NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 101, 19 October 1911, Page 8

NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

-\niS. BAIITOX AT THE TIIEATIiE ItOYAL.

Mm. Barton completely won her audi-' eneo at the Theatre Royal last night. Like the celebrated "leather O'Flynn," the lady has a "wonderful way with her," and her stories ami jokes were numerous, to the point, well told, and as illustrative as they were entertaining. Mrs. Barton spoke for about an hour and a half, after having been introduced by r the Mayor, Mr. G. W. Browne.

Mrs. Barton started off by remarking J on the number of people who seemed to have been appalled by the weather and had stayed away, and she warned temperance folk that they should not be afraid of a liberal supply of their own beverage. If they were afraid of water at Home tliey would never have a meeting at all in winter. There they had gatherings of thousands even when torrential rains were falling. Again comparing the Old Country to New Zealand, she said that "Wer'e fighting for the bill, and you're 'billed for the fight." Some people asked what business she had to come here and dictate. She was not here to dictate; she knew better, but felt she might be. able to advise in the work of social reform, for she came from a. land where the evils of the liquor traffic had been in existence for generation after generation. The speaker put the audience in a good frame of mind with an anecdote or two, and explained that originally she had come out to Australia for her health's sake. Sht : had been invited to take part in the nolicense campaign in New South Wales, and had become so engrossed in th .> work that she came on here. She w;i>i waiting now to see what the people <,i' New Zealand would do with the nolicense question, and if they succeeded in carrying the reform she would cro back across the world to try and accomplish the same thing there. A great, part of her address was devoted to combatting the statements made by the Trade about the effects of, no-liceuse and the probable effects of Dominion prohibition. Mrs. Barton said that from her nine days' stay in Oamaru she was satisfied that Oamaru under no-license was a decided success. There were no young men hanging round hotel bars, half intoxicated. They were just whin, young men ought to be. She had gone to the railway station to see all those quantities of liquor'that were > alleged to be brought to Oamaru by the late train on Saturday night. But the men's pockets were as slack as her own, and the men were sober. A newspaper reporter had told her that the court sittihgs were very short since no-license came, and the sergeant of police told her that all the sly-grog brought into Oamaru in a year would not be as much as one hotel's Xmas trade. He further informed, her that this sly-grog was supplied to only about 400 people out of the 3000 peopie there, and always, apparently, to the same little few. The doctors told her there was no increase of drinking in the homes. Then she went to the Mataura electorate, also under no-license. She controverted absolutely the story of the "Besses o' th' Barn" band conductor that there waf> no good house of accommodation in nolicense areas in New Zealand. She had not seen anything outside of London to beat the accommodation procurable at Gore, and there were splendid houses in Oamaru. It wasn't a fair deal for a man to tour the country and then go away and tell untruths. She was going Home to give it a flat denial, and she was going to see the "Besaess'" con.ductor himself about it. At Gore she had come across a man who admitted that dirinlc had been ruining him and his business, but his wife worked hard, no-lieense was enirried, and now he was doing well. A hotelkeeper's wife came! to this man the day after the poll and ] told him that this no-license was his wife's work, and she withdrew her trade. The man had replied that the closing of the hotels had saved him from bankruptcy; that for every pound she spent in his shop she had got value, and that he had spent fifty in the hotel for every one he received from it. As for what was to become of the hotelkeepers, no man who was willing to work need starve. Thev should have what was; for the good of the people, and rise ' almve the grovelling things of self—the] greatest good for the greatest number.' Mrs. Barton mentioned InvereargiH, and expressed the wish that New Plymouth was rid of its hotels and as pros- i perous as rnvereargill. The Trade issued ' circulars that no-license would increase local taxation. The Mayor of Inveroar-j gill, who was interested in hotel property, said its value had increased by a third since the carrying of no-licenße, and he was prepared to give 1000 votes, if he had them, to Dominion prohibition. Another owner of hotel property was now drawing £lB a week from his* place, where as a licensed place he had got £l2 only. InvereargiH was clean and prosperous. As for the argument that no-license would be followed by sly-grosr, no one would say that no-license would rid a man of the craving for liquor, but, like the closing of a fever-spreading sewer, they could remove the cause of the disease. A man had told her he would walk barefooted over ten miles of prickles and thorns to get a drink. He was to bft pitied. What to do with the sly-grogger? People were being urg<ed not to vote no-license because of the possibility of sly-grog selling. They had laws against thieving. If a man broke the law against theft and burglary, and' Parliament take that law off the .Statute Book? No, they punished the thieves as they caught them, and enforced the law. "Thou shalt not kill," was framed in the law of every nation. But there was murder in every country. Was the law repealed? No. ' Such argument was abtsurd and illogical. The mighty vested I interests, the brewers, distillers," and the shareholders in these businesses, had the greatest monopoly on earth, and they were responsible for the sly-grog sellinn-. They had no sympathy at all" for the men who put their few hundreds into

