PROHIBITION FOR PONSONBY.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 448, 22 February 1890, Page 5

PROHIBITION FOR PONSONBY.

Auckland, February 18. A meeting of persons interested in securing prohibition for Ponsonby was held last night in the Ponsonby Hall, when there was a large attendance. On the platform were Mr Glover, organioing agent for the New Zealand Alliance. Mr Ross, the Rev. Mr Simmonds, and the Rev. Janies Chew. The Rev. Mr Simmonds took the chair and briefly opened the proceeding?. He said they were not there to attack men. Enemies to none, friends to all. It was a question of difference of opinion. There were people engaged in the liquor trade whom he esteemed as personal friends. Nothing need be said that would rankle afterwards. They were not there to debate. The hall had been taken by the friends of prohibition to formulate their views. The Rev. Mr Chew was received with applause. He was there as a former resident of Kansas, where he had lived under prohibition. It was one of the United States of America, The people in that State were brave and industrious. When he went to Kansas in 1870 he was astonished at the progress made by the State. The people were exceedingly religious, fond of liberty, and well educated. These were the people who had secured prohibition for Kansas. They had a dozen Universities in Kansas, and these were of the highest type. They were also courageous and aggressive, or progressive, if they liked the term better. When he went to Kansas, Local Option was in force, and so evenly were the parties divided that the Mayor generally gave the casting vote. The contests for the Mayor-, alty were therefore pretty keen. The Mayor at last, by his vote, shut up the saloons. True, they had a little drunkenness, but he never saw a woman drunk in Kansas. After he returned to London, the State went in for prohibition. They carried the vote for prohibition in Kansas by a majority of 20,000 in 1880, or 1881. When he returned to Kansas a few years ago, he had a church at Atcheson, where there was deadly hostility against prohibition. Some saloonists defied the law, and the Governor of the State said that the people had the right to settle that question. Governor Martin had since declared that it was an absolute success, and in all respects admirable. The present Governor was named Humphreys. Since then it had been stated that there was now no real desire to re-submit the questiou of prohibition to the vote of the people. Absolute drought did not prevail everywhere. The habit of drinking had died out in consequence of the removal of the temptation. Prohibition had nob repelled immigration, nor had it driven capital from the State. The period had been one of unequalled and unexampled success. Governor Humphreys had stated that the results of prohibition had been entirely satisfactory. He wished they had a measure of the prosperity now existing in Kansas under prohibition. He found from letters since received that the prosperity was still proceeding. The people were sober, and consequently industrious. He only left Kansas in consequence of the climate. He had once known the glass to be at 117 in the shade. In winter he had once known the glass to be 27 below zero. Prohibition had been fairly tried in Kansas, and had proved a magnificent and glorious success. Therefore they need not be afraid of Ponsonby going *to the dogs, or the devil, if they secured prohibition. Air Sbichbury asked what was substituted in place of the liquor shops in Kansas. Air Chew said they gave licenses to the drug Btores to sell liquor to those who were ailing. It was astonishing how many people were ailing for some time afterwards. It was, however, abused, and was subsequently stopped. The keeper of one drug store made a fortune out of it. Now they had made the law so strict that one man had paid from 15 to 20 thousand dollars for violation of the law. Afterwards he was put in prison. The abuse was, therefore, crushed now. (Applause.) The liquor was not allowed to come into the State now, but it was allowed to pass through the State. Kansas city was, strange to say, in Alissouri State. In place of the hotels, they had large buildings which were hotels in all but that there was no liquor procurable. Somehow the people did not seem so thirsty there now.

Mr H. J. Rosa expressed pleasure at seeing so many ladies amongst the audience. He explained that they were not to force prohibition upon others. They were not dealing with individuals, but fighting an evil. (Applause.) Their method of action vras quite legal, for the foundation of British law was that society had a right to protect itself. He considered that society had no right to regulate anything that was wrong. Evil should be promptly suppressed and thoroughly eradicated. They considered that the liquor traffic was an unmixed evil that could not be regulated, therefore they wanted prohibition. It was legal, safe, and constitutional. Until they got it there would be wretchedness and woe. He trusted that those present would go away convinced that prohibition was the right thing. Mr T. W. Glover said that he was both a resident and ratepayer, but his name was not on the roll. In England every householder was reckoned a ratepayer, and it should bo so here, becauee all had an interest in the election that was to take place.in Ponsonby next Wednesday, and he appealed to them to vote straight on this question. It had been rightly said that they were not fighting either men or houses. They only wanted the houses to give up one article and they would relieve them of paying £4O a year for a license. On Wednesday they had clearly-defined lines laid down. One set they knew, as the men were the same who sat last year. The others were men who, if returned by a majority would not grant a license to any man. Next Wednesday was the first day of Lent, and if they wanted to sacrifice they could vote for prohibition. The other side promised to close hotels at 10 o’clock, strict’Sunday closing, and no more houses. If the thing was good, why nob have more houses? They were told that if they dosed the hotels then they would get club licenses j but the Premier had said that wherever the voice of the people did away with liquor shops, no Government could grant a charter to any club. They would not do any hardship in turning the publicans out of the hotels. Why, since they had been fighting this question there had been several changes in the licensees of the two hotels in the district. In Shaftesbury Park Estate and Queen’s Park Estate in England there were no liauor shops, and each place had a population of over 10,000. The result was good tenants and no empty houses, In five years not £lO in rent had been lost, Sefton : Park with its 15,000 inhabitants was in a similar condition. The working man who would rather have hotels in Ponsonby was just the man whom the landlords did not want for a tenant. The Rev. Mr- Gilmore addressed the meeting briefly. He could only say that Mr Glover’s sentiments were his own. He could not understand how any man or woman could call themselves Christians unless they voted against this great evil. Ponsonby was eo situated that it did not

require hotels. Those who did want drink could get it near at hand. There were no travellers in‘ Ponsonby, and no back country, so that hotels were not required for the convenience of travellers. The Chairma"h then invited questions. Air Board man wished to speak, but the Chairman told him that the opponents of prohibition could tako a hall for themselves. Air Boardman said it was a question as to whether it was not intemperate of temperance men not to allow a man to ask a civil question. He was no partizan. He would ask the Chairman what good prohibition would do in Ponsonby when ,a man could get drink by five minutes’ walking. The Chairman said that they must get what, they could, and do what they might afterwards. Air Boardman said that he had been a temperate man all his life, and he thought it would have been better if the question had been fairly argued. Since the Chairman had taken such a standing he would not ask any other question. He would say that that was the first meeting in Ponsonby where a resident of Ponsonby had been refused a fair hearing. (Applause.) A retired publican here wished to address the meeting, but was ruled out of order. The Chairman then invited further questions, and as there were no more speakers, the meeting was closed. A vote of thanks to the Chairman ter rainated the proceedings.