DIRECT VETO.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2548, 29 August 1893, Page 3

DIRECT VETO.

The fourth anniversary of the Geraldine Prohibition League, which was held on Friday evening, was quite a demonstrative affair. THE TEA. About 200 people sat down in the Volunteer Hall to tea, the five tables being presided over by Mesdames Wallach, Lawson, and Bowkett, and Misses Coombs, Gabey, Fyfe, Bowkett, E. Sherratt, and Stonehouse. THE PROCESSION. After the tables were cleared, at 7.30 a large procession was formed, comprising : —The Rev F. W. Isitt and other local prominent prohibitionists in the lead; the Geraldine brass baud ; a conveyance with a whiskey barrel from which issued a number of locally-manufactured green snakes; members of the Welcome Retreat Lodge 1.0.G.T., in full regalia and others in sympathy with the temperance movement; and the Salvation Army brass band. Mr T. H. Dalton acted as marshall, and the procession, after marching from one end of the town to the other and burning coloured lights on the way, returned to the Volunteer Hall.

THE PUBLIC MEETING.

At 8.30 a public meeting was held, when there was a large attendance, all the seats in the Volunteer Hall being full, and many people at the back having to stand. The Rev. A. B. Todd presided, and on the platform were also the Revs. F. W. Isitt and W. O. Woodward, and Messrs J. W, Sawle (Ashburton), Colin McKenzie, W. S. Maslin, and Captain Dickson (Salvation Army, Geraldine). After devotional exercise, the rev. chairman thanked those interested for the honor they had done him by placing him in the chair, and then proceeded to call on the various speakers in their turn. Captain Dickson belonged to one of the greatest temperance organisations ou the earth, and they intended by all the means in their power to extend the cause. (Applause.) He expressed his dissatisfaction at the way the Government were dealing with the licensing question, and said the people had sufficient common sense and judgment to have the Direct Veto in their own hands. He was glad that the Salvation Army was “down” on the drink traffic, and he believed their’s was the only organisation that would not admit to membership persons that touched intoxicating liquor in any shape or form. (Applause). The Rev. F. W. Isitt, brother of the Rev. L. M. Isitt, was the next speaker, and was received with loud applause. He said that for the past twenty years he had often passed up and down, but this was the first time he had the pleasure of visiting the soberest place in New Zealand. (Laughter and applause). He was sure Geraldine was the soberest place in New Zealand because some people here had said so, and they were bound to know. But he had not come across, a place yet that did not claim to be the soberest. Even at Kumara, where there was a public> ougo for every 60 people, he was told that that was the soberest place in New Zealand. He thought it was not impossible for working people, going to and coming from their business, to know what was going on around them, and he ventured to say that there was just a “ drunk” now and again at Geraldine. (Laughter.) Speaking on Sir Robert Stout’s Licensing Act Amendment Bill, He asked what Mr Seddon meant by saying that if this Bill became law somebody would have to find £60,000 fur local revenue. The Bill did not say the public-houses must be shut up—it said the people could have more public-houses if they wanted; but Mr Seddon seemed to think that if the people had the power they' would shut up all. He hoped Mr Seddon was a true prophet. Speaking on brewers and publicans, he said ; “ We do not object to the publican, but we object to the way he gets his living.” He then mentioned several things that were not prohibited such as quack-victimising, fortune-telling, landbooming, etc., and coming to the commercial depression in Australia he said they have poured £7,000,000 of bad drink down their melancholy throats in a single year, and the oology that does so deserves no sympathy for its bad times. (Applause). It was not enough to say that the drink traffic was a tremendous evil, and therefore must be prohibited. There were not twenty men in New Zealand that could paint the evil in all jta greatness. ~ He knew of a young; man that came from the country on business and fell into the baqds of a publican, and the latter ftlte.rvfarda boasted that he sold the yaqng man 32 bottles of champagne in one night and only drew the corks of three of them. Ho also cited other cases setting forth hov? publicans defied the law. At the tbh© of the Grand National race rfteetiug a t Christchurch in ouehoiise 20 or 30 young men were talking about racing and smoking their pipes until one or two o’clock ou a Sunday morning, and it was sworn in court that they never had a drink between them. He ridiculed the practice of drinkers shouting for the publican. They paid the publican for his own drink,and then asked him to join them in drinking. People never dreamt of asking a shopkeeper to partake of anything they bought in his shop. He had put the question straight to dozens of expublicans “ Is it possible to make a living and run a public house on the square,” and ho did not know one of them that had answered in the affirmative. It was about time the people had control of such a traffic. He was not quite sure whether the Government, which he called a double shuffling one (although he was a radical from the crown of hia head to the solo of his foot) meant to give the women the franchise. The women werq *’ue best men on the temperance question. He asserted that the Temperance party wore fair in their dealings with their opponents, but the liquor party were very unfair, and would never allow one of the temperance party to speak on thoir platforms. The liqqoiparty made charges against h,i ß brother (Mr L, M. Isitt), , , add*yet refused; him admittance to their 1 licensed victuallers’ meetings to reply. He referred sarcastically to Mr W, W.

