THE PROHIBITION CAMPAIGN

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 159, 31 March 1919, Page 8

THE PROHIBITION CAMPAIGN

, !A CHURCH DEMONSTRATION. A no-license demonstration -was held in tho Town Hall last night. The meet. W was organised ;by .the' New. Zealand jmiance.-but it was 'really under the control -of the' Council: of. the .Churoheiv • representing the non-:piscopal churches of the city.: The speakera were-the Rev. ■ S. Beckingham, : the Rev', A! Reader, and Commissioner. Hodder, <f the Salvation Army. The Rev. Dr. Gibb presided, and there was an audience of 2(K>O people. . The proceedings! were partly in, the , nature :of a religious service. After short devotional services the speakers of 1 the evening -delivered . their addresses. As ! it wis a.. churoh demonstration, the speakers: did not ;ddress themselves to : the eoonomic counts in indicting the .trade, but dwelt exclusively on the moral ' and religions grounds for the abolition of strong- drink. They,'argued that tha ,W>rld wonld be a better'place'without aloohol, "and to the moderate drinker the appeal was that he should, in a ■ spirit of self-sacrifice, give up his unimportant personal liberty to protect his weaker brother from ill. ADDRESS IN NEWTOWN PARK. Owing -'to an "unfortunate misunder 7 ~ ..standing the bandstand' at Newtown J;Park ivas given by -the City Council ■ authorities to,two different 6ets of peo- . pie yestarday afternoon—the Patriotic : Society's - Band ..and the New , Zealand 'Alliance. . The band 1 got .there ; first and they -kept the rotunda, but -She prohibition address was delivered by the. Rev. W.' Ct. Fortune in another part of the ■ ground. Mr. Fortune is one. of the visitors fromCanada who have' been-invited to come to New Zealand to take part,,'in *the liquor fight. Although he is a preacher he has more than the average preacher's knoisedge /of the probleins of 'life as. they present themselves to the average man. Before;"he became a minister of rcligioii he was a farmer. Hi' speaks on the prohibition question from i tie ~ point of view of the busineM mai; rather than that of the moralist. His talk at the park, yesterday "was ■ addressed largely to working men, and he spoke of the benefits that had been found to accrue to labour .nnder'.prohibition. 'He spoke also of the'revenue obstacle raisedagainst the abolition of thedrink, saying that it would be found after the paes- ■" age.of prohibition that, a. considerable portion of .the. five .millions now ' spent on drink—he suggested three millions as the probable amount—would be spent on .' goods payirig. Customs duty. ■ He r (alined; that effect of prohibition would lie \jncreased_ efficiency and increased production, which would result in* more expenditure on .dutiable .goods, and an increase of the nations ilivide.id from' which taxation .oould be drawn. He did not'believ'e that New Zealand would feel at all the burden of the gift. of four millions and-a half-that was to be given ' to the trade. His conclusion was that by/getting rid/of tho'drink traffic.New Zealand would make cot a loss, but considerable profit.

• IN .'THEATBB. Tto.jEey.piw'v.Gi,-fortune addressed'a no-license .meeting ;U&;fcyeiiing in Everybodys Theatres; He-spots mostly of the 6ame aspeoii of the','ijquor i question ns he .had already' spokqn, of- in the afternoon,' but' rather more 'detail. . '• on e, of . toe West and most 'enthusiastic meetings in connection* with tho national prohibition 4 work in Petone, was' held-near -the Bathing Shed'onSunday. In the absence of Captain HaivKins, who was; uiiablo to attend on account of his having to address meetings in the Wairarapa, "Messrs. E. A. Israel and R. G, Denton addressed tho gathers'l' • of Petone; also spoke.. During the afternoon several selections were rendered by the local Salvation Army Band;:. 1 «.»vt-