The Rise of the Temperance Movement - John Wesley

Hello and Greetings,

I am John Wesley.  If you'd like to know a little bit more about my life on earth, take a look at my Wikipedia entry locate here.  Today I want to talk to you about my views on alcohol and temperance.

In my sermon talking about "the right use of money" (Sermon 50) I make reference to those who make money by selling alcohol:

Neither may we gain (money) by hurting our neighbour in his body. Therefore we may not sell anything which tends to impair health. Such is, eminently, all that liquid fire, commonly called drams or spirituous liquors. 

It is true, these may have a place in medicine; they may be of use in some bodily disorders; although there would rarely be occasion for them were it not for the unskillfulness of the practitioner. Therefore, such as prepare and sell them only for this end may keep their conscience clear. But who are they Who prepare and sell them only for this end? Do you know ten such distillers in England? Then excuse these.

But all who sell them in the common way, to any that will buy, are poisoners general. They murder His Majesty's subjects by wholesale, neither does their eye pity or spare. They drive them to hell like sheep. 

And what is their gain? Is it not the blood of these men Who then would envy their large estates and sumptuous palaces A curse is in the midst of them: The curse of God cleaves to the stones, the timber, the furniture of them. The curse of God is in their gardens, their walks, their groves; a fire that burns to the nethermost hell! Blood, blood is there: The foundation, the floor, the walls, the roof are stained with blood! And canst thou hope, O thou man of blood, though thou art "clothed in scarlet and fine linen, and farest sumptuously every day;" canst thou hope to deliver down thy fields of blood to the third generation Not so; for there is a God in heaven: Therefore, thy name shall soon be rooted out. Like as those whom thou hast destroyed, body and soul, "thy memorial shall perish with thee!"

It should be noted - I do not hate "wine" in and of itself.  Christ Himself gave us wine in order to remember Him as I've noted in my journal entries on numerous occasions:

It is not Prohibition that I seek - it is temperance and self-control in all of life's pleasures.

Although this was written long after my time on earth,  the movement I founded created a political movement and with it a whole series of songs and poems to encourage humanity to stay away from the scourge of alcohol.  Let's close off by singing one of those songs I think we can all support titled "King Alcohol".  Here are some song sheets:

NorthWest Temperance Utopia! - John N. Lake

Hello,

I am John N. Lake from Ontario, Canada.  I've lived in a number of places in my lifetime but by far the most adventurous of these will be in the NorthWest Territories!

Recently I was scouting out the beautiful land in the area of the NorthWest that we chose as the perfect site not only for colonization, but for a ferry over the great South Saskatchewan river.  It is also here that an ideal rest point for a river transport from Lethbridge to Grand Rapids will exist.  Perhaps today there is someone listening who is ready to benefit from such a venture?

Soon after finding this utopian spot, some local berries were brought to me.  As I consumed them I became inspired and declared  "Arise, Saskatoon, Queen of the North!" (Narratives of Saskatoon p 10)

 Perhaps I'm moving too quickly.  Let me tell you about the new financial opportunities that are developing in western Canada!  Here's a slide show that will tell you more about this great adventure.





Let's watch it again!

The NorthWest is becoming the new Western Ontario.  The government of Canada has backed our Temperance Colonization Society of Toronto and included in our board of governors are the most distinguished men in all of Ontario.  We have access to 2 million acres of land!  And here's the nuts and bolts of it: We're ready to sell you shares into our company at an extremely affordable $1 per acre if you sign up for a homestead today!  Those prices are next to FREE!

As a former Methodist minister and devout follower of Christ, I know there are concerns.  Some of you might be wondering exactly "what kind of people" will be coming to the NorthWest?  Well, that is entirely up to you!  Right now, the government is committed to sending good, decent Christian folk like yourself to populate the NorthWest.  You have a chance to start a new society - free from the scourge of Alcohol - with brothers and sisters that are devout servants of her majesty, Queen Victoria.  It is with her blessings and the blessings of our good Lord that we will create a new and pure society.  In order to guard against this, all shareholders must agree to the following:

And colonize we will!  Come to the NorthWest and live in the comfort of SASKATOON!  The crops are bountiful, the weather is mild, and a quaint village is growing rapidly.  And what about the railroad?  Well when the railroad comes, your investment today will double, Triple, QUADRUPLE in value!  Come sign up today, and we'll start you on a new a glorious path - to SASKATOON!

The Temperance life in Saskatoon - Archie Brown

Well Hello!  I am Archie Brown.  A number of years ago I used to homestead in the Saskatoon area of what is now called 'Saskatchewan'.  Back then, we just called it "the NorthWest Territory" as it was sparsely populated, and even had its own half-breed (the Canadians call them 'the Metis') rebellion (in reality, this so-called 'rebellion' was simply an isolated matter dealt with soundly by Middleton and his men from Ontario).

