"No License" Meeting.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume II, Issue 10, 20 June 1899, Page 1

"No License" Meeting.

A fairly attended meeting '-Was belfl in the Temperance Hall ou Thursday evening, Mr T. Brown presiding. The uitsetiug Wd,s opened with pra^eiS by Mr Blight. Mr .Brown, in opening the meeting,, said the dt&trict had been divided, s(X that their strength might be directed to the right place. It was not a quefe- ' tion ot discuhbion oi "No License,'* but ot, methods ot working. The -Rev Blightsaid they must agitate the cause was the butter ior agitation* Put the cause well beiore the people* and their common sense would do the rest. V\ hen they understood it, prohibition of the liquor traffic was an • eminentlyssensible movement. In the , district ot Gkborne, where he was last election, they did not make much headway, but in the town tiiey had a, clear majority of 100, where five years ago a Prohibrtiouisb dared hardly hold up his head. That was the result of agitation ; great attention being paid to. enrolling and the distribution ot literature. They must ha\e some publi* meetings. It they could manage t$ promote a little opposition, so, much the better. They must work" willa'A* will, and not forget that God's bless" ing would be an essential tactor ttfc success. The Key. J. Nixon found this eleo* tor&te splendidly organised m compari* son with places he luid been: •Hb explained the manner iv which they hadf' worked iv various places, by enrolling people who w ere likely to vote tor pro-" hibition, and by elignging a preacher to explain the matters. At election 1 day they allocated different booths to certain ladies to speak to voters, and endeavour to instruct them the right, way to vote. However they did not win. He thought they .were too aur*j and had misjudged the strength of the enemy. They had not been able to put scrutineer in the booths, but-ii was probable this flaw in the Act? would, before long, be rectified. Th« Key. ge.itlernau' thought they should have a good speaker, say Mr Bannerman, to go round and hold meetings* or act as oiganising agent. .Some people thought they should wait till they formed public opinion, but he was suie this would be useless. They should strike now, and believing they weie \\ 01 lung for the adv.mctmt.rjt of mankind, suiely no Christian would refuse his assistance. Very it w i height 'they would cany the foil litre, but they should go m a, if tl ey were going to win, not mixing ihe question' with politics 01 candidates, but j,oing straight ior Prohibition. Ihe question was now opjn for dis cussion, Mr G. H. Graham said the methods spoken of were somewhat the same as adopted heie. He could not add auything to the suggestions of the two pieviousspeakeis but would exhort each one in his own pnvate sphere to try to influence people iv the direction, ot '• No License." Mr Blight thought the committe* wanted something dpne. Theie was a small committee appointed to arrange for public meetings, and lie would move that it be, a suggestion from thi* (Continued on fourth page}*