NO-LICENSE MOVEMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 253, 23 October 1907, Page 9

NO-LICENSE MOVEMENT.

DEPUTATION TO THE SYNOD.

A deputation from the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, consisting of the Revs. A. Miller and D. D. Scott, waited upon the Diocesan Synod yesterday afternoon, with reference to the liquor traffic question.

The Rev. A. Miller said that the drink question was one of the most pressing that came up for consideration in New Zealand, and one which touched every minister engaged in regular work. Every minister had more or less experience of the evils resulting from the liquor traffic, and was deeply concerned as to the best means of counteracting those evils, and Of destroying the influence of the traffic in New Zealand. The Presbyterian Church had always taken a keen interest in this subject. Their temperance committee had been in existence for fifteen years," and had' always endeavoured to support its contentions with fact. They wanted to know how things were going on all over New- Zealand, and it had been their custom to "et returns and information on the subject from every parish in New Zealand. As a result of the accumulated information received, they had come to the conclusion that the policy that they should adopt was the policy of advocating no license. They had taken their stand for no license, and the evidence taken all over New Zealand showed that no license was the most effective weapon put into their hands for counteracting the evils of strong drink. In every district where no license had been carried the results had been distinctly good. There were those who said otherwise, but these were interested in the liquor traffic. Certain evils were said to follow the establishment of no-license in any district, and greatly magnified reports of evils had ' been given concerning such districts. But the Temperance Committee had the evidence of disinterested gentlemen, who were preaching the gospel and ministering to the needs of the people. Every one of those gentlemen had come definitely and distinctly to the conclusion that nolicense was a good thing.. The evidence all showed that where no-license had been carried it meant an immediate and substantial reduction in the consumption of liquor and the amount of drunkenness, and in some districts hardly such a thing a3 an intoxicated person was known, whereas it was usual to see 20 Or 30 a week under license. Secondly, under nolicense there came immediate decrease in crime of all sorts; not only in drunkenness but in Other crimes. Thirdly, nolicense in. a general improvement

in the prosperity of the district:. JThere had been no decline in property values as the result of no-license, but the reverse had happened; and rente -were higher, even, in the case of some hotels, which, Tvithout license, were now paying higher rents than they paid -under the licensed system. .Again;- the carrying of no-license meant that boys and girls growing up never learned to drink. For ministers to work for no-license in their districts would distinctly result in increased righteousness. The Rev. Scott stated that after living in the no-license district of Clutha, he was satisfied that the no-license movement was a success, and' was the best means of combatting- the drink evil* He had lived in Clutha for three months and had not seen one drunken man; a very different state' of affairs to that obtaining in his present station, Onehunga, to-day. He moved widely through the Clutha electorate, in the bush regions and farming districts as well as in the town, and he was satisfied that there was no increase in private drinking or drunkenness, as a result of no-license. There were sly shops there, but the amount of liquor sold by them was small to that formerly sold by the hotels. As a young colonial he deplored deeply the effect of the drink traffic on many of his young fellow-colonials. Several young men of his acquaintance who had gone to ruin through drink, had gone to ruin at the open bar. it was instructing and significant to know that the electorates on both sides of Clutha had shown their sympathies with the no-license movement. By trivial technicalities the Bruce electors lost their rights, but on the other side of Clutha Mataura was enjoying the benefits of no-license, and the movement had been a decided- success in the district because. of the fact that the amount of drunkenness had greatly decreased, as he knew by personal observation and experience. A wine and spirit firm in Invereargill had recntly refused to give their usual donation to the Gore Agricultural Society, on the ground that its business in the district had greatly fallen off.

Bishop.Neligan thanked the deputation for attending. The Synod had listened with great interest and considerable profit to what had been said. The manner in which they had stated a case in which both were interested was one that would make them the more desirous of combining in any way that, might lead to check the growth of social evils. Though they might differ in methods, they were united in aim.

At a later stage, the Rev. C. A. B. Watson gave notice to move:—"That in view of the widespreal evils of the liquor traffic, this Synod urges all Churchmen to unite, so far as is practicable, with the members of other Christian bodies to suppress it."