It's been a few years now since I lived in Saskatoon so I decide to write a letter to a friend of mine to share some greater detail into my experience.  If you click here, you will be able to read the whole thing yourself, but these next 4 recordings are simply my way of expressing to you what life was like for a simple person like me on the Canadian prairies.  I hope you enjoy it - I know I sure did!


Here is a story about what our food situation sometimes consisted of due to our isolation.


Things got a little "heated" during the days of Louis Riel.  We were a little concerned about the local Dakotas under Chief Whitecap, but this never amounted to much.  In truth, most of the excursion never amounted to much for any of us in Saskatoon.


While sometimes life felt fairly lonesome out on the prairie, there always seemed like there was something worthwhile to do with some good friends around to pass the time.


While the advertisements given by the Temperance Colonization Society of Toronto seemed to indicate the land was good for cereal farming, the reality was much different.  In the end my land became worthless so I packed up what I had left and headed south of Saskatoon to the Dundurn area.



I have fond memories of my time in the great NorthWest!  There are a number of other stories I haven't shared here such as some of the encounters we had with the Indians (there is one story about an old Indian skull that still amuses me to this day!).  I hope you've enjoyed this little walk through my social life (limited as it was) in Saskatoon and if you ever come down my way, be sure to look me up!

The Temperance dream ends before it really begins

Saskatoon was never the 'grand dream' it was sold to be by the Temperance Colonization Society of Toronto.  'Saskatoon' was supposed to be a way to make a great deal of money in a short about of time.  The ideal of 'Temperance' was used to fuel this economic endeavour, but the founders of Saskatoon faced obstacles from the very beginning.

The first obstacle came from the government of Canada.  While the government agreed to allow the TCS to apply for land in the NorthWest, the actual amount they were given was a mere 10% of what they applied for.  They were assured that they would receive more as colonists "bought in", but this simply did not happen.

Combined with this, the government already had a colonization policy set aside that created further restrictions.  Click Here for a comprehensive list.  The following is a Land Map of the early settlements in the area:

The following map simply highlights some of the "special considerations" the TCS had to face as they sought to settle the area.  Notice how all of the EVEN numbered sections of land are experiencing settlement while the ODD numbered sections are generally empty - with the exception of the village of Saskatoon.

There was also some controversy in regards to Section 29.  As noted, every Section 29 was designated for schools.  However after John N. Lake consulted with local Dakota Chief Whitecap it was determined that the optimum place to run a ferry crossing was on the SE quarter of Section 29.  An agreement was made in regards to the school with the government and Saskatoon was established at this fortuitous crossing point.

Dakota Chief Whitecap and John N. Lake

In 1890 the rail road came through.  The railroad had a "right of way" on every EVEN sectioned piece of land, but in order to take advantage of the natural slope heading down to the river, the railroad jutted through Section 29 and came out on the otherside of the river on Section 28.  Because it was easier for the steam engines to fill with water on the side of the river opposite to the settlement, a railroad station was built outside of the Temperance Colony (and its jurisdiction).

The social impact on the residents of Saskatoon on this railroad station decision was profound.  First of all the name of 'Saskatoon' was stolen by the railroad.  The railroad station took the name for itself and the original settlement had to change its name to 'Nutana' as a result.  It also did not take long before Saskatoon's first bar was built on the railroad controlled side of the river (although it was quickly shut down - but new bars would soon show up).  The ideal land location that John N. Lake had claimed for Saskatoon had at the same time guaranteed its future success and also helped to condemn its Temperance values to failure.

During the 1880's various troubles also came to the colony that soon led to its demise.  While the Temperance colony survived drought and war, it could not survive as the Temperance Colonization Society of Toronto.  From the very beginning the financial success of the colony was tied to land speculation.  In most cases investors bought land having no intention of actually moving to Saskatoon.  Instead they hoped to cash in on the inevitable flood of migrants looking for land out west.  The problem with this was the price the TCS had to pay for their land.  The TCS was only granted ODD numbered sections for settlement and charged their customers $1 per acre (at the minimum) to buy land (They were 'assured' that they would be able to invoke their Temperance values on all of the residents -but this never came to pass).  The EVEN numbered sections, although administered by the TCS were sold at $10 per 160 acres (or $1 per 16 acres).  This made the economics very difficult for the TCS as they waited for the 'cheap land' to sell and also produced a "Checker Board look" on the landscape.  Not long after, law suits were launched.

This was found in the Interim Report of the TCS 1885

The TCS eventually removed John N. Lake as commissioner.  After various court cases between TCS shareholders, an eventual settlement was made between shareholders and the Government of Canada in regards to bankruptcy.  The remaining shareholders received 100,000 acres of land and the government contract with TCS was cancelled in 1891.  This was the end of the Saskatoon Temperance Colony.