A STORMY MEETING

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2319, 28 November 1914, Page 8

A STORMY MEETING

AT TOWN HALL

PfiOHffilllONISTS ATTACK MODERATES

SOME STRAIGHT TALK

That there was abundant interest in •tlio No-License meeting held in the Town Hall. last' evening was evidenced by tlio fact that the big. hall was quite

- M.g-lliUi ..... illed a quarter of an hour before- th neeting started, and standing room Tva. at a premium, by tlie time the chairmai (Mr. J. P.' Luke)-opened the proceedings. Much of tho-interest was doubtless created' by the.lively correspondence ?<>ver tie wording of the advertisements i calling tlie meeting and the chairmanship, which had awakened the public to the anticipation "'of lively happenings. This was further strengthened when' Jlr. 'A. A. S. Menteath and Mr.. R. A: Arm. ; strong, president- and secretary, of t'hij | Moderate-, League,. .'.together. with ''the whole of, its Executive Commitee, appeared., on the platform bel'oro anyone else to the accompaniment of cheers fiom its-supporters in the body of the hall.

On. entering the pin (form., the Mayor (Mr.; J. 15.'I 5 .' Lulcq) was greeted with loud;; long cheers. : Mr; Luke said ho : made no ' apology for taking the chair. •(A voice: "Justify it!'') -He bespoke 'a good hearing for every speaker. Many good people were behind the movement, but the lialHiad to' be paid for, and the first item, on the programme would bo a-collection. (Uproar.) - ' '

For;;t!ie, Belgian, Fund?

Mr. Armstrong:-I would move that ■the 'collection'' be' giveii in aid of the (ißelgjan. Fund. (Cheers.) , A.voice: 1 second.that. ' : The' Mayor: Now, I hope the spirit ■ (of good 'feeling •; Mr. .Armstrong: You didn't- advertise the collection. (Cheers and uproar, dur- ' ing which the chairman was counted out fiwice.) ' .. j Tile Mayor: I want to tell you that i'the hall has been paid for, and it is a (matter for the management to'do what , {.they like with the' money. (Uproar.) I" ■ ■ rlf they give it to: the Belgian i' und, I 'will be pleased to hand it on.. ■ .The collection was then taken up, to jtho accompaniment : of rowdy' protests f 'from a sectionVof,;tho audience'. Mr; 0. C.. Mazengarb, .who received 'a mixed reception, said that the history of the Prohibition movement was that of a clean" fight in a clean -cause? -They had on the platform a section of their opponents, and were glad to welcome them. In their presence they would "say of their organisation what .' they first, intended .to say of them. ..There would be many things of which i (they would "disapprove, but as reason- | p-able.men they' Would expect that, for /■"our ways are not,their! ways, neither 'are their ways our ways." (Applause :■ and "Wow! Wow!" cries.) There 'would be no malice nor personal bitter- ' Bess hi,'.what'was said." Not so many ; .years ago , their-appeal had not been directed so closely to .the moderate 7 , drinker. But: a constantly increasing (number of medical men-—(Cries of. "Oh! \dear!" and "The . old cry!")—had ''evolved the thesis that even small quantities of alcohol were injurious. f (A ■ 'froice: "Oh! Go Hon! Who told you 50?, What.Rot 1"). .. .

, An Ideal. •-.'•'■ They 'had an ideal the realisation of which was to crush out drunkenness andl rescue society from the peril of the moderate drinker. (Uproar.) ' The Moderate League was representative of the Liquor > Party—the statement of the president in its own circular indicated its character. (Wild uprcar.) The chairman asked for the audience .to be a little more considerate. If it I was a ,political meeting ho would say, ;"Have a go," but the Prohibitionists had a mission to benefit the community. •He did not want to have anyone put ■out, but disturbers woild be dealt with 'by being brought to the platform, where . t!hey could be under his eyes. (Applause.) hootsj and a count out.) Mr. Mazengarb went on to deal with the Moderate League as a' body which stood out for the three-fifths vote, when, being moderate, it might have been sup\posed that they would have struck the mean, between the 50 and 60 per cent, fflien the league said that Prohibition nwas- an unwarranted interference with [people's liberty, that it would create (unemployment, and render the people '.unsociable and ridiculous in the eyes of .tourists. (A voice: "So it would.") . 'There was an eld proverb which said, v'Good wine needs no bush." He thought }t could he used conversely with' perfect •logic that "Good bush needs no wine." •Here were two antagonistic bodies using .the same manual, entrenched in, humbug, and both firing shamelessly on the great red cross of our movement (hoots and cockcrows). Ho shrewdly suspected that the liquor party was masquerading as , the Moderate League,- and tlie nomin,'ees of the former.were the nominees • of the Moderate Lague. ( At' this' juncture there was almost a ; continual fire of interruptions and the chairman - left his seat to remonstrate with an intoriector in the audience. ■When he returned to the platform he was .followed by a well-known hotelporter of' comical habits. ' On seeing the intruder on the platform Mr. Mazengarb said lie was. pleased to see tho .moderate side of the platform so strong'ly reinforced. (Laughter and uproar.) About tliis' time the Rev. G. S. Cook arrived on the platform and took his place among the Moderates, a mistake which convulscd the audience. Mr. Mazengarb challenged the Moderate.'League to do away , with the Noj;]picense placards and announce that • "moderation was true temperance," and reply in the ■'•'School Journal" to the 'articles on the evil effects of alcohol, jbj contributing articles showing the [.'reverse; effect. Speaking of the loss : of revenue the speaker said that the ..health and liannincss of the people was '(.•worth more than the million pounds, i (Applause and cat-calls.)

