EARLY CLOSING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3105, 8 June 1917, Page 6

EARLY CLOSING

THE HOTEL BARS SIX, O'CLOCK MOVEMENT . ALLEGED WAR WASTE About 2000 people were present at the Town Hall last evening, when addresses were delivered in favour of closing tho hotel bars ;it 6 o'clock. Tho meeting, which was presided, over by the Mayor of the city (Mr. J. P. Luke) enthusiastically supported the proposal, and resolved to ti'iid a deputation to the ActingPrime Minister to ask him 'to give effect to its wishen. There were soino interruptions during- the meeting, tut 'the gathering was overwhelmingly with tho speakers. One of the audience, a returned soldier, asked to be allowed to speak against tho motions-/ and was given the opportunity ho sought. The Mayor said he felt he was on solid ground in responding to the request of an influential deputation to call the meeting. He made no apology for his identification with tho meeting.' This was not a political gathering, but a meeting of citizens. He did not intend to have any amendments to the. resolutions. A voice: Any discussion? The Mayor:' Yes, so long as the speakers keep to the point. The voice: Eight, o"h! The Mayor: And I will be the.determining factor. (Applause.) The Mayor said he would not stand for any movement that would affect, the soldiers only. 'Hi is would affect the people as a whole. It was said we were so prosporous thai (hero was no need for restriction. but- the, trial would come after the war, and it' was not right row to fritter away our wealth. Ho trusted tho resolutions would bp carried unanimously.

We Mus.t Act at Once. His Worship then introduced Dr. A. K Newman, M.P., who moved: "That this meeting of the citizens of Wellington is" of opinion that in order fo ensure an early and successful issue to the war by our Allies and oureei&e-s, every effort on our part must he put forth to the one endwin tho war, it has become a national necessity to secure the maximum of efficiency in military, commercial, industrial, and • social affairs, and also to reduce unnecessary' expenditure to a minimuim. And being convinced that the restriction of tlie hours for the sale of in-

toxicating liquors would assist in these directions more than any other single reform, urgently requests the Government to prepare and introduce into Parliament at the earliest possible date a Bill to reduce the hours during which alcoholic liquor may be sold to the hours between 8 o'clock a.m and 6 o'clock p.m., and to use every effort to have the Bill passed, and brought into effect without delay."

Dr. Newman said he was convinced that there was an overwhelming volume of opinion in favour of 6 o'clock dosing. Last year 100,000 .people signed a petition in favour of 6 o'clock closing, but that did not. move Parliament. Those in favour of reducing tho hotol hours had been outvoted in Parliament. rhen< it was suggested that a referendum should be taken ■V voire Yon can't lake a. referendum. You did not take it on conscription, so vou can't take it on this. You. don t know what you are talking about. Dr. Newman:.lt's all-right. There are alwnvs some objectors. Dv Newman added that the matter would be revived in Parliament this coming session. He went on to saj that his vis-t to England had opened his BVPS He was amazed to find how determine England was to reform the linuor trade during the war. There thev foumd that efficiency was hein.r sapped in vitnl dust" ; es. It was said that when Mr. T.lovd Onrere became Prime Minister things ""Mild hum.'and they had humnOO hotels lind been closed. lie North if Scotland had gone dry. the end not in sight. In England they were going to do more still to check the Trade, and they were determined that drink would not run riot after tho war. Engl/ind was now a far more sober country before the war. The same applied <10 France. Yet in New Zealand, taking Year Book figures there were more convictions for drunkenness than x before the war. Wo had to set our house in order. Not only had tvo to deal with drink, but we had to practice economy. We must act at once. England got sick of the Asqmth Mmistrv ■because its poliev was "wait and see. and took Llovd George beennse his idea, was "do it how." The New Zealand Government must bo made to do it now." It was time we called a halt. That was due to the men pt the front. This war was serious. In England and Fi'ance they were taking it seriously. Wo must realise that we had to go all out to win. When wo had reformed our house, then, and then only, would we have achieved that righteousness which exalteth a nation. •

Bad Houses Worsej than Hotels. Mr. John Hutoheson seconded the resolution. He said he was proud to see so large and so earnest an audience, but it seemed humiliating that the country from eud to end had to. get itself into such a state to procure such a needed reform. (Applause.) Do we want to eud the waT before we win it? No, we had to exorcise the arch-fiend of militarism from the minds of the German people before we reached the end. How were we going to end the war successfully? By national efficiency. We must find a machine according with the genius of our people which would master the Gorman machine. , Interruption from the back. *

Mr. Huteheson:,Lo6k hear, my,-friend, I'm not over i\ p spouting. I'll sit down and give you ten minutes instead of me, if you like. The invitation was not accepted. Mr. Hutcheson said he had followed the sea for 1G years before the days of the smoke-stacks, and lie knew the value of the rum rations. A/man was not worth anything 'half-on-hour after he got his rum ration if lie was in an exhausted condition when lie received it. And yet the stupid, idiotic British War Council persisted in the use of this drug. We absolutely had to become nationally efficient. It was only a little while before the married men with large families would be going to the war, so it was high time to act-. The question was raised: Would it hurt the Trade? Well, if it would, that was nothing compared with the case of the man to whom the Eecruiting Board said: "Come along 'here, and we will take, tou." Again, could not the mail who liked his glasf of beer «ive it up for the sake of the belter man 1U the trenches? (Applause.) Mr. C. B. Morison, K.C., who stated that he was a moderate drinker, said that if it could be shown to the Trade that tliev would not lose by six o'clock closing, there would not be any opposition. People would get a better perspective if tlicy would realise that this was a time of war. But it must be remembered that there were places other than hotels which would have to he dealt with. Steps would have to be taken to keep liquor from those dens of iniquity which were doing our young men far more harm than the hotels. With the Trade it was a question of profit and loss, hut it was absurd to look at the question in that way when the best men were going to the front and sacrificing their lives.•One of the audience: What about the Cl jr'r.' Morison: Shut the elnbs up as well as the hotels. (Applause.) Jlr. Mori son said that he would also stop the lwttle trade absolutely. At present if a man who was carrying on a ouestionable house wanted to buy a do/.en of boor and dope them for the young soldier, he could do so without (inestion.. Tlmt man should have to produce a certificate to say ho was it responsible person. The anti-shouting legislation had been a complete failure. Let. the hotels come forward and say voluntarily they were going to do something in this matter. If they were goinsr to suffer loss, let. the brewer bear some of it. He thought too well of the men who wwe running our host hotels to

