CONFERENCE ECHOES

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2010, 18 March 1914, Page 2

CONFERENCE ECHOES

SOME TEMPERANCE SPEAKERS,

By the passing through Wellington this* week of som« of the speakers at the New Zealaiid Women's Christian Tempei'aaco Union Cenvl'sitiom held rccontly at-tiisborne an 'opportuntty was afforded those interested in 'temperance work of hearing something mow oi' tho question. Tho spxwkors of tho evening wei-e. Mrs. Dan, National President"; Miss Atkinson, Prcsideiit -of the Nelson District. I'li'Oti; and Miss 'Roberts, of Cliristcliurcli( all of whom are on tlwiir ■ way to their respective homes. Mrs. Evans, M.A., presided. Miss Atkinson, who was tho first called, said that one criticism that had been levelled fit tIwW.CT.U: was that ' i| was so one-sided. If there were any rnirtake at all, it lay in tho fact that they were so many sided. There were thirty-sis tEojiartujents, each with its separate work, and although there were i Workers with nwre time and strength to derate-to tho caiise tJifth others," if did not free those with loss of cither' from doing their share towards it. In alittle while they would be face to face with tlw greatest Ojppo.rtw.ii.ity the.y i»d yet had for abolishing tho liquor tfi.itfie, and caeh had to' rcmembor that her vote might bs ths_o:ne to win the figiit. . Among the findings of a recent Pailla- ' n:entary Ceaimittoe sittiijg jn England K.pon the traffic it wm stated thai ■ the loss to labour amounted to fifty jnilI tion- jidiinds iinnuail.v. In Wellington ttio Socioty far thft .Protection of \V<*- ' nteii and Children esttaated that cither I S3 per ecni. or 85 per cent, of their I eases wato dircetly due to drink. Tiio ! <jliitdven were tho great sufferers. At tile last election a majority of 51,000 voters had voted foe the. closing of 'tia^ bais. ,W«ro they now to sit down, or were they going to figbt tot a straight, clonn fliaßce for the -children ? The thres-fifths Majority. Mrs. Don, National President of the 'Wemau's CJwiEfciaii' Temheranco Cnicm for Now Ke-aland, ihscifi ■' a stirring Speech. She stated that, nost to the Suffrage movement, their organisation- was the largest women's orgamsaticrti in tho wui-ld. She r proecode<l to mention the countries in which their luiiwis wero founded, aiul the raplcl cx(iausion of their activities. In Ceylon, ■Kg-ypt, Japii, India, Sweiteti, Nonvay, .fcJsjiriany, t)?e United States, (SwatBrltahi, tiMiTperaiioe work was boing pursued. In America tho W.C.T.TT. was called ''Organised Hothofs* Lore." It whs -always tho wemteu who' were t-ite grefitest sufferers through this evil, itHfJ it- was foi- them to organise asul band themselves together to figlrt.; fs-o o-ita who joiiVed their tuiroiis wfce* ever asked'-what their ei'ce'd «■««'; all they were piodjjed to ivag totn! abstiuence, mid to iik-p. tlieai- help in every possible Way in tho effort,to swoc-p drill}; ham tte country. - It wfliitsj app-Mr a-s tho-itglj a wjtvc of indigiuttien lycrs ihrauji'iicrirt tiw work! against t4e trat'tic, and the spcakw jMßoec-tkH'l tii i»-s-taiive various fn-yfisiisaOons ihjtt, at, confewijcos,- 1-ia-d voted for total aboli--Hon. Ndritay a-iuj Sweden.had Lrouglit' ir. Bills dealing with- the question , . In Germany -teer was μ-o the alf-coMßiori-nj; fofce> that it nsftd to bo, as Gernwii. Emperor had urged atfstjji* o.iice upon his' soldi-en'. ifclgiMto,' tew, vfpts Vraking tip to the question;' and, thytig'h drinking in. lMgjttm was iniireasiivg, public conseiciieb'was Vfalsing ufi-. at thtf-'famo t-ii-tje. The suffrage (iglit -lirift- uaiii(i i 'tfn-was 'ihtoiitwiivfcd .vritii tho liqiior hiittlc, fot , the « ; o«eu would' sweep. it away if they wei-e f;ivcn the Yot-n. Eftorts- to coßtrol it hm? been, futile; aiid it was for the women now k> interview tb/ch ca-mlkW-es for ParHamettt, to send tJepirtrttions to PotIvanient-, .is well as to , ft}i}wal t<i tlieir !public faoß. They had sdnie tlionsaftds' of women oi? their mmnhersiiiii roll, and they eouidj ho lonaer bo }auj?lied nt. .' Any GovoMiroeut' Woukl have .to yefllifie th;it their unions Vv-ei-o im oi-ganisatron to be teckoired with. What caimirr in tlie world had tijarHiw! to the poll' with a nmjo-rlty of 5-4,000. aflti-yot not fjcei-1 allowed to reap the tenefits. TJie orgaftisaWon- of the Woraen's Christian tliiimi was disaJispointet'l that' ths β-av-■omtßcut did not-bring ttow» a BiH -k-S't- . session for the reduction--'of; abolition nf ihv haiulka-p uwlcr wliioh they were' suffering-tho tlu'cc-fifths majority. Apatity of the Cfturctios, Jliss Bobcrts, who fo.ltoa-cfl, sjwte of. tho 'itpathy of Chris-'tiim Ti)oJ- . .saw tho sulfarktfi Must dvtnk inflicted, i and yci they sat down inidw tfci? hafti il'cap <)f a-' threivftfttrs majority, as ■ thoiigtt it weft , a' thiiig tlipy cowW tint - -fight against. Her vote;-she considered, was. as good as ft ban«n«i's, and'yet. ' it did not go for as much. The vrt-e. ■ ol a t&tiiw and niothor to remove this * fril fro«i tfre.fr- son's: path'was as good ? as' tire vote of a Bco'ubw and tjiat of , his wife, ftiul yet the cqwiitpfl for move. E((if:!Hy • apsitUet-ic waso tho Cl'iristian Ctuirehes of tho cofliitfy. - 'jiifiv sent in no protest agaiTOt the ? drinij traffic. -If thfiy tIW so, * TO 1 (rtrit* sure it would :hn gA'ftatty liisseirf l ' i"u six months. Ou tliat flceoviftt .slie 1 had a quftfrel with the Churclies.