FARMERS AND PROHIBITION.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 March 1919, Page 3

FARMERS AND PROHIBITION.

MEETING AT THE EMPIRE THEATRE. The mcetfng held on Saturday aftfr- : noon in connection with the prohibition movement, under the auspioes of tinlocal branch of the Efficiency Leagm 1 :lrew a moderate attendance- Mr J- S. ".'onnctt, chairman of the Taranaki County Council, who was to have presided was absent through the death of his father (Mr J. TS. Connett). anil an npol o"v was made for him by Mr. A- "• Johnstone, who asked Mr. H. C. Sampsou to preside instead. Tn introducing the speakers, A.I. Sampson said, they were practically all farmers of the South Taranaki district, and known to a great many of the audience, and they had come to put the question, from' the farmers' view-point It was right that that should be considered as the farmers would pay <he biggest share of <li» compensation when prohibition wu? carried. Mr. F. M. Mills (Hawera) was the first speaker, and he said that while the people of New Plymouth had had plenty of opportunity of hearing the ease for prohibition put by mora practised speakers, they came merely as farmers to speak to their fellow-farmers on the question as it appealed to them. He admitted that the time for the meeting was not very favorable, and said the small attendance was perhaps due to the fact that the people of New Plymouth had made up their minds to vote righton April 10. The members of the-Effi-ciency League were not out with any grudge against any sections of the community. He then explained how the Efficiency Hoard came to be set up, the object in setting it up, and the report it had furnished on the matter of the liquor question, stating that while at first tlicv had considered it in relation to the country's efficiency for war purposes, the evidence tendered had convinced them that the total elimination of the trade was desirable as a permanent measure in New Zealand. In consequence of the Government- taking no action on the lines of the report- made bv the Efficiency Board, Efficiency Leagues were formed throughout the country), and through their assistance a poll on the question had been granted, and now they were engaged in an endeavor to s.ecure that the vote to be taken went the way they considered it ought to go. The League consisted of some of t-lie strongest and ablest business men of the countrv, and the branch at Hawera was one of'the strong branches, the farming community being strongly represented. Mr. Mills cave the names of many men in the district who were associated with the League, including the chairmen of all the large dairy companies, of the Farmers' Co-operative and the Hawera County Council. (Applause). He said it was not a movement of the old prohibitionists, who had been looked upon by some as "wowsers." Thev had been working in the ean=e for a long time, but most of the Efficiency League men had come in at what- might be called the last minute, to give a final push, and help the others over the stile.

Referring to the objections fn prohibition. the speaker dealt flr«t with , those relating to pleasure arid selfishness which lie considered not worth bothering much about. They talked a lot about, interference with the liberty of the subject, but there was no such thir.g as liberty to do what, caused injury to other people. Even the liquor trade itself had not personal liberty to do as it liked. The restriction of personal liberty was the vorv essence of civilisation. He tlii'i: touched on the financial difficulties which some people had in the matter, especially in regard to the giving of compensation. His view, however, was thai, although he disliked the principle of compensation, n bargain had been made with the trade for a 4J years' tenure after the carrying of prohibition, and if prohibition was to come into force immediately some consideration must be given 111 respect of that bargain. an;i he thought the compensation would be a good investment,- if it meant being [done with the thing once and for all. Ji\' paying the 4J million pounds now. 20 million and more would be saved to the country before that years had passed, and lie considered that a good proposition. Another point of view to consider was the welfare of the nation as a whole. While he respected the opinion of those who thought it not in the interests of the nation to cut out the liquor, he could not understand jnsl where the nation was served to any gooil purpose by the trade. For its own purposes the trade always preferred to employ men who were non-drinkers, and that to the speaker seemed to clinch the efficiency argument. He then referred to the moral and physical hurt resulting from the trade, and appealed in conclusion for its abolition in the interests of a better standard of morality. Mr. W. I). Powdrell, chairman of the Kaupokonui Hairy Company and chairman of the Patea Freezing Company, said there were scarcely any members of the Hawera branch of the Efficiency Le.'iirne who were nb-olnle teetotalers, but they were persuaded that if the abolition of the liquor business was going to benefit the country, by giving a cleaner life and increased efficiency, they could do without their drop, and he appealed 1 o the sane man who was a moderate drinker to look at the matter in that light. Money spent in liquor was nothing but waste, and they as business men thought it was up to them to do their share in endeavoring to have effect- sriven to the Efficiency Board's findings on the trade. He dealt with the revenue aspect of the question, and put it in a new light when he asked how many families would be prepared to give the whole of the earnings of one of their members in expenditure oil drink every year. The country spent five millions in drink in order to get one million revenue. The interest on the compensation proposed amounted to about 5s per head of population per annum, for 40 years, provided the amount was to be a total loss (which was not admitted), and, even if it was, who would not be willing to pay that amount for the sake of getting rid of the biggest monopoly ever known, to say nothing of the saving of lives and the extra efficiency to he gained.

Mr. Powdrell referred to the insidious influence of the liquor trade on the political life of the country, and said that on election day the influence of the trade was worth more than that of the twenty best platform speaker? that could be secured, and such influence should be wipod out, and the sooner the better The speaker concluded with a reference to what was being done in America nr.d Canada, and appealed to the people to vote the trade out 011 April 10. and thereby get in with the reform at ieiis< a few hours before those countries.

, Major Bishop, who has recently returned from the front, in supportin;; the other speakers, dealt '."lit the 1 i<| u;>r trade and its effect ppoa the soldier. He

traced most of the crimes amongst soldiers —both officers and men—to the influence of drink, and appealed on the ground of the best way of helping the soldier coming back, to return to civil life in the best and quickest way, to have the traffic wiped put. He urged soldiers not to disgrace themselves by drunkenness while in uniform, and that while they had been good soldiers they should aim to be good citizens, and to that end they should help to cut out the liquor. Mr. 0. Hawken, a member of the Board of Agriculture, spoke from the standpoint of the value of the custom of drinking and the value of the abolition of the custom, and by comparison showed that there was everything to gain by the abolition of the traffic in 'liquor. He dealt with the housing problem and expressed an opinion that if this country wiped out a tra(lie which caused such injury and oppression to the workers, there would be an influx; of workers here from other countries, which would relieve t.hc_ labor difficulty and be of general benefit to the Dominion. In moving a vote of thanks to the speakers, Mr. A. H. Johnstone said the evidence they had given was weighty and had been ably presented by men who were entirely disinterested. He said that no more humane thing could be done for the country than by carrying prohibition on April 10. The motion was seconded by Mr. R. C. Hughes, and carried with acclamation. SATURDAY XIGIIT MEETINGS. Meetings under the auspices of the hfticiency League were held in several country districts on Saturday night. All of them drew very satisfactory audiences. and the speakers were given an attentive hearing. Messrs A. 11. Johnstone and W. I). Powdrell spoke at Okato, Messrs \V. Ambuiy and 0. Hawken at Uruti, and Messrs F. M. Mills and Major Bishop ut Urenui. 11l town an open-air meeting was held afc the corner of Brougham and Devon Streets, at which addresses were given bv the Rev. 0. Blundell and Mr. C. E. Bellringer