PROHIBITION.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 90, 13 October 1896, Page 2

PROHIBITION.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — I find that Mr Lethbridge's letter has not obtained its intended ob ject. I, therefore, ask bim to state, through yeur columns, whether he will , pledge himself, if returned as our Member, to attend and vote against each and every measure or resolution of the House having for its object Prohibition, or having any tendency in that direction. Will Mr Lethbridge kindly answer "Yes" or " No " to the above question ? I am, &c, James J. Bagnall.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — Judging by the number of letters that appear on the above subject in your paper I take it that it is, without doubt, the leading question of the day. Will you, therefore, allow me to add my little quota to that already gone before ? I will, firstly, in reply to Mr Clapham inform him that the Prohibition meetings are run by the local people — not by tbe itinerant lecturers. He also classes street preachers and temperance workers with publicans and barkeepers. I would ask, who is doing it for conscieuce sake aud the good of humanity? The temperance people have little to gain pecuniarily b}' forcing Prohibition, for should it be carried they would then have to share the taxation which is now borne by the consumers of beer aud spirits. Mr H. C. Wilson is of another order of the "on my dignity style." He says Prohibitionists have cast away discretion and good feeling, I perpetrate foul injustice, steal the rights of the people, are endeavoring to place minors on the roll, are tryiug to influence { the weak, the silly, the unintelligent, and stigmatises them as knaves and cranks. Let me tell Mr Wilson that we are as intelligent and as honest as his faction, who will allow a " drunk " to spend his last shilliugand then turn him j into the street to do the best ho can. | We are righting for a principle, not for ! the bolsl.erin» up of what they call vested nights. We will press the charges to the day of election to force a fair, honest, aud full trial of the case. And, if the other side fails to meet the issues, or resort to mud throwing as their tools aro now doing, it will be au admission of the guilt of the traffic and simply show how ignorant, vile, and mean, are its hirelings. I would ask Mr Wilson does he actually believe in the drink traffic '? Does he really believe iv men -husbands aud fathers — spending the best part of their hard-earned wages in drink? Those of tho traffic say we would steal the rights and liberties of the people What about the other rights and liberties that have been stolen ? Havo we lost anything !by them being blotted out? What I about sweeps, or publishing aad scattering broadcast indecent literature ? Were these worse thau what is now going on lv our midst ? One reference only to the Bensonian dream. He dreamt tliat all the most carefully planned and deliberate murders, also the most clever burglaries, were committed by total abstainers. Most decidedly, they in tbeir way are successful business men, and I ask what successful business man in Feilding makes it a practice of being continually in the public house bar shouting and being shouted for ? Why. sir, the five fingers of one hand are more thau enough to do the reckoning with. Sir, there is but one cure, and that is "No license " — and it is for those who suffer most, the wives, to see that tbey are on the roll, and at the next general election to boldly vote No License. |Owiug to 'its extreme length a portion of this letter has been excised.— Er>. F.S.J