SIX O'CLOCK CLOSING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3122, 28 June 1917, Page 6

SIX O'CLOCK CLOSING

DEMONSTRATION AT TOWN HALL LIQUOR AND THE WAR A big demonstration in support of the demand tor the closing of hotel bars at ('.P.m. was held in the Towu Hall last "]""'• It whs preceded by a procession o bands and temperance workers through the city. The hall.was lilled"in all parte. Iho dais was occupied bv members of the New Zealand Alliance,' the Salvation Army Band, and main- voung people bearing banners with temperance mot-v toes ilic Key. p. s. Smallfield, president ol the .New Zealand Alliance, was in the chair. The proceedings opened with the National Anthem.

Ihe chairman said that the size of the meeting was an indication of the strength ot the movement in favour of 6 o'clock Closing. He hoped that all the members oi the audience had seen the magnificent procession arranged by the Salvntion Army. _\ 0 such procession could have been organised on the other side. • The chairman was persistently interrupted by a man who accused him of siittcrmg troin "cold feet" and of planning to deprive the soldiers rff their beer Occasional interjections from other parts nt the house indicated the presence of an opposition element.

In tho course of further remarks the chairman referred to the revolutionary political and social changes brought about by the war. History was being mado at the present time, and the audience that evening was taking pant in a movement that had a direct bearing upou national elhcieucy and success in the war. The demand for jsix o'clock closing was a .minimum demand. Other demands would be made later.'

Commissioner Hodder, of the Salvation Army, was the next speaker. He had to pause while the most persistent interjeetor, a returned soldier using crutches was ejected by the police. The Commissioner remarked thnt no more striking illustration of the righteousness of tho .demand fof reduced drinking facilities could have beon • provided. He proceeded to denounce tho drink traffic in very strong terms. Most ot the drinking, he said, was done after l> p.m. Drink was not a necessity. Its use in nearly all cases was tho mere gratifying of a selfish appetite, demoralising m its results. Drink was working its' havoc m every part of New Zealand. It was wrecking homes arid working devastation. The Commissioner quotcd'eases of excessive drinking from his own experience. Drinking had cost the nation pis food,' reduced shipping facilities, slowed v the production of munitions, and reduced the efficiency of the nation's manhood, i *

There were many interruptions. At this stage a;'man mounted tho platform and was .forcibly ejected by tho police am id cheers and groans. More interruptions were produced by a statement that ships had boon lost because drunken crews, by failure to maintain! their speed, placed them within tho reach of German submarines. Tho Commissioner said the right-thinking pcoplo of New Zealand .called upon the Government to reduce drinking in the interests of Christianity and patriotism. No goodarguments liad been adduccd'against six o'clock closing ; No man enjoyed i-uulini;-itcd freedom. A man was not allowed to commit suicide; why should he be allowed'to take alcohol, which had slain ils million's, directly and indirectly? Tho speaker referred to the necessity for 'national economy and national efficiency. He added that last Saturday night, between (1 o'clock and 10 o'clock, eight Wellington hotels-had-been watched. No fewer''than 21 tl civilians and 694 soldiers had entered the eight hotels during the period of four hours, and he was sorry to say that a large proportion V>f them had been under the.influence of drink. Mrs. Napier, ofJMinbu.rgh. was the next speaker. She said that she had been away from .New Zealand for fourteen years, and had come from Scotland only a few months previously. She could not have believed that Now Zealand today would have been in the condition in wliicli she found it. She had thought that reforms which had made progress in other countries would not have been delayed in the Dominion. • The Eev. J. Paterson said that tho meetin" was ail effective one. It would show the members of the Government that the'six o'clock closing movement was strong and'insistent. When a temperance meeting was like a prayer meeting, it was doing no good. But when tho meeting contained a large supply of the finished product of the' liquor traffic, sent along or.brought along, then eftectivo work was being dorje. The present meeting was an indication to the Government that the people demanded six o'clock closing. The people were not going to be put off by .sophistry or led astrav bv stale red herrings. For Parliament or Government to say that they were opposing six o'clock closing on grounds of democracy was sheer" hypocrisy. The demand for reform' was real and dominant.- Was the liquor traffic to be the onlv industry that was not to be troubled by the war? Was the bar tho holy of holies of New Zealand? The brewers, the barmen, the barmaids, and "the rest of the hotel crowd," jnust line up with the people who were making sacrifices for the nation.. Sir James Allen had said that six o'clock closing would mean prohibition for soldiers, without interfering with the drinking of ciyi-i lians. There was no logic in insisting on soldiers having beer in the'city when the Minister himself said that on no account would he havo the camps. Eighty or ninety per cent, of the people of New Zealand wanted, six o'clock closing. The speaker said an additional argument for «ix o'clock closing was the impending mobilisation of the Second Division, which threatened to leave sons mid young brothers .without their natural protectors. - The streets uiust be kept clean at nights while the-war w-as on. The liquor trade must stand' out of the way at such a. time. He moved -.— "That having heard the terms of the petition to..be presented to FarAiament, asking for the restriction of • i?ie sale of intoxicating liquor dur- ■ iiig the war and after, this meeting heartily endorses tho prayer of .the

petition, and demands that Parliament shall without delay pass an Act to give immediate effect to the prohibition of the sale of intoxicating ; lif|iior between G p.m. ami S a.m." - ,

, The motion was seconded by the Rev. W. .1. ('oniric, who" read the terms of the petition to Parliament. Mr. C. If.-Poole. M.P., supported the motion. He said that the members of Parliament "were being "put through the hoop." They were being asked to state their attitude towards the liquor Anes4ion, and the people must see thatjfhev answerod. | Was it a fair thing lb keep tlio men in the trenches an hour longer than was' necessaryr Was it fair to hamper a/ml reduce legitimate business while allowing a dangerous trade to intimidate (he Government? Efficiency andthe .liquor business,' democracy and tho liquor business* could not prosper side by side. New Zealand's soldiers had written their names on the scroll of fame in indelible characters. The nation had made great sacrifices in order to win the war. Anything that checked or stayed the coming of victory must be set aside. The drink traffic was a handicap on the nation, a peril to men and to women. The people had a right to demand that New Zealand's Parliament; should put the country into line with other fighting nations by putting aside the drink enemv. M.T. 1,. Sf. Tsi'tt. M.P., who was received with prolonged applause, was tho last sneaker. He said that he and members of Parliament who felt as he did were ruing to do their utmost, to force tho Government to give effect to the petition. "If you will play'your pat! "outside we will play our part inside." said Mr. Isitf. "And we will put the Gov-M-nment in this nosil.iou: that if they dare to refuse this minor measure of liquor reform, then we will go to the country and tfcmand total prohibition'' (Anplause.) s The motion was carried almost unanimously amid cheers. The meeting closed with tho National Anthem.