"Like the Germans." Mr. 'A. A. Cornish said that 30 years' ago the Prohibition Party was Jaughed at; ■ to-day it ivas the largest ■ party in New Zealand'. They had had to fight against a stubborn and resourceful foe, but now the reputation of the liquor trade was known by an exasperated., and.disillusioned public. So at last in'the Year of, Grace, 1914, that party was hopolessly discredited, and was. making its'_ last desperate rally. They, (tho Prohibitionists) were at war ■with/.tlie Moderates. For a. moment they tvero disconcerted, but reassuranco Jollowed on examining their opponents. Instead of a now army, _a fresh enemy, it was the old army disguised. The Liquor Party to him somewhat resembled tho Germans. (Hoots and wild uproar.) > ' Mr. Monteath rose to expostulate, and ■was waved down by the chairman, who called loud and often for' "Order!" There were loud cries of "Withdraw!" from all parts of the hall amidst the general uproar. Mr. Luke: "If the speaker said any-? thing in accordance—(hoots)—now you're losing your heads. That's not British-character! If he has violated the conscicnce of the meeting I know ho is' man emiogh to say so." : Mr. Cornish tried to, get' along, but the running fire of snipiug interjections and volleys of cries, whistling, humming, etc., made the going very heavy. Ultimately he said no one would object to tho similo -when thoy heard it.

It was their allies who had a saying— "It is only the truth that hurts." They read that the Germans were building Zeppelins frantically, realising their inferiority at sea. (More cries of "Withdraw I"). That wis the case of the Liquor Party—they were making Moderates, and did not know if they would have sufficient to meet requirements. Mr. Cornish threw ridicule on the Moderate Parliament, said that State control of liquor had been an arrant failure wherever tried, and wound up with the prophecy that National Prohibition would bo carried this year.

* A Resolution. Mr. A. R. Atkinson made a vigorous onslaught on the defences of the Modorate League, and hit hard and often with effect. He was subjected to interruptions, but on the whole obtained the best hearing of the three speakers, finally he moved: ''That whereas the life and death struggle in which the Empire is now engaged has brought into clearer relief than ever before the irreconcilable antagonism of the liquor traffic to tho moral and social welfare, the commercial prosperity and the military efficiency of the Empire, and whereas the traffic has successfully defied all attempts to reform it from without, and refuses to reform itself from within; and whereas the - so-called Moderate League has practically nothing to suggest; therefore this meeting of the citizens of Wellington resolves that it is inoro incumbent than ever upon every lover of his country to vote for No-License and Dominion Prohibition at the' Licensing polls." This was seconded by Mrs. Atkinson amidst a fusillated of interjections, and nppeals for order by the Mayor. Mr. Menteath endeavoured to speak, but the Mayor expostulated with liini, and finally a police sergeant appeared near tho platform. Finally the Moderates left the stage amidst a storm of applause, and less, approving noises, and the motion wa3 "put and declared carried unanimously; which was hardly the case. THE MODERATES MEET. - IN TI-IE OPEN AIR, At the conclusion of the meeting the Executive Committee of the Moderate League were met. at the exit doors by a large crowd bf.'.their supporters, and the proposal to hold ,a meeting ..there and then was .given effect to. The president (Mr. A. A. S. Menteatli) and the committee adjourned to the bandstand opposite the Central Fire Brigade Station. . There Mr. Menteath stated thai they had gone to the meeting to hear charges against the league, and what had they amounted to—nothing, nothing! They made the charges and then by putting up speaker after speaker they had stone-walled them, and would not let them say one word in defence or explanation. AVliat do they want to do? To ram their prohibition down our throats, whether we will or won't have it. - A nice state of things they, were coming to in the British Empire, but they would find that they would not have it —they would keep their freedom. ■ Mr. R. A. Armstrong, Dominion secretary of the league, resented their not being allowed to reply, and most strenuously protested against the Prohibitionists' attempt to make "a corner in patriotism." They had used the Union Jack on the stage, and were using it on tlieir circulars. "I say this emphatically that the Union Jack and Prohibition could never go together. The old Flag was the greatest symbol of personal liberty and freedom, and it cor.ld never be associated with Prohibition. He resented the sergeant of police being called up to turn out the president, and finally said that if good Mr. Luke would allow them to take the Town Hall the league intended to hold a meeting very shortly to reply- to Messrs. Atkinson, Mazengarb, and Cornish. (Applause.) - Thereafter, the crowd gradually dispersed, and a memorable meeting finally ended.