New Zealand Alliance

Manawatu Herald, 20 March 1897, Page 2

New Zealand Alliance

« Mr H. Field, secretary of the N. Z. Alliance, gave an interesting act* dress to an audience " fit, though few," in the Methodist Hall last evening. Mr W. S. Stewart, 8.A., occupied the chair, and briefly introduced the lecturer. Mr Field com* menced his address by stating that the local option poll of March, 1891 showed that 107,000 persons voted on the question. In December 1896, nearly 260,000 persons voted. la 1894 a large proportion of the friends of "the trade" abstained from voting, the general opinion being that the Prohibitionists were only a noisy minority, and that a sufficient cumber to make a valid poll (one half the number of names on the electoral roll), would not be found to vote But. in 1898 it was provided that the issue was to be decided by those who went to the poll, whether more or less than half. The last pnll was therefore a real fight ; both sides did their best to win ; and as a result wo now knew where we stand. And where are we ? A long step in advance. The electoral fight showed an amazing increase in the strength of ihe no license party When tbe Alliance was f. rnaed in Welling* ton some eleven years ago by Sir William Fox, Sir Robert Stout, and a few others, it would have been im« possible to muster 10,000 . votes for No License in the colony. The temperance work initiated and carried on by the Alliance and others resulted in a vote of 48,000 against the Liquor Trade in 1894, an in" orease of 400 per cent, in 8 years t The agitation continued with everincreasing energy, and then can\e the poll of December, 1896. At that poll the license vote was in round uumb^rn 98.000. an increase of over 100 per cent, in less than three y>'ar<4 ! And yet it wag said (hat no licence was killed that day, and the cause of temperance " eet buck " for a generation. It was a grand "setting back." Why, if I any other movement of social reform had mads anything like the tame i progress, it would be trumpeted -for land wide through the whole 1 earth. Temperance workers had therefore I very good ground to thank God and | take courage in the full assurance ; that the day of victory final and complete was measurably nearer. In the concluding part of bis address Mr Field dealt at considerable leegth with the Liquor Revenue question, arguing that this revenue, amounting in round numbers to half a million of money, was blood money : that it was paid, not by the | publicans or the brewers, but by the ' people ; that it was raised in the very costliest way ; that in the event of prohibition being carried it would not be needed ; and lastly, that if need, it would be more than met by the inoreased prosperity of the people. A hearty vote of thanks to the lecturer for his clear, cogent, and logical address was proposed by the Rev. Barnett, seconded by Mr T. Westwood, and carried by acclamation. The meeting closed with the usual courtesy to tbe chair.