1896: Scientific Temperance Instruction
May 2, 2024
By AHNZ
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WTCU) was very organised. In 1885 many branches sprang up around New Zealand due to an American missionary, Mary Leavitt. Women now took over leadership of the cause of banning recreational alcohol consumption which by genius semantic framing they called Temperance. Another example of clever semantic framing in the 2020s is “Truth Telling” which is what Australian Progressives call their own opinions. Or, Labour 6.0’s “Electoral Integrity” Act (2018) and “Fair Pay” Act (2022.) Our First Wave Feminists understood this gimmick very well too, calling their child propaganda arm Scientific Temperance Instruction.
Annie Schnackenberg (1835-1905) (image, left) had the title of Superintendent of that subcommittee. She had come to New Zealand in her mid-20s and immediately set out as a White Savior to the Waikato Maoris at the Wesleyan Mission mission of Rev. Cort Henry Schnackenberg. She soon replaced the older man’s wife as the new Mrs Schnackenberg and upon becoming his widow turned to politics in Auckland. Her social causes were protecting prostitutes and opposition to smoking, tattoos, tobacco, and, especially, drinking. Ref. Wiki
The early WTCU had a great many Social Justice and philanthropic activities. Their idea of being Christian (hence the C in WCTU) was outreach to assist those in need “including recently released prisoners. They established seafarers’ rests, creches, hostels, and promoted various ways of improving health, including dress reform.” Ref. White Ribbon magazine, Papers Past
During the leadership of Schnackenberg the WTCU experienced mission creep. Instead of being the change they wanted to see in the world they decided to use State power to force these changes on the unwilling. Victimhood Culture always starts off as benevolent and well intentioned but as per Conquest’s Law: Any organization not explicitly right-wing sooner or later becomes left-wing. The WTCU didn’t have far along the political spectrum to shift.
“Initially this is a wonderful arrangement and the Victimhood Culture emerges to identify needful causes to spend the DC’s money on. For argument’s sake, VC’s benefit society by facilitating things like old folks homes, returned soldiers clubs, orphan’s homes, charities for cripples, single mothers, battered women.” – Dignity Culture becomes Victimhood Culture, AHNZ
“Schnackenberg took strong moral positions in the defence of women. She advocated that temperance become a part of the school curriculum. She was unsuccessful in this, but the Department of Education did order temperance textbooks, making the teaching of temperance in schools possible. She campaigned for the age of consent to be raised to 21…She also opposed smoking tobacco and tattoos.” – Wiki
“In Auckland and Christchurch efforts have again been made to obtain a resolution from the Boards of Education that this be a pass subject in all our State schools, so that teachers may give instruction and inspectors examine, but so far we have no result. The reply of the Auckland Board to a deputation was that the Board did not think it advisable that the reading of, or examination in, any lessons on Temperance shoud be made compulsory…I would urge all our Unions to appoint a Superintendent for this department, so that all may unite in a vigorous effort to have scientific temperance instruction given in all our schools as a pass subject.” – A. J. SCHNACKENBERG, Superintendent. White Ribbon (1895,) Papers Past
Superintendent Schnackenberg represented the WTCU in the short-lived National Council of Women (image, above right) in 1896. Having achieved votes for women in general elections in 1893 they had peaked having run out of conceivable social injustice to champion. A few hangers on remained for a phase of violent terrorism but otherwise the era was over and this Council was not to meet again for 12 years. Ref. 1914: Frances Parker Arrested, AHNZ
As New Zealand had a State system of centralised compulsory education as of 1877 the minds of the young were in play. Whenever we politicise something by getting Government involved it shifts that cause into a political football. So, ever since compulsory education came along there has been a political fight over what to force children to have to learn. Schnackenberg and her women demanded that Education Boards insert Scientific Temperance Instruction into the curriculum and make it an examinable component children would need to pass and graduate from. In this they failed but did, in Auckland, achieve the concession of having schools buy their Scientific Temperance textbooks.
Forced ideas certainly demonstrate a moral weakness in the promoters of those ideas. If your argument is strong and attractive to interested minds there is no need for compulsory propaganda. Labour Movement history and Aotearoa History are also examples of attempts to substitute reason for force by capturing government money and power to inset minority ideas into the culture.
What had happened to the initially philanthropic Feminism 1.0? Basically, the idea became irresistible that women would have more ability to change society if they were able to vote. Rather than change society from the inside by being part of society they would resort to capturing temporal power while under the impression that they, and the women of New Zealand, would use it for good. Peace, Purity, and Prohibition was the literal mantra of their self-identity.
The conceit was that what was wrong with the world was that power had not been in the hands of the incorruptible female. What was best for women (“Soroptimist”) was supposedly best for the world.
As soon as this power to tax and compel passed to women horrible things started to happen. For example, ‘King’ Seddon’s Liberal Ministry became incredibly powerful Socialist and paternalistically controlling ruling party (Ref. 1901: Nationalised Nurses) for 20 years. The Second Boer War set Kiwis off in a campaign of genocide against South Africans which women enthusiastically supported (Ref.1900: The Khaki Girls) and participated in (Ref. 1902: The Learned Eleventh.) Society Women Feminists (they always are) also patronised and promoted Truby King who became Director of Child Welfare in the Department of Health. His eugenics program bent Kiwi kids out of shape for generations to come. Ref. 1907: Plunket, AHNZ. As if to dispel all doubt that the world had not been made a better place, women with full suffrage then led us into the Great Wrong War. Ref. 1915: Fiasco at Gallipoli, AHNZ
Schnackenberg died on 2 May so didn’t live to see the fruits of what she had helped unleash.
As Anarchist author John Tolkien tried to tell us in The Lord of The Rings (1954) the power of The State to ‘rule them all’ corrupts everyone no matter how good they’re convinced they are. Queen Galadriel passed this test by refusing the power: ” In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!” The film is very popular but nobody quite seems to understand that the only thing to do with State power is to never use it but to throw it back into the fire from whence it came or be destroyed.
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Image ref. Annie Schnackenberg, Wikipedia
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