GOOD TEMPLARY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 42, 11 August 1911, Page 8

GOOD TEMPLARY.

OPENING GOOD TEMPLAR. HALL SUCCESSFUL PROCEEDINGS. According to advertisement this addition to the public hails of the town was opened yesterday afternoon. Though the 'builders and decorators were at work in the building up to within a few minutes of the time set for the opening, the large company who gathered for tile ceremony and speeches were very comfortably entertained. All spoke with high approbation of the appearance of the hall inside, though not quite finished. It is unnecessary to repeat any of the description of the building which appeared in our issue of Tuesdlay last. Mr. George Andrews, Grand Chief Templar of New Zealand, a highly esteemed resident of Ashiburton, came up for the opening and presided at the (function. In his opening remarks the chairman expressed his surprise and pleasure at seeing so fine a 'bus!ding .erected (for temperance, and l particularly Good Templar, work in New I'lviiiouth. He congratulated the promoters and the Lodge on their energy and enterprise. We had much yet to do; it was a bad tow that required a threefifths majority to abolish the liquor bars, and that law should' be altered. Good Templars stood side by side with the W.C.T.U. for God, Home, and Humanity.

After .pointing out the principles of the Order, that it stood squarely for total abstinence for. the individual, and prohibition for the State, he aaid it also stood for equality of the sexes in all matters, and Templars were the first to adopt that principle, and that he hoped this new hall would 'be used for every purpose that was good, high, noble and pure. He then declared the hall opened far all these worthy purposes in the name of God, whose name is honored in all lodges of the Order of Good Templars. Mr. G. W. Hartnell, as chairman ■of the building committee, was called on for a ,brief, statement. He said that they began their plans in a very modest way, but that they grew and grew until* this large work was undertaken and as it is very nearly accomplished. For over two veavs the work had been in hand, and the committee had held 47 formal recorded meetings, and numerous

unrecorded. Thev may have made mistakes, but the next hail they built would be perfection—they had learned so much over this one. He informed the audience that there were still some debentures to lie had bv any who wished to have a hand, or a handful of money, in this great undertaking. The debentures are £1 each, ind bear interest at 4 per cent., and ire to be redeemed, as fund« allow, by ballot. He wished to thank all who so far had helped and particularly the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Miss Grimley, of Leicester, England, the Good Templar organiser, also spoke. She heartily congratulated the local Templars on their achievement, and will be very glad to report what is done in New Zealand, and hopes that when she returns to England she may be able to report not only this happy occasion, but also that the electors of this Dominion have carried prohibition l>y a three-fifths majority. The Rev. R. J. Lidflell also spoke and referred very feelingly to the death of our Mayor. He remembered, particularly at this opening day. how the late Mr. Tiseh so kindly assisted in laving the foundation stone in a heavy shower of rain. He said that temperance workers, in common with the burgesses generally, recognised in Mr. Tiseh an open, fairminded man, who desired to do what w<i.s right. He trusted that the liall would be not merely for pleasure, but that it would be a hive of temperance industry. At intervals in the proceedings Mrs. Moverley gave a pianoforte solo, and Miss Ainsworth a song, both items being heartily applauded. " THE PROGRAMME AT MIGHT.

iAit night there was a verv fair audience at a concert given to celebrate the opening. The hall proved a cosy concert hall. Brilliantly lighted with a large number of 100 c.p. Osram lights, it was a very attractive-looking place. The very first item on the programme, a pianoforte solo, proved its acoustic properties, and the succeeding songs distinctly heard in every part of the hall. The chair was taken by Mr. 0 Andrews, Grand Chief Templar,"and wi.V, him on the platform were Miss Grimier, the messenger of the Grand Lodge of England, and the Rev. R. J. Liddefl. The chairman, in his address, expressed his great pleasure in being permitted to take pairt in the opening ceremonies of the hall, and he hoped that bright days were in store for the lodge which was opening it. He was a bit afrai<l to light out on temperance matters, for there was no telling where he would stop. The temperance movement wns like George Stephenson' first engine. When it was brought out people said "They'll never get it to go!" It started, and they held up their hands and said "They'll never get it to stop!" He and the temporalis movement would never stop until the job was finished, until New Zealand was rid of the drink curse. It was a 'bisr fight, but they had the right on their side, God on their side, truth on their side, and the best men and women and the praying men and women on their side. He was proud to have been associated with the work in Ashibuirton when no-license was carried. If they could once get all the people, or most of the peoole, to si»n the temperance pledge, the public-houses would have to close for want of business. He denied the impeachment that 'the bottom had fallen out of Ashburton* The town was financially good, he had shops well let, ami could' let a lot more if he were lucky- enough to have them. He questioned whether any county was more wealthy. Its valuation was over £7.000,000, or at the .rate of £4OB IBs per head of real estate. On the last days of license they had a list of 58 men and one woman under prohibition orders. To-day not one of them was prohibited. He didn't place much reliance on the Pakatoa Island system of keeping men and women from liquor for a time, for when they returned to their own towns, with licensed houses, they were "right up against the temptation again." There was hardly a case of those prohibited person but what had been vastly improved bv nolicense. Out of thirteen prohibited persons in Ashburton last year, only three were known to he residents in the nolicense district. It was true that there, were some scoundrels bad enough, mean enough and vile enough to run slg-grog

