WOMEN'S TEMPERANCE UNION

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 62, 12 March 1908, Page 2

WOMEN'S TEMPERANCE UNION

ANNUAL CONTENTION,

PRESIDENT'S .OPENING ADDKES&

The Women's-Christian Temperance Uni_pn convention was opened this morning in the-Church of Christ, West-street, >iewJtkere the business meetings will be held from day to day "till Tnesday next. This commodious building seems most convenient for the purpose, being airy and pleasant without being too large for clear hearing of the lady speakers. Over 40 officers, delegates and proxies arc upon the roll, and most of them duly reported

" present," wben the usual devotional meeting, conducted by Mrs. Cole, the N.Z. president, had been concluded. The officers are a≤ follows:—Mrs. Cole (president). Miss Webb (coir, sec), Miss Powell (eec sec), Miss McCarthy (treasurer), Hiss Cole (business manaper of " White Kibbon ").- District presidents, Mrs.

Dewar, Mrs. Graham, Mrs. Oldham, Mrs. J. Smith, district secretaries, Mrs. Christie, Mrs. Street, Mrs. lerael, Mrs. Taylor; district treasurers., Mrs, Hughes. Mrs. HcLeod; departmental superintendents, Mrs. Griffin, Miss Maunder, Mrs. Spence, Sister Moody BelL TO-DATS PROCEEDINGS. The business meetings in connection with the conference of the New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union ■were eommencfd this morning in the Church of Christ. West-street, Mrs. j< , . Coie presiding over a large attendance. THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. In the course of her address the president referred in sympathetic terms to the deaths of Mrs. Aihton, for some time a member of the Invercargill Union; Mrs. Russell, of Waimate, Mesdames Carwell and Pike, of the Blenheim Union; Mrs. ELing, an old member of the Napier Union; and Mrs. Crocker, a member of the same union, and superintendent of literature for that branch. Mention was also made of the passing away of that champion of the women's cause in >!ew Zealand. Sir Join Hn.ll. It was certainly fitting, the president continued, that this Union of women should place on record I their appreciation of the support and assistance he gave to the cause of woman suffrage, in the House ox Kepresentativ-es, and in the country.

With, regard to the progress wMeh had been made in morai refoxms, dining the year, they "were confrojiited by the most wonderful advance ever yet. made in the cause of prohibition. The magnineent victories for the cause of prtkirlbiSian in the United States-iad sent-a glow Kf enthusiasm, through the hearts of those who bad been watching anxioua.'y the havoc worked by the demon of aleofeoL Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama, were new stars added to those already shining in the prohibition firmament-. But it was not only in America that the cause was winning , its way. Finland had also ipal?sed a prohibitory law. Thjs Diet, consisting of both men and women, nine- ; teen of the latter having been elected to | seats in that assembly, had declared against thebaic of liquor in Finland. The wave of temperance was rising the world over, and it was-not wonderful -thai the ■liquor traders everywhere wer°- becoming desperate in their efforts to- stem the incoming tide.

The department of non-alcokolij; medication of the W.C.T-U. Jiad advanced by leaps and bounds, and knowledge of the subject --was gTowing day by day--3ledieaJ men in aZI lands were investigating concerning the valne of alcohol as a medicine, and the trend of opinion was against the use of it as a drag. In maav of the largest hospitals in Great Britain milk ■was taking the place once held by alcohol in the treatment of disease, and Tvith wonderful results.

The superintendent of the department of Scientific Temperance Instruction had taken advantage of the pro-alcoholic manifesto issued by sixteen English doctors, to ask the opinion of New Zealand medical men on the value and use of alcohol in medicine and as a beverage. Olhe anssvEis received were most interesting, and no doubt Miss Maunder would, in her report, give the information received. The report of the committee appointed by last Convention to wait upon the Hon. GL Fowlds would also be supplied by the superintendent of Scientific Temperance Instruction. It was under stood that the Minister for Education was planning for a series of articles on scientific temperance to appear in the School Journal. Up to last November nothing had been done in that direction. The executive then communicated ■with the editor on the matter, and forwarded to him several books and papers on the subject. Seeing that if temperance hygiene was to be intelligently understood by the children, the teachers should be conversant with the subject, an effiort was made by the executive to iave temperance hygiene placed in the curriculum for teachers' examinations, and the Minister was approached -with a request that a-certain book on the question should be used, on which the teachers shotrid be examined. A very unsatisfactory answer was received to this request. Teachers in our public schools should certainly be expected to study this snbject, s.nd • children should be instructed in the nature and effects of '• alcohol. If they-xealised, as they should,' the importance of this branch of the' work, they should give the superin- j tendent of this department much assistance in he; endeavour to obtain scientific temperance teaching for the children in j this Dominion. 1

The International Temperance Congress at Stock holm had done much to bring into prominence the attention that was being paid to all phases of the alcoholic question. This gathering of eminent persons, consisting of Germans. Britons, French, Swiss, Americans, trians, Hungarians, Norwegians, Danes Finns, Russians, Dutch. Belgians Ron- ! manians, Italians, and Servians emphasised the enormous interest bein<* taken at this time in the subject '

LOCAL OPTION IN AUSTRALIA.

To com* nearer home, the results of the recent Local Option PoU in Nev? South Wales were most gratifyine. The reduc earned reduction, and only twenty-two ' voted lor things to remain as they were I In no electorate was no-ncense krried" | As m this Domimon, the no4icense party had to work against the dead weight ol a three-fifths majority.

In spite of the