MR TOCKER AND NO-LICENSE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10101, 24 September 1910, Page 5

MR TOCKER AND NO-LICENSE.

To the Editor

Sir, —As a resident of Masterton

j for n:any yeare prior to no-license, 1 ai,d also during the who e of the time it has prevailed!] in Masterton, 1 cannot refrain from making reference to the address delivered by Mr C. J. Tocker at; Stratford recently on the effect of no-license i:i Masterton, and reported in your iissue of 21st inst. Mr Tocker prefaces his remarks by saying that he had heard many lies about the state of Masterton under no-license, but what his audience would hear from him would be "Gcd's own truth," and here is suine of if. Eh sayf, quoting from the newt paper report, "since nolicen3H came ir, the Borough Council I had opened new gaswoiks at a cost of not less than £2OOO. Now in regard to thit? cur expounder of "God's own truth" cartfuliy emitted to I mention that this same gasworks i undertaking was planned and ' brought about and aciually erected I in thu time of licente, but happened . to be opened for use when no-license came into force. Mr Tocker, howI ever., carefully Btops at the word ! "opened," without further txplatation, evidently in the hope that he will have a wrong impression upon the minds cf his bearerp, this apparently being his method of driving home and giving effect to his "Grd*«> oven truu.si" Mr Tocker's next "God'd own truth" is no less comical than his first. He says "it" (meaning the Borough Council) "and th"o County Council have dsdecided to combine in carrying out som; river wnks and bnuge building at h cost of about £10,000." Of cours.3 everybody in Master to i will ' see tnat this is a benefit directly attributable to ro-license, because the Nun hern a.jpioach has only sprung up like a nus!:rco in the night, since no-license was carried. Tnere has not, ol course, been meet-

icg. j , and conferences galore year after year in regard to the improvem n r.t of this approach to our lovvn, ci.d the local press has not b?en sb ana )ed with letters in regard t) the cxtr. me cangers of this approach, to say nothing of the inconvenience and unsightl iness of it. Oh, no. Mr Tocker never heard of these, thin?-, <r if he did he kept them in the background in order to give fall effect to the "Gm'sown truth" upon which the was dilating. Neither is he aware, apparentlv, \>a* ihis improvement was absolutely inevitable and essential whether iuenae or no-iianse pre* vailed—another "God's own truth" which Mr Tocker missed when he was collecting his multitude of same. Njtwit isffnaini? tiis, hcwaver, he assures his audience that '.anything he tells them is "God's own truth," and not to be afraid. All they have to do is to open their mouth wide and take it *il m. ■ "Ine peop e," he says, "were supporting a proposal to borrow £31, 0C0 to complete the drainage." This is another one of those "Gnd's own trutbß" peculiar to Mr Tockei, ths proof of which is found in. the fact that at the re cent poll taken on this loan, the people of Masterton rejected the proposal by a large majority, being satisfied that their burden in the way of rates and taxes was already large enough to bear without adding thereto. Mr Tocker then went on to mention the raising of £40,000 for the erection of new freezing works wiihin four miles of the town. He again forgets to tell his audience in regard to this matter that the money referred to above was collected from practically ; the whole of the Wellington province. He also refered to the purchase by the A. and P. Association of a "new and better ground," but like the gasworks truth, which, by the way, I think would be a better name for all Mr Tocker'a truths than "God'o own truths," he forgot to mention that negotiations for this change have been going on for years: but the actual removal is only being proceeded with now. I think it is much to be regretted that such attempts at misrepresentation should be resorted to, with the object of influencing people to vote for an issue which beyond all doubt (reluctant as some of the people of Masterton may be to admit it, which is tnore or less to be expected, seeing that those who advocated it are the people asked for Jan opinion as to its benefits) has I reduced Masterton from a flourishing tawn to what it is to-day—namely, a state of stagnation.—Yours, etc., J. J. KELLIHER. Masterton, Sepember, 1910.