shops. But one had to have the pass-' word to get the liquor. They wouldn't give him any. (Laughter.) To-day everybody who was known to do slygrog selling was looked down upon. In considering the figures regarding these prohibited persons, they should heair in inind that the figures were for the Ashburton police district, which was much bigiger than the county, and which included several licensed houses, lie uaid that the . gaol was scarcely ever used now, and this state of afi'aiirs was so chronic that the sergeant used the lockup for a, temporary store for his furniture. f Why, the police were unable now to get enough "drunk" laW to keep the wood cut and the garden 't«n. (Laughter.) There wasn't a child ragged or in want in Ashburton to-day as the result of the drink traffic, and in that town during the days of license there had been such doings a» had never been chronicled in any book. Only seventeen people—mostly widows who were widows because of the drink—were on the charitable aid list in that county of 15,000 inhabitants. He cited instances of reformed lives of men and women in the district under the uew state of affairs. Ashburton was not going down, it was going up. After speaking at very great length on what the town was doing, he appealed to New Plymouth to "buckle on the armour" and get NoLicense in New Plymouth this yeair. Miss Griml-ey spoke principally on the work of the Order of Good Templars, whose motto from the start had been "Prohibition for the State." There is no doubt that many of the greatest reforms obtained in England were traceaW« to the efforts of Good Templarv. She related that in some counties at Home there was no provision for teetotallers during court proceedings, but only beer. That hail probably been remedied, at her own instance, by now. j It was in a number of little things like this thjit the Order wag making itself felt. Miss Grimlev spoke of the success attending the work of juvenile lodges, the young people of which grew up teetotal and had teetotal homes of their own, so much so that a publican in one village that she knew said that it was becoming more and- more difficult to make a- living "as the young people don't drink like they did in my time!" There was a sphere of usefulness for everyone in the Order, young and old, man, woman, and child. Many a British MVP. had received his training in the Good Templar Lodge. The Lord Mayor r>f London had much of his training in it. He was a total abstainer, and still i member of the Order. There were titled people in the Order, and many >ther prominent people as well. Tt was in excellent thing for young people to ie associated with a temperance 'odge, :or it trained them in public speak'"'', in >rganisation, and so on. To many a nan and woman the magic letters 'l.O. G.T." stood for "I owe God thanks." [f there wasn't so much rescue work lere as in the Old Land, there was any imount of preventive work, to protect lie young lives until such time as the Irink traffic was ?finished from the land. The ritual of the International Order if Good Templars was based on the fospel, and it had its good effect on the 'oung peopl# who joined just at that ime when they were breaking away rom the influence of the Sunday school. Concluding a humorous and effective ad[ress, she asked her hearers to come nd assist in the Good Templar work by oining the local lodge.

The Rev. R, J. Liddell also briefly addressed the meeting, with a word of exhortation to those not connected with the Order to throw in their lot with the movement. The Good Templars were bending their backs, iwnoving the great obstacle from the road that the people had to tread, and enabling those now crushed beneath it to be released from its influence—the inflence of the drink traffic. One night this week he had seen no less than 27 young men enter a public bar in less than five minutes. The young men were the sinmv of the nation, and they must be true, and good, and noble, and sober; not to go to make up the ranks of the drinkers and drunkards of the future. He asked for the exercise of his hearers' personal influence and sympathy between this and polling-days. The musical programme was as follows: Pianoforte solo, Mr. W. Hoskin; son?, "Harbor Lights," Miss Keys; song, "Idle Words." .Miss Guildford; song, "Tr-o +o the last." Mr. W. G. Read; '-when tke Ebb-tide flows," Miss "■■tier (encored). The accompaniments were played by the Misses Legg and Guildford. The singing of the "Old Hundredth" concluded the proceedings.