Mo-License Meeting.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 43384, 5 November 1908, Page 2

Mo-License Meeting.

TE AROHA. Owing to various causes, there was a small attendance at the Public Hall on Tuesday evening, when the Rev. M Palmer, of New South Wales, gave an address on the subject of No-License. The Rev. W. Blair was chap-mam Mr Palmer began by emphasing the need of effort to lassure victory at the coming poll. The liquor traffic was denounced as being inimical to the best interests of life. Reference was made to the high sums spent by the liquor party in contesting the election, £2,000 had been raised in the Auckland Province for this purpose. Iu certain places voters had been promised £lO if continuance was carried. The liquor traffic caused enormous expenditure and loss. All other trades gave value for money spent; the only returns from the liquor trade being crime, misery, poverty, suicide, etc. The lecturer had made the statement that Fleet Week had produced in A uckland a “ baccbalian orgy,” and was prepaiel to repeat and defend that statement.

Last year there were 10,203 convictions for drunkenness in New Zealand, These figures probably represented but a fourth part of the total number, and yet the New Zealand Herald declared that drunkenness was decreasing. Sev< rnl instances of degradation and murder were given, of which the Stirling Hotel case would be remeuibsred by the audience. Mr Palmer then dealt with certain objections to No license. The “Mother’s Letter” from Ashburton was sh-.-wn to have been written by a woman who, in the days of license, sent her boy for diink. That same youth, since the advent of No License, was in the habit of going into license areas and getting drunk Dr. Bakewell had stated that prohibitionists were mainly people of “ weak intellects.” The lectur<r asked what about Sir R. Stout, Bishop Julius, and Mr A S. Adams v all supporters of No-License. Dr Bakewell said that in a democracy the majority must rule. Quite true. Iu 1905 the No-License maj-wiiy was IGOOO. Regarding “home drinking” the Rev Mr Whitehouse, of Ashburton, had stated that while he knew of no homes where liquor had not been drunk in license days and wherein it waa now drunk, he knew of scores of homes where the very reverse was tr Sly giog selling was more easily, detected in No-Liceuse than in License districts, and yet, last year the total fines for sly grog selling in Invercargill were £45. The statement that No License would “ kill Te Aroha as a tourist resort” was described as b ing nonsense. The Rev. W Thomson had issued a challenge to the No-License party to debate with him the results of prohibition in Maiuc, but bad taken care '

to no so wnen lc was too near ereouou time for bis opponeuts to communicate with the pe pie of that State and find out the truth regarding his figures. Mr ’ Thomson took care not to discuss the results of No-License in Balclutha, The picture of the 750 d zen bottles collected in Ashburton was referred to and explained. These bottles had been gathered from far and near. Not only so, but duringhalf the year preceding the gathering of them ii;enses hal existed and during the whole year a licensed club, with a membership i f 603, had been in existence. The people of Ashburton, during No License, had spent 12s per h' ad on liquor, the rest of New Zealand £3 15s lOd. The name and portrait of Genera] Booth had been used in defence of License. The lecturer quoted the recently uttered words of the General “ I am for Prohibition, the Salvation Army has always been, is now, and will for ever be against the drink traffic, lock, stock and barrel It is its worst opponent.” The misleading statements Regarding the comparative increase of population in Whangarei, Hamilton, and 4-shburtou were referred to and refuted, and the lecturer closed by urging the people of Tauranga to follow the example of Clutba. which, after fourteen years of No License, is more than ever in love with the system