VISIT OF MR AND MRS PHILIP SNOWDEN.

White Ribbon, Volume 20, Issue 233, 18 November 1914, Page 1

VISIT OF MR AND MRS PHILIP SNOWDEN.

The last month has boon rendered memorable by the vi>it of two interesting personalities from the Home Land, Mr Philip Snowden, M.P. for Blackburn, and one of the leading Labour members, and lu> gifted wife, who has the reputation of being the best woman speaker in England. Their visit was necessarily short, and their series of lectures for the NoLicense League were compressed into the brief space of four days, but they were truly a feast of good things. The visitors arrived by the first express from Auckland on Friday, the :oth October, and in the afternoon they were accorded «i civic reception. The Council Chamber was crowded with ladies and gentlemen, including many■•members of the No-License League and other Temperance organisations. Short speeches of welcome were delivered by His Worship the Mayor and several City Councillors, present and past, and other representative citizens. Mr Snowden, in reply, spoke feelingly of the kindness shown to him and his wife by the people of New Zealand, so that from the lirst they had felt at home. He paid a high tribute to the British Parliament. Since his arrival he had more than once been referred to as “representative of the British Parliament/' but he could assure his listeners that he would not dare to claim such a distinction. But he was proud of being a member of the most democratic assemblage in the world, where were many aristocrats, and still more rich men, but where all that went for nothing unless ac-

rompanied with sterling character, a political purpose, and high ab’lity. There was no snobbery, and the Labour members were always listened to with the greatest respect, because it was recognised that the information they could give was reliable, being gained at first hand The House of Commons would not be lectured to, but it was always willing and anxious to gain information on great social questions.

Referring to the various humble positions he had held before entering Parliament, a> on the Parish Council, S' hool Board, Education.il Committee, and so on, the speaker emphasised the importance of the munit ipal offices, both in themselves and as affording a training ground for higher positions. Their function, though not legislative, like that of Parliament, was equally important, seeing that most reforms have to be carried out by the people themselves. In closing, he said that he had been greatly touched by heating hundreds a r d thousands of New Zealanders talking of England as ‘‘Home," though perhaps they had never been oe.side these islands. ‘ While this spirit lasts, tin* Empire will be able to stand four square against what ever winds max blow.” Mrs Snowden >aid it was hardly necessary for her to >ay anything, for h r heart and her husband’s beat in unison, so that all that he had said she said too. There had been no th ught of war when they left Britain, or doubtless they would not have come, but having come, they were resolved to do what they had come for. As to the war, the chief thing was not to worry, but keep calm, prepared for any emergency and any service required. She too appreciated the kindness of the* New Zealanders, and if ever her roots could be pulled up and she could settle in another land than “Home,” New Zealand would be the country where she could feel most at home. . hn first of the series of Prohibition addresses, given under the nuspio s of the No-License League, were deli /ered on Friday evening in the

Town Hall. Sir Joseph Ward occupied the chair, and briefly introduced the visitors. Mr Snowden Rave a telling address, clear, logical, and to the point He argued that all social problems aie closely knit together, so that it is impossible now to deal with one apart from the others. I he social problem of to-day is really the old problem of earlier times modified by the different conditions of modern life. The aim is to secure the largest amount of happiness with the least expenditure of labour, and in the earlier stages of civilisation slavery was held to supply the solution. The social problem of to-day is to devise some industrial organisation wherein sufficient wealth for the needs and comforts of all may be obtained with the least expenditure, so as to leave each individual leisure for the development of his intellectual fa< ulties, and for social intercourse. In the great countries, like Britain and the United State*, it takes the form of a protest against the extremes of wealth and poverty, idleness and hard work, culture and ignorance; or the effort to devise a scheme whereby the wealth of the nation may be produced in the most economical way, so as to abolish the present waste of time and money. He traced the great change that during the last twenty years has taken place in public opinion, so that no party working for the improvement of social conditions now confines it* attention to one aspect and ignores all others. At one time the Tempcranc e party refused to con*ider anything but the drink question; the Socialist Party maintained that the unsatisfactory position of the working men was in no way due to their drinking habits ; Trades Unionism had nothing at all to do with Temperance. But now the British Labour Party and British Trades Unionism have alike taken up an entirely different attitude, and recognise that drink is one of the greatest obstacles to their progress, for the man that drinks is always the one that wants to come out on strike. On the other hand, it is now generally admitted by all parties labouring for reforms that the abolition of the Liquor Traffic will not remove slums, nor solve the housing problem, but it will make this and all other problems easier to solve. If the working people are to be the dominant political power, they must prepare themselves for it. They must think less about asserting their rights and more

about understanding and fulfilling their duties; and they mu.->t avoid that which tends to unfit them for the exercise ot power. The address concluded with a powerful appeal to all to go forward and u*e their power to abolish the Liquor Traffic, and thus ameliorate the conditions of living. Mrs Snowden said she wished to emphasise the woman’s viewpoint of the Liquor Traffic. One purpose she had in coming to New Zealand was to find out whether women used the power they had gained, through their enfranchisement, to the best advantage, and she would be heartbroken if "he had to acknowledge herself disappointed. She had never prophesied that the millennium would conic* when women had the vote, but it was a fact that wherever women had been enfranchised they had, in part, or altogether, abolished the Liquor Traffic. The woman’s point of view in regard to every public question niu>t take a certain line, for alike with men and women, the viewpoint is that which each has gained from past exp rience. To men has belonged the duty of supporting the home and obtaining property; to women that of bearing and training children. Men have worked for procuring material things, so certain parts of the male character have developed unduly. What men have toiled for so much they respect highly, so they think too much of property. This is seen in the laws respecting property. Only 100 years ago there were 300 crimes against property that were punishable with death, and though this state of things has gone, and we do not now hang a thief, still the same old spirit is found in the attitude* of those who administer the law. Here is an instance reported in One of the Liverpool papers: A man stole two overcoats in order to buy bread for his starving wife* and children, and for this he was sentenced to six months’ hard labour. In the same paper was reported the* case of a man who had assaulted a little girl of 10 in a picture theatre, and he was fined 10s and costs. But the change of public opinion is such that an audience of British men would express their disapproval of this just as heartily as an audience in New Zealand. Women are not better than men, nor men than women; each is superior to the othc r in different ways. There is a sense in which the children are especially the property of the mother,

who has suffered so much for their sake. Fatherhood can be achieved without the father knowing it, but motherhood brings its special experience and training, wherever the mother is. So when women are en i franchised and are called upon to decide between property and children, they w ill vote for the children There are exceptions, no doubt; there are women canvassing for the Licensed Victuallers, for many women take* the selfish attitude on this question, and this class is said to be growing with the spread of soc ial, intellectual, and political liberty. Some even argue that because of the increase in liberty women ought to have more liberty to drink. But drinking among women is a serious menace to the existence of the nation and of the Empire, through its terrible effects on he bodies, minds, and souls of the children. It was bad when the aristocrac y took to drink ; it was worse when the middle class followed their example; worse still when the evil habit spread to the working classes; but it is worst of all when the women yield to the temptation. “I appeal to the chivalry of the men,’’ said Mrs Snowden, in conclusion, “to sacrifice their own small pleasures, and to make drink inaccessible ; to protect the women of your nation, and so make way for the superman and superwoman, for whose coming we are daily waiting.”