A MASS MEETING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 554, 8 July 1909, Page 5

A MASS MEETING.

. e ATNEWTOWN. CELEBRATING THE "DRY" REGIME.' A , mass meeting 6f No-License tiUyocatea a P d workers was held, m' Thomas's Hall jostorday evening, \ho W- J. Williams The cTwnnan remarked, on tha pleasing' fact thot tliq meeting was a rfa-L.ieenso meeting, and was being held in a No* License district. It was possible that tho owners of the licensed houses that had been closed, and also the'peoplo omplojed in the houses, felt some - j)itter,ness, but he hoped no one would bo able to say that they wero exulting over 'these people What they weio glad, of was that temptation had been removed out q{ tho way of tho joung ncoals. At the nent poll ho hoped to soe tho ivhoje oi th,o city vote No, Ljconso. (Applause.) Motion by Mr. WrlgiU. M.p. , , Mr, R. A. Wright, M.P., moved: "That this uieeting exprossos its thankfulness at the carrying of Ko-Licensa in the Wellington South and tbo Wellington Suburbs oleotoratea, and hails, tins as marking a stride for-ward-towards the freedom of the Dominion from the liquor traffic" The speaker wept on to "give a word of praise to> those who had borne the heat and burden of the day. He was glad also that tho previous speaker had touched on the losses of th.© licensees and " their employees. '< sayr that the fight was never against men and women, but against the traffic. (Applause.) Evening to the early history of the the speaker went on to say that tlio original movement against theitrado u> the district dated back many yeare ago, \vhcn,'4n .eplta of the will of tho people, a license was transferred by a powerful organisation to ' the ' promises of tiio present Park Hotel. Tho people of Wellington South- had -never forgotten this, and oould it be wonderod-atP (Applause.)' The people had Blso>,been robbed of the results of a subsequent victory, and now, however, after further, troubles, No-License had been carried and the opposition could find no flaw in.tfoo method of oarrying it. (Applause) ' ,* Tho Rev. J , . W. Wtt 4 ' who wad received with prolonged applause, seconded ,tho motion He had as much knowledge of tbo NoJjicense districts as anyone, and he referred to his first experience of Olutha in 1871-rr-two years there converted him to tho No-License cause. Now Oltitho was tho cleanest electorate in tho Dominion. Tho speaker went on to speak of the success of rfo-Lioense at Gore and Oamaru. Tho motion, on being put to tho meeting, vat .carried unanimously amidst loud applause.

Will the Locker System Come to Novftowp? MrV'J, P. l"ike, M,P. t( said thflt, ge. f»r \b b,e wae concerned, was prqud to bo ihe, representative of a Np-Ucense dietriot. '' Hβ congratulated the people pf South Wellington on having sent a man of the standing of-Mr- "Wright to Parliament, • and, as far as tha drink was concorned, he and Mr. Wright would- pf and- shouWpr to shoulder. (Applause,) Thorfl was pne quos. tion that was exorcising his mind purticufarr ly, and this was as tq they were going ' to dp.for the young mon. in nreas,There was a, wofk tq bo performed, in this connection, and he thought that' tlie phurehca., Bhould rise to the occasion, and institute clubs which',WQiild fill the gap oroated for some by the wiping out qf tho hotels. Tho chairman/ commenting on what Mr. Luke' had suggested, thought something . should 'bo dono ■in that direction. It waa I rumoured that the other 'side was going to cater for tho young men, and intendoci introduoing the looker system In the district'. •There were legal moans of getting Ijquor into tha district, nnd already he knew pf a number of Tesidonts who never touched drink having received oiroulars from the -liquor peoplo, wbioh oiroulars notified 'that ' the dealer would bo willing to supply tho best brands o.f liquor and spiiits. fjo would also liko to remark on the fact that the district sow had a police sergeant, who \\nd hnd a considerable experience 'of No-Liconso districts, and the district could lest assured that this officer would know how to watoh strictly and see if drink was sold illegally. Tho Bov. '0. H. Colo, after 1 humorous introduction, asked how it was that when n bar was closed th,o 'lioennro of the hotol closed up.. Was this not proof that tho houses were simply dunking shops P

HthLleonse Results ,ln Figures. 1 The Hev. J. Dawson also remarked on this; phase of the question,. and proceeded to quotu figures in referonco to No-License. Hβ pointed out that thero was a majority of No-Licenso ovor continuance in tfoe Dominion r of 83,331. Oqo-seventh qf tho whplq Dominion) or 12 out of 70 ojectorates, vototf , TJo-Liconse. In, 60 out of 7(1 "electorates tjiero was a bare majqritv for No-Llcenso, 1 Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin having raaionties of ovui 2000 each, and Christchurch over 400, In 18P3 thero ivero 686,128 people (excluding Maoris), and thero ivere then 1719 licenses, or ono for eyory 341 people. Now, in, 1009, tltero were 960,612 people (pxohjslvo of ~47,000 Maoris), and, from June 30, there wore 1257 licenses, viz., nne to 701 people, (Applause.) Thus, in Iβ years thpro wns n deoteaso of 462 licenses, or more tlinu 23 per cent. Compared with the population) they wero in n 50 per cent, hotter position. A total of 303 hotels hat] lone by reduction through tho m,fnoiit,y ■»o , «, nnd 154 by No-Ljocinso, by the vlirte-uftlis vote. In tho twelve years, 1893-1905, 75 licenses hail bfcn VQtcd out by No-License, and from 1905-11)03 there were a further 70. In tho twelve yeais, 1893 to 1905, 280 licenses wero voted out ,by reduction, nnd from IPOS-1903, 28 licenses went by the same process. For the twelve yoars, 1893 to 1905, hotels had been ieduced at the rate of 29 • por year, and tor tho three years, 1005-1903, at the rate of 36 per year, Tho spe»)coio(■"•«! workers to icaro no stone unturned ta"hold what they hud wnn, and, in wn- ' cliisipu, rnnu>y(d nreot)nßS fjora Mr. Wesley yi'i-niun, n"l (ntt ev "tithw Hayes. Tiii) Ilu; 'i'hni, li'eo, and the Rov, W, J. Shiior also spoke.