant of funds, and nudtitudes will doubtless b(! lost for ever 

 b(;cause the means of sending them the Closi)el are not availa- 

 ble. And if all this be true, or even only a tithe of it, then I 

 would not dare to take that of which 1 am only the stewai'd 

 and spend it for that wliich, as far as I know, will do ine no 

 good either in mind, body or estate. 



The world's annual Tobacco bill amounts to at least one 

 dollar each for I'very man, wonian and child on the face of the 

 earth. This would build sixteen I'ailroads from St. John to 

 Jb-itish Columbia, iit 820,000 ]hm- mile. With it 100,000 

 churches couhl In; erected, each costing -^^10,000 or employ 

 500,000 ministers at Jir 1,000 each i)cr year, and pay ijrGOO each 

 for the education of a million and a half of young men. There 

 Avas imported into St. John for the fiscal year 1885-G eighty- 

 two tons of tobacco, costing some $135,000. liy the time it 

 reached the consumer it is safe to say that $200,000 would not 

 be too high an estimate, and for which said consiuners have 

 nothing to show in return. This is about $25 for every family 

 in St. John and Portland, an amount which if imposed upon 

 us by our rulers would lead to their l)eing hurled from power, 

 and buried so deeply beneath the votes of the indignant i)ublic 

 as to render a resurrection impossible. Were this money 

 re(iuired for such a pur}»osc it would allow for every (dglitli 

 family of our })0{)ulation six chaldrons of coal, six barrels of 

 ilour, twenty pounds of tea, a daily })aper, a monthly magazine, 

 and a snug little sum for extras. 



Again, we ought to make some provision for old age or 

 unforseen circumstances, so as not to be dej)endent upon others 



