THE N.Z. ALLIANCE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2185, 25 June 1914, Page 6

THE N.Z. ALLIANCE.

.",; -CONGRESS dPENS. BIG GATHERING OF DELEGATES. FIRST DAY'S WORK. Delegates to the twenty-eighth annual meeting and .Dominion "Conference of tho New Zealand Alliance assembled in Wellington yesterday, the number Icing nearly 200. Yesterday morning tho delegates woro welcomed at the Y.M.G.A...building by the Mayor of Wellington (Mr. J. P. Luke), and afterwards took breakfast together. Tho Hev. W. J. Comric, chairman of the executive, pre«ided at this gathering. ; The Mayor's Welcojne. In tho coursb of his Epe'ech of welcome, tho Mayor said that he did not think there was anything in connection with civic ' work ' nVoro important— apart from: the principles laid down by the Bible—than to do all they coukl to make the lives of those suffering from the drink , happier:'rind better, and also to make it easier for our young people to bo guarded against tempta- ' *ions. .'.■■.'■. .' ■■ •■".,•..■'■' The Coal, and Reaching It. .Speaking at the breakfast, tho llev. (Mr. Comne said the alliance embraced all parties, as far as politics was, concerned; it embraced all creeds so"far ns* religiou was concerned; it embraced nil colours, all nationalities. It was a party 'of temperanco reform, and its goal was the abolition of tho liquor traffic 'in. Now .Zealand;:. Freedom and eobricty .were , not 'contrasted,' but , !ivent iiand-in-hand/ 'Othen countries were ■ making rapid progress in temperance l-efbrm,' and we-would have to move quickly , to\vards,'dur goal, or tlioy wolild to ahead .of-us.;'Ho hoped that goal ,vas not far distant! They did not disparage those , ;'who did not quite agree iWith thoin. " "Wo ought," said the speaker/;."to'b'o , in , 'a , ,tetter- position, so far as tho political arena is ...concerned, than we are,in to-day.. (Fldar, Hiear.) A'ntlj'.what is more,, we.nieaii'to to in that position.' (Applause!) There wero two Natives ,present ; —one. a 'chief ,i from To .. Kuittr-irom 'that country'[ .whore the people were-..promised •pro-', taction from : tlie "liquor.' tection which had not hee'n afforded; to; them.- If/,Jherb."was.;orta 1 thin.g.;6iving; to the Nativo peoplo; .it was. that that, pledge, should, bo -kept. 0 • •'• ■■ ■'■ : ' ; " ■:■■ • X ■■■' Speech by -President of Alliance.' ■'■,- Mrs. A-. RV 'Atkinson, said that, it /.waa not that the- members :of the New Zealand Alliance thought that, Prohibition would bring in tho Millennium,\but they tKought it would inaugurate conditions that would make it possible that \ tho Kiiigdbmi'of Christ! would .come; .' Mr. Wesley Spragg, : President of the New Zealand Alliance, said that they had .now reached a point which seemed to him to.be.the most interesting and the. most -inspiring point that had ever been reached yet. They had come together from all parts of New ZSaJand. "I am. glad .to, bo.here," continuo.d Mr. Spragg, "because there, has never been n timo in the history of our movement ' when we had -more hope of seeing the early success of our efforts. I found them more or less afraid to think—they feared that the thing they desired was not going to happen; speaking more or less in whisper's—l am speaking of Auck. land, but I think tho same spirit existed in. other places. But what is the position to-day? .Wo have never hefore.had, such prospects as wo have before us to-day. There is another side, of the question whiclv'is "inore intense to-day than it over was before. We have never found our opponents so anxious, so determined, so compactly or! ganised, so lavish with their ■ money,' and so -intent on defeating us, at auyratciforithcpresent. These people realisel arfnlly as we realise: that, they are , approaching their Waterloo." ' ■ ■Mrs.'. .Harrison Leo Cowie spoke- of the work being clone in Australia. Dnr- ■ ing a recent visit to South, Australia, : . O tho, speaker.,said she found that the whole hattleJor early closing was workin;* around, Now Zealand statistics.;. ~. Short' addresses were given bv the , ' Rev.-P.-S. Smallfield, Mr. C:'H.Toole end Mr.-A. '/combs, who referred to the ■ work being done in Australia.

