NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2284, 19 October 1914, Page 7

NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN

ADDRESS BY MRS. SNOWDEN ACCESSIBILITY OF ALCOHOL An address in support of the NoLicense campaign was delivered in the Town Hall yesterday afternoon by Mrs. Snowden, wifo of Mr. Philip Snowden, M.P. Tho lecturer had a largo audience, the chair being taken by Mr. A. R. Atkinson. Among those on the platform wero the Hon. Jas. Allen, Minister of Education, and the Hon. J. G. "■• Aitken, M.L.C. Critics of tho temperance movement wero very numerous, said Mrs. Snowden in her opening remarks, and, in the opinion of many of those critics, she was not qualified to discuss the liquor question, because she had been a lifelong abstainer. She wanted that afternoon to say something on the accessibilitv of liquor, but sho proposed to speak to them through ono well acquainted with drink and its offects. She referred to Jack London, the wellknown writer, and she had brought with her his book, "John Barleycorn," from which sho would read some passages. Mrs. Snowden quoted from tho author to show that nfter years of indulgence in liquor—2o years to acquire the habit and another 10 years during which the habit had been growing—he denounced the accessibility of alcohol and pleaded for the abolition of the saloons. Ho himself confessed that he had voted to give women the vote in California because he believed that, when'they got that right, the first tiling they would ido' would be to use the vote to abolish the saloons. She wondered if women would prove worthy of the confidence Jack London reposed in them ,and if they would see to it that nothing ever provented them frbm recording their votes. Not ' one thing in the world was important enough to keep women away from the polling booth when the opportunity came to cast their votes on'tlie liquor question. After tracing tho various opinions expressed by the American author, Mrs. Snowden concluded with an appeal to those present to make inaccessible to tho generations of the future tho traffic which had'brought such ruin to the generations of the past.

MR. PHILIP SNOWDEN'S ADDRESS. The Prime Minister (the Right Hon W. F. Massey) presided at Mr. Philip Snowden's address in the evening, when there was another large audience in the Town Hall. In introducing the lecturer, Mr. Massey took the opportunity of expressing a hearty welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Snowden, and hoped their stay in New Zealand would be an enjoyable one. He felt sure they would come to the conclusion that the types of citizen in the Dominion compared favourably with those in the United Kingdom, and were just as ready to do their duty by fcho Empire. (Applause.) Mr. Snowden dealt, with the arguments frequently advanced against prohibition—such of them as wero worthy I of notice. He pointed out that those who condemned the Prohibition campaign as an unwarranted interference with individual liberty, failed to distinguish between liberty and license, and he combated numerous other arguments advanced against the movement. WELCOMED BY SOCIAL DEMO- • CRATS. On Saturday evening the Social Democratic Party tendered a formal welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Snowden. The welcome was very cordial. Replying to various speeches, Mr. Snowden thanked his hosts for the "very cordial welcome" they had given him. He remarked that he could hardly imagine that ho was in a strange land, when ho looked upon, so many familiar faces —the faces of "comrades" ho had known in England not so many years ago.. Ho could not speak of the Etate of the Labour movement in Great Britain to-day, because the war had caused conditions to becomo abnormal, but ho could say that considerable changes had taken place in the last halfrentury. If they liad proportional representation in England, Labour would have at least 100 m&nbers in the House of Commons. The attempted emancipation of the working classes could not succeed nnless it was based on industrial organisation, followed by political activity. The growth of the party had been stunted somewhat by Mr. Lloyd George, who was a demagogue and kept giving the people occasional social reforms. Refemng to the • war, Mr. Snowden said that the sky was dark today, and down in the gully all was blackness, but if they ascended to the mountain top, they would find that the sun was still shining. He looked to the future with confidence. Out of this war might come greater peace than Europe had known for generations. If not. the wariW r ould be the greatest of calamities. Mrs. Snowden also spoke. The Potono Lyceum was crowded yesterday afternoon, when Mr. Snowden addressed the gathering on the NoLicense question. The Mayor of Petone presided,, and the speaker dealt very fully with his subject, and was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. In the ..evening Mrs. Snowden addressed an afterchurch rally at the Lower,Hutt Town Hall, where a largo audience assembled, the Mayor, Mr. H. Baldwin, presiding. The Rev. J. Dawson, of the New Zealand Alliance, also spoke".