Excerpt from The Case for Total Abstinence About two years ago the Committee of the National Temperance League received from the Executors of the late Joseph Sanders, of London and Bath, a retired wine merchant, a legacy of 225 (less legacy duty) to be employed in offering premiums for the three best essays "in advocacy of the principles of total abstinence." The date fixed for the reception of MSS. was 1st January 1888, and at that time twenty-seven essays had been received. The task of adjudicating upon their merits was undertaken by three vice-presidents of the League - Sir Nathaniel Barnaby, K.C.B., the Hon. and Rev. Canon Leigh, M.A., and Dr. Benjamin W. Richardson, F.R.S., who met on the 14th November 1888, and awarded the first prize ( 90) to Mr. W. J. Lacey, Chesham, Bucks; the second prize ( 67, 10s.) to the Rev. E. R. Barrett, B.A., Liverpool; and the third prize ( 45) to the Rev. James Smith, M.A., Tarland, Aberdeenshire. Three of the other essays - by the Rev. Samuel Couling, Mr. H. Major, B.A., B.Sc., and Mr. George R. Tweedie, F.C.S. - were "highly commended" by the adjudicators. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."