/FIRST,BUSINESS, SESSION, /,, ON LEGISLATION. ,' The.first business session of-the coiiCress was opened at H a.m. inSt. John's Hall. All the electorates were represected. The roll-call numbered 167 Rev. P. S. Smallfield and Mr. C. .Yvaterhouse' were appointed minute secretaries, and Rev. \V; H. Hinton, Messrs. A. Toombs, J. E. Ffrost were elected reporters, as tho Press were not admitted. • Most of the morning session and the whole of the , afternoon was spent iii tho discussion of the legislation introduced by. the I'rimo Minister, and of the legislative demands of the Temperance party. The following resolution was ■"tarried with eight dissentients:—• t ' ''That this congress,, representing every electorate throughout, tho Dominion, while maintaining tho principle of tho simple major,- I ity on all liceiising'issues,.recognises ' that the Bill hy the 1 . J Prime Minister at the closes of the : last session, -..proposes the. granting/ of.iau instalment of that reform, . and, in view of the pledges given by members-of iho presont- House, '■-'■ ■'therefore urges iho - members of. Parliament "to" pass the measure early in the present session." The -congress"".'also affirmed:—"That this convention urge's all '.who are interested in 'J'emperanco Reform to exert nil proper influence to secure tho reform which, tho New Zealand Alliance is interested iri- arid 'to'oppose the'introduction of p;iy, .retrograde' legislation." j|yENINci',DEMONSTRATION. BROAD JOINTS OF' SPEECHES. In-the evening n mass meeting was held.in the' Town Hall.' "There were -about: 3000 people present. • The Mayor of Wellington'(Mr., J, P. Luko) presid-ed,-ai)d tho : vice-chairman was Mr.-Wes-ley-S'pragg,. .president ; of the Alliance. ■. Mr.. Sprags. introduced the. Mayor. and : -remarked'thiit "the Alliance stood for a clean city,-free from insobriety, disease, insanity, and crime. .'.So,, it was well that Wellington's chief,magis-trate'should-,be; present; at; a gathcriTiß. which stood.fpr.cfvic.npliftment The Mayor's Remzrjis. .. ' The Mayor said .'.that, he, hnd bpeh. associated with temperance' work' all- his life, though-he had-not gone as far.on the political side"as. some "of, his fnepfls had. TKe-'Oity ,, of 'Wellington"'was honoured through the conference being held. here.. 'New Zealand' was' determined" that' they would' not cease in their efforts until they had a condition of'affairs which would allow tho people to 'say wliotlieivrtlifcy.'.'wouldUiaWrthe" drjnl> traffic or "riot. (Applause.) - ~"Coing to Murder the Traffic." Mr. L. M. Isitt said that ho had to talk about'£' s. d., for, as , it was already:'a probability that the liquor traffic would soon be killed, the other sido was likely to fall; back on the argument that the carrying of NoLicense would result in financial ruin. What utter rubbish tb.it argument was! The siim of £4,000,000 was spent every year'in liquor, and the argument was tiiiit the country would bo ruined if this waste was ended. The liquor traffic- instead of really contributing to the

revenue, extracted niouoy from the Government to pay for the evils it caused. Tho liquor traffic did not produce wealth, and did not even circulato money, but concentrated money in, tho )x>cket3,of thq.few. The wealth of.the country was tho boys and the girls, and tho question was as to w\io should go down—the bar or the boy: ,(A voice: Tho bar!) They.wore going to murder the traffic- that could only result in the hurt and degradation of ■ the children. (Applause.) Dr. Florence Keller. Dr. Florence Keller, of Auckland, spoko on. tho aspect. of the e'xpsnclituro by tho wives:of tho money ; earned by the breadwinners. The women of the country had to .consider the financial side, as well as the men had. Tho 6peaker was a member of the Auckland Hospital and Oharitablo Aid Board, and she-found that the liquor traffic was an open, fioro- in- the community, and that -the soro could not bo cured—it must be removed. The fact of the. insanity and evil which' tlio; abuse of drink caused was the thing .which, was going to. open tho.e.ycs of those .who wero uneducated on this question..' The .proportion of.insano people in: Now: Zealand had. greatly, increased in. the last 37 years, and a large percentage- of tho people who received charitable aid were victims of 'drink. On P.akatoa Island (near Auckland) there were generally. 100 men, and those were'there as a result. Delirium tremens was on the' increase alarmingly in Auckland, and the Avondale Asylum was'being enlarged toehold 100 mo'ro men and 75 more women. All this entailed a yasfc increase in tho country's expenditure.: : Their Duty or Their Waterloo. The secretary'of the alliance,- the Rev. John DaWson , , appealed for 1000 work r era, and. all •willing were informed where to hand in their names. On Fridayj he- added, there would bo a, great march on Parliament. It had been said that men couH iiot be made sober by Act of Parliament, but men had been mado drunk by legislation,: for had tho three-fifths' obstacle not been created by Parliament, No-License, would have been -carried-before now. Those who believed itmvteit: was/an injustice' , ,that three of-their should only count tho equal of *tW of : the,'votes of.-tho brewers' and;?the 'barmaids should join, in:the,'marclv'oii Parliament, at.tho.con-. elusion. orw,hich;;.thoP;rimo 'Minister. jvould bo presented with tho mo3t striking memoriaKyet.framed in New Zealand.' ..■]<.] ''.■■' ; ' Liquor and-; L'aljQUr and the Liquor :■' ''■'"■■■ '-I/- ._:■•'' ','■':-..";■■'/[,*■ ,-The-. effect : of' ; the" liquor, trade:... on; labour.'was. the:<subject taken- by. Mr/ Hi.-Di Bedford: :He;said that: the-liquor .trade was 'thelgreatest ■mpnp'poly'-in 'the; 'Dp'niitiion./and that'it': paid/the .least amount of ■.wages\'in.-. proportion to." its , takings'of.' anj-.-.tradp in/the cotjntry.' For this reason, as an earuost. advocate, of labotir; he antagonised the t'rafiicwitliall,his,strength: This-trade had. pecu-liar-privileges.. •' It- was exempted- fromearly closing,the ordinary holidays did nbt: apply to'-it.'- It received the special favour of ,tho Legislature. 'The Hqn.F. M,' B. .Fisher, Minister of Customs, said that ho lind come to the conclusion, after examining everything at his disposal; .that'the-total capital■ in-, vested in the liquor trade was £477,000, and that the net profit for a year ij;as £250,000. .That was/'a profit of over 50. per cent-., and meant that in less than two years this trade replaced out of its profits the total amdunt of its capital. Business men said that almost.the maximum amount of profit accruing to any trade subject to the law of competition, and which was not a monopoly, was 10 per cent. Most of tho business in the Dominion returned between 6 per cent, and 7 per cent. The liquor.- trade received £200,000 every year more than iT was entitled to on the ordinary principles of business. ,They did not accuse this Parliament alone of allowing itself t> bo exploited, but Parliament must con-, stand aside, and be an impartial umpire. (Applause.) They asked no favour, but if there were any, favours given they should, in a democratic country, co ,to"those who opposed monopoly. The No-License.Party would have reouircd a majority-, of 103.000 to gain their end last election. They had a majority of 54.d00. That did not close a .einglo bar, but this. year it -would, even.if .to make it do so they had to shake the foundations of Parliament itself. If Parliament did not remove thr three-fifths .impost, . they would be 'reluctantly 'compelled to .focus every power they could command''upon hindering the return to Parliament of ever.viman who supported the retention of'the three-fifths majority. This would! not bo" necessary if Parliament did the right thing #iis session. "W«> expeqt that Parliament wi*r dq its dutv. but if it does not many a man will meet his Waterloo at tho end of this year.".''(Loud applause.)

