No-license Campaign.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 25, 17 October 1905, Page 3

No-license Campaign.

LECTURE BY THE REV, L. M.

ISITT.

In the Otautau Town Hall on Friday evening, the above distinguished lecturer, gave an address on the no-license question, to a fairly large audience. Mr N. A. Mo Laren occupied the ohair, and m a few well chosen remarks introduced the rev gentleman to the audience.

Mr Isitt, who, on rising, was received with applause, said he was surprised indeed to see such a large number present on such a rough night. Regarding the question before them he might say that he was not the only one who bad lectured before them on the same subject. In the first place they had Father Hays, a man who was loved m Great Britain by Catholics and Protestants alike, and tbe trade bad been unable to reply to him, but had said •• Father Hays allied himself to a political party." Next they had Mr Woolley, and the advooates of liquor replied that '.' Mr Woolley was a pro Boer." And thirdly, Mre Harrison Lee, Then along came Isitt, and the" trade turned and Baid, " Oh, he gets £1200 a year." All thai- the speaker could

<?ay to that wa-J that he hoped it would come true, It had been asserted that the nolicense folk held a monopoly of abuse, mis-t-epresentation, etc. Tbe result of the polls f late years would show that their ttock m trade was all right. Twelve years ago the ao-iicense party vote totalled 47,000; m 1896, 98,000; m 1899, 121,000; m 1902, 151.000, as ac-ainst 148.000 cast for the tr^de, and at the forthcoming election no .ess than 200,000 votes would be on the side of tho Temperance Party, and no-licmse would be carried mat least 10 or 12 large lectorates. The issue clearly was, " Do?* .he existence of tMe lie j naed bar make for ihe weal or hurt of the community." For

is own part b€ wanted to Uveas long as be >ou!d. and to be always m the bt-at fettle, :ientnlly and physically, To aocomp is!i fiat, he, or any other; person, w.uid have so abstain from taking liquor. He was positive that 5 oat of 7 doctors would cay th. * tbe less alcohol consumed tbe better. In fe e year 1902 several hundreds of doctors of various nationalities, irew up a manifesto, and it contained ihe following words . " Man will live longer, uve healthier, and do better mental and mysical work without alcohol than with i*." It was admitted ia England that 5% of trie population was being d< stroyed through alconol, and he believed that, the same might be said of New Zealand. The speaker made t strong speech m favour of no-license, stat.ng that it .was the right of every child that it should be well born, and this could not be vhe case where drunkenness had taken ■ossession of a home*. He concluded by intimating that the method of voting would be ■. she same as previously used, viz, the .striking ' i'ut of the issue which the voter did not'de- * fre to see maintained, and he trusted that that line would be the top line. — (Applause).

A collection was then taken up, votes o: hanks Were passed to the lecturer and chair man, aadlthe meeting , terminated: