PROHIBITION RALLY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2957, 3 November 1925, Page 2

PROHIBITION RALLY.

There was a large attendance at the Town Hall on Sunday night, when Rev. F. McDonald spoke on the subject of “Prohibition facts and arguments.” The speaker dealt with what lie characterised as misleading and untrue statements made by the Continuance Party in their paper “Cherrio” and in their advertisements in newspapers.

The argument on the side of personal liberty has no point lie said, for none of us have such liberty. In proportion as we become a civilised people our liberties are restricted. “You can’t drive your motor-ear as you like, or walk where you like on the footpaths. Our personal liberty is bounded by the rights of others.”

Figures and facts showing the failure of State Control in Alberta, Quebec and Sweden, were given. State Control is no control in Carlisle, the comparison with other towns of like population shows that drunkenness is much greater under Government Control than under License. Carlisle, 17.57 per 10,000 of population; Burton-on-Trent, 12.69 per 10,000 of population; Lincoln, 6.87 per 1,000 of population; Sheffield, 4.25 per 10,000 of population. And that the opinion is freely expressed that in Carlisle drinking among women has largely increased. The Trade makes great talk a,bout the bootlegging under Prohibition, said the speaker. You have more offences under License and State Control than under Prohibition. In Sweden during the third quarter of 1923, out of a total of 7,288 convictions for drunkenness 5*990, or 82 per cent., were of people who could not legally obtain liquor. “We are told that Prohibition was put over the American people. That they did not have a vote on it, and that 75 millions of them were wet and would have opposed it. The facts are that 66 millions out of a population of 99 millions were living under Prohibitory laws oL' some kind prior to the Amendment of the Constitution.”

United States, said the speaker, will not go back from Prohibition, because Prohibition has given such tremendous prosperity, and he here quoted figures in support of his contention.

New Zealand figures from our No-License districts were given to show that the same prosperity has followed Prohibition here.

The speaker also showed that drug-taking and alcoholic poisoning had been greatly reduced by the enforcement of Prohibition. The only one place in the United States that does not flourish, said the speaker, is fhe gaol. Since Prohibition, 1920 gao'ls have been closed, ami the Commissioner of Prisons reports that the gaol population has decreased by 59,250 persons.

“Now, there is another argument: for Prohibition in addition to that based on wastage ot: wealth by the liquor business, and that is the wastage of human lives caused by liquor,” said Mr McDonald, and he proceeded to refer in detail to the facts in this connection. Now, the annual cost of this to the State is about £200,000, averaging the cost at £1 per week. But that is only the least part of the cost. It is the child that has to pay the greater cost, and there is no method of calculating and stating that cost. Add up all these cases, and you will come to the appalling conclusion that there must be well on the way to 10,000 children in this country whose lives at this very moment are being crushed and hurt by reason of the existence eof the Licensed Liquor trade. . . ■ Get the significance of figures like these, and there must come to you a righteous indignation against a traffic that is responsible for so much human degradation, so much human wreckage. If for no other reason than that these 13,000 lives and these 10,000 children—--23,000 lives in all —shall be protected* and saved, even if it costs the State the whole of the £S,OOO, 000 now spent by the people, it should save these 23,000 lives,” said the speaker. “But it can be proved that it can save them and save the whole of the £8,000,000 as well. It is not going to hurt us, or cost us anything to save them. The only sacrilce we may be called upon to make is the loss of something that pleases our palates and fuddles our heads. Some of us would give our lives to protect and save the children of Belgium. Is it asking too much to expect- us to give up our right to drink, so that the children and the hoys and girls of New Zealand shall he saved?”