Collins, who styled himself “ the popular prohibitionist lecturer,” and said that Mr Collins was either a very philanthropic individual or was backed up by theliquor party, for there were heavy expenses for halls, advertising, printing, reporting speeches, etc., and someone had to pay the piper. With reference to clubs, he said there was a club at Sydenham called the “ Society of Arts,” and the only art they had was that of twisting a corkscrew ; they spent £IBOO in drink, etc., and £2O in literature. With respect to the Government Licensing Bill, a three fifths majority to decide was contrary to all principles of Liberalism; but he would accept this in the meantime, as prohibition would do more good with a fair majority in its favour. He strongly opposed that part of the bill which made it compulsory that half the people on the electoral roll must vote before the direct veto can be granted. It meant that every dead man, indifferent man, and prisoner in gaol, whose names were on the roll, would be counted, and he characterised it as a burlesque on Liberalism, when the Government say the people will have control, and then ask them to carry a dead weight like this. At the next election he hoped the electors would hurl the dictator, Mr Seddon, from his seat, and place a true Liberal in his place, and he hoped that man would be Sir Robert Stout. (Load applause.) Asa Christian minister he differed in many ways with Sir Robert, but he held that he (Sir Robert), was a broad humanitarian, and had preached many a sermon on strong drink that should shame the hearts of some of the half-hearted preachers of to-day. He hoped Sir Robert would declare hiraseU to be the man, and become the leader of legislative matters. The Christchurch Jewish Rabbi had been trying to prove that the Bible was against prohibition, but he (Mr Isitt), could find just as much proof that the Bible was against the drink as that it prohibited the Jew to eat pork. Touching incidentably ou the question of compensation, he showed that the State prohibits more than one person in 372 from having a license, and, for his part, he thought the 371 who had no license were more entitled to compensation than the one who had the privilege of holding a license. Coming back to the question of revenue, he said Geraldine got £135 revenue from local public houses, and he was sure that the amount paid to charitable aid considerably more than balanced this revenue. As to the poor working men being deprived of employment, he said that woollen factories in proportion employ a far greater number of hands than the liquor trade does, and he quoted English figures in proof that for every £1 spent in the manufacture of boots etc., etc., the workman got 16s, and for every £1 spent in brewing and distillery drink the workman got sd. The great brewers in England were going to the top, and the British peerage was rapidly becoming the British beerago. He disagreed with Captain Dickon. He (Mr Isitt) saw no reason to refuse Church membership to a man because he took drink, but he would never make such a man an office-bearer, and would give him a hot time of it if he sat under his (Mr Isitt’s) preaching, Mr Isitt wound up with an eloquent peroration, and before sitting down he lifted the veil from a touching incident, describing how the demon drink had visited his own family, and claimed a victim a brother who was a brilliant lad, a good singer, and a clever mimic, and who is now a wanderer somewhere in New Zealand. Mr Isitt spoke for about one hour and a-half and sat down midst loud applause.

Mr W. S. Vlasliu said it was 19 years since a lodge of the Good Templar order had been formed at Geraldine, There had been the usual fluctuation in the number of members, but since the prohibition movement the lodge had go--ahead by leaps and bounds. 1 c had ventured to predict * , -*• an y° ne that such a u ighf • peering as they had that - would take place at Geraldine he would have been called a fanatic. They did not want to run counter with public opinion, and the direct veto did not necessarily mean prohibition, unless the public desired it. He believed in the vote being taken on the electoral roll, and not confined to the ratepayers only, as the latter were very often interested by £s.d. in the matter. The charges on Geraldine districts, town and road, for charitable aid was nearly more than double the amount received from license fees. The Geraldine Town Board got all the license fees, and for charitable aid they paid something over £2O, and the Geraldine and Mt heel Road Boards paid each £l6O. Mr Maslin moved—“ That this meeting affirms the right of the people to retain, restrain, or abolish the liquor traffic by means of the direct veto at the ballot box.”

Mr J. W. Sawle seconded the resolution, not because ho was so sanguine as some to expect that prohibition would be brought about at once, but because it was right and was a Liberal measure. He could not understand why people could object to this measure, and sacrifice their liberty by permitting a committee, magistrate, or anybody else, to do their work for them. The people should have control of the liquor traffic by a bare majority. The motion was carried unanimously. The Rev. W. C. Woodward apologised for the absence of the Rev. Mr Dellow, who, owing to illhealth, could not be present, and moved the following resolution :—“ Having noticed the apparent determination of the Government to legislate in the interests, not of the people, hut of the liquor trade, urgently entreats Sir Robert Stout to use his infiueuce and devote his taleuts to the promotion of the great moral movement that is sweeping over the colony ; also urges that for the present all other practical considerations should be postponed for that of securing for the people the absolute power to deal directly, as they deem fit, with the liquor traffic ; we also pledge ourselves to vote for no candidate who will not support the right of the people to the direct vote.” Mr Colin McKenzie seconded the re solution. The Rev. Mr Isitt suggested a modification in the resolution. In place of “ that other practical considerations should be postponed” it would read better “ that Sir Robert be asked to subordinate other questions and make himself the leader in this great movement.” The motion was amended accordin' 1 ' 1 and carried without dissent. The usual votes of tlwW s brought the moating to an end, attended public meetings at Wellin'’ con , Christchurch, and Dunedin passed resolutions condemning the proposals contained in the Government Licensing Bill re the three-fifths majority and requiring one-half of the number on the roll of any district to vote.