say that they would not hear some ol' the loss. Even then their loss of some profit—war profit at that—would not lie as great as the lgsses of other people. Ho would support the resolution, - but hoped the deputation from the meeting to tho Government would adopt his suggestion to check the bottle trade. Something must bo done to amend tho present shameful position. The resolution was carried amidst prolonged applause. Greater Foe Than Submarines, Mr. A. Leigh Hunt then mov<?&— That His Worship the Mayor be requested to forward a copy of the resolution just passed to the A-cting-Primo Minister, Sir James Allen, 1f.C.8., and to ask that he name a time for a deputation to lay before him in detail the desires of this meeting, • Mr. Hunt said' it had been a great disappointment to him that the National Government had displayed such wicked freakness as it hail Bhown over the present ..question. The Government must be aroused and made to aot. When the future of the lJa-tion was hanging in the balance, it behoved us to do everything we could do to aid the nation. Shortening tho war might save thousands of lives, and it by efficiency we could shorten the war, was that not worth while?. He had been in charge, of a business in Wellington for some years, and he had. always associated drink with inefficiency. You could not have an efficient business and drink.

A voice: Give up the business. Mr. Hunt: Give up, tho drink, and you will have an efficient business. Mr. Hunt said that in New Zealand a large area of laud was used for tho growing of barley for liquor manufacture. It seemed strange that at the same time our Minister of Agriculture had to go to Australia to buy wheat. Tho shipping position was serious, and every foot of space was needed, and why should it be occupied by impovted liquor? It seemed that the seriousness of-the war was not realised in this country. Apart altogether from tho need for national thrift, we should be all putting away to. rewaTd the men when they came bsck from the front. We had so far done nothing. We should cut out ali -waste without delaying another day. Let ns start on tho drink traffic, for that was the most wasteful and harmful. Picture what had been done' in the Old Countiy. Wo would have to follow in England a footsteps.'- For the love of country nnd countrymen, for our own self respect, let it be demanded of tho Government that this reform should be carried out without delay. Mr. H. C. South, seconding the second resolution, said war cfliciency had been injured through the keeping open of the hotel bars after 6 o'clock. Mr. Lloyd George had said the drink traffic would do more harm than all the German submarines. If that was so, it was time to close the open bar. Over-indulgence in alcoholic liquor was a running sore. Therefore thev demanded this reform, because it was 'in the interests of national efficiency. What was the use of Trcntham training if men dissipated their fitness when in town? We had dry camps ond wet week-ends. This gathering did not intend that tho prpsent state of affairs should continue. The Trade had power to waste our time, 'destroy our efficiency, nnd filch our money, nnd this preferential treatment must end. Other countries iwd done a great deal in the matter, but New Zenland had _donc_ lime. There was considerable feeling in New Zealand, however, because of the flouting of the ocople's will by the-National Government.

'Returned Soldier Opposes the Movement. The Mayor was about to put the ruction when Mr. Seale rose in the audience and said he wanted to oppose it- „ ■ i "One speaker," began Mr. Scale, said the troops iu England were not allowed 'tea in their siisju'.' That was not so, but vou are going to slop the New Zealandbovs 'having 'whisky in their soda.'' (Lnughter.) , i "You say that if you close tho hotel* at 6 o'clock it will win the war, continued Mr. Seale. Cheering for several minutes. tho Mayor rose to restore order. Mr. Scale: I say if you close the "pubs" altogether it will , not win the war. I knock off at !> o'clock, and I like my glass of beer. The soldiers conic to town at 6 o'clock and they would not be able to get a. glass of beer at all. An auditor: They're better without it. The Mayor rose to check interruptors. and said •'that Mr. Sealei was a returned soldier and that tho audience mist respect him. Some applause. Mr. Seale said that when the New Zealand troops got to Egypt, General Godley opposed the wet canteen, and the matter went to General Maxwell. General Maxwell asked General Godley: "Did you bring men from New Zealand?" - "Yes, and good men, too," answered General Godley. "Then treat them as men, and not as Sunday school children," retorted General Maxwell. So they had their wet canteens in Egypt, and instead of going into the town for rotten licjuor the men had good English ale in camp. If, added Mr. Seale, tho men could not look after themselves here in New Zealand because hotels were open till 10 o'clock of a night, heaven, help them when they got to France or England! It was all very well for certain peoplo who claimed to bo moderate drinkers to take the platform,, but the rich would lose no privilege by the closing of the hotels at 6 o'clock; they had their cellars. The resolution was' carried by an overwhelming majority, and the meeting ended with thanks to the Mayor and the singing of the National Anthem, y