Amerlean Activity. Mr. G. _H:'Pople.said that one ti'mo the No-License ..niovement was looked upon as d thing advanced by fanatics, but to-day tho greatness of the movement ' was. recognised, • and' now • they were in a'position to make demands -of Parliament. Sir. Poolo said that' ho nad recently toured America, and had found that thero was a great wavo in ■favour"of tho 1 abolition of the liquor traffic sweeping over that country. The .Homeii , thero Wore, interesting themselves' particularly, in ' tho movement, and one of-.the'reasons was that.'tho saloon in Americajwas found to bp connected with the white' Slave traffic, When womanV frapcliTse was carried ill the- State; of Illinois a huge number or saloons we're closed. ' • • Campaign Singing. .■', ! . At: the. opening of the meeting, the peoplo .werw; led in prayer by Canon Ha'Eglden. At intervals in tho speeches soi'igs were co|itribiijted. Mr.' Gharles Clarkson was warmly applauded for his rendering of "Arm, Arm Yβ Brave," and Maclamo Brainsby s\ing "When Wilt Thou Save tho People," for which slip 'was heartily encored. Tho Children's Choir'sang campaign eongs. Mr. Ernest Daiwson conducted tho choir, and Miss EiiV Ward was tho piaiiiste. Mr. Stanley. Rankin was Mr. Clarkson's acccrnpaiiist.' Before disbanding, the audjerico sanjf the National Anthem. ."■.'."■■. A etory' is''told of a "printer's error" I that once edujed consternation in a country village. • An arch in the church had become dilapid&ted, and a fund was started for-its-repair. .Upon one occasion, so os to, make tne'appttil more widely known, tfc'rector.'liM-Ji notice regarding the arch fund printed in the village, "with the 'result''that 'oil-the following Sunday the nnriouncem^n)-,, appeared in' large type:— . VTlie' collection to-day will lie forthe arch ■ fien<l." r :'■"...-■;; ■ ■ ■ ■'- ■ gout Troubles many a man; ■ peopl? se cin to think that gout is a privilege solely Of the wealthy old gentlemen who have nothing to/do, and all day in which to do it, Never wn3 there a greater mistake. Gout is (jiilr one form of most'prevalent of ii'r/c acid hi'the Modil. ' Other troubles of the same riatxire are Rheumatic Qotit,' Rheumatism, 'Lumbago, Sciatica, Gravel, Stpiio,' and- Neuritis.: None of these rtiswould causo so mnch pain nnd sulTering ivould cause so much paid and snlferini; if taken' in hand when the early symptoms were manifested. When the first aches and twinges of pain are felt it is necessary to trtk<v a medicine that 'will neutralise and eradicate the excess uric acid. : "i'hat 'remedy 'h UHEUJtO. It possesses tho.remiirkable power of ridding the'system of liric ocitl and its deposits. Read the experience of a sufferer for over tn-enty year.'. '.Mi , . H. Tlullcn, Cheviot, writes-.—"RHEUMO has (lono my wife a Kreat amount' of good.' She gat iio Rood from the'Hanmer'Springs,' having' suffered ' from Chronic Rheumatism for over twenty years," 2«. 6d. and 6d.—Advt.