the tied houses, but allowed many of them to got into the gutter. These monopolists were very sympathetic now. They warned parents' that "if no-license is carried your boy will be dragged off to the sly-grog shop." But the sergeant of police at Oamaru had told her that the reason why no-license was going to 1)0- such a success was because it prevented fresh drunkards being madethere wai no new crop of young drunkards coming on. No self-respecting man would go to a sly-grog shop. Another argument adduced 'was that it would he injurious to the health of men if thoir liquor were stopped. They had seen bard drinkers go to gaol, but the sobriety didn't kill them. They were ; all the better for their enforced ab- | stinence. Mrs. Barton said she would J make the law so strict that sly-grog selling would be impossible. As sh'owin" the contempt of the "trade" for the law" and their own sly-grog methods, the speaker referred to the abolition of the bottle licenses and the issue of a circular by a firm of Dunodin wine merchants inforniins people that thev were prepared to deliver two gallons of assorted liquor into the homes, and that their representative would call. That representative told the people that they could order the two gallons, get it when ! I they liked and not necessarily all at ' tmee, and not pay till they had got '

tile whole order fulfilled. Wasn't that sly-grog selling, and getting behind the law? Kithcr the liquor trade was right or it was wrong. If right, why all these, restrictions? If wrong, why not wipe it right out? Mrs. Barton was of opinion that Ashburton under no-lieen.se was a success from every standpoint. She had been told that no-license there had brought a crop of houses of ill-fame, and she had been told that the police would confirm this Btateuient. The three policemen told her that when there was an open bar in Ashburton there were three houses of that description. Under nolicense there was none. She 'described to the police the man who told her this untruth, and she found he was the paid agent of the Trade. Mrs. Barton said that the no-licenso people were not allowed to tell lies, but the other side could tell them oy the square yard if they liked. The lecturer went on to answer the arguments that no-license would cause stagnation in the building trade and close the saleyards, contradicting these stories with figures from Oamaru, Balclutha and InvereargiH. As for the tourist trade, it was a libel on the tourists to say that they would not come here if New Zealand adopted nolicense. They came to view our seenecy, not to drink our beer. What benefit did we obtain from the trade? Here in New Plymouth there were seven hotels to a population of 5240 people in the borough. The total revenue received from them was £439 18s. The average consumption of drink per head of population wa9 about £4 in licensed areas, so our expenditure in drink in N(jw Plymouth was £20,960 per annum to get back £493 18s. Where was the good of that? It was diabolical, and yet the Trade said the abolition of .'licenses would increase local taxation. What did the worker get from the liquor trade? Out of every pound sterling spent in drapery the worker got 5s Gd; in boots (exclusive of tannery) 8s 6d out of every £1 went nock to the workers; in the agricultural industry, 12s in every £1; in ironmongery, 9s 6d in every £1; in coal, 12s (id in every £1; and in liquor only cighteenpence in every £1 spent went back to the workers. But apart altogether from that loss of money, she grieved over the loss of man, of brain, and of fitness as a result of the drink traffic. Mrs. Barton ridiculed the I statement that Dominion prohibition or ! no-license would throw men out of employment. The contrary would certainly be the case.

The lecturer earnestly urged that the only way of remedying the evils of the traffic was to vote it out altogether. She had seen the failure of the Gothenburg system, whose hotels made just as many drunkards as any other, and, in fact, did more harm because young people were led there owing to the eminent "respectability" of the directors. Liquor, even if sold by the archangel, would have a pernicious and degrading effect, so vote it out. The tide of prohibition was advancing, and they might as well attempt to put back the ocean as to keep it back. 'The liberty of the subject." This was (i stock phrase of the Trade, and about its weakest argument. Mrs. Barton pointed »out that despite their much bigger profits, the hotelkeepers were the only men in business who did not have to close their places of business about six o'clock in the evening, and on a halfholiday once a week. Why shouldn't they come into line? Again, there were thousands suffering from the effects of drink, and the present movement was to prevent the disease. Would anyone worry a,bout the doctor's practice if a euro were discovered for cancer, or consumption? Then why worry about the publicans?

Whilst not wishing to trench on general politics, Mrs. Barton urged her hearers to "have no time for the man who won't give you the bare majority vote." The man who asks your suffrages and asks you to put'him into Parliament on a bare majority, and won't igive you the same—well, I'd use my foot to him." ((Laughter.) Mrs. Barton resumed her seat amidst applause, which had been frequent all the evening. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded her on the motion of Mr. 0. E. Bellringer, and a similar compliment to the chair concluded the meeting.