University of Virginia Library

Chapter XXXIV.

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:

My dear Confrere:—Please forgive me if I cannot forget the respect I
owe to myself, enough to go and see your fooleries.

The indignation of the bishop knew no bounds. A few day,
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 prohibltion 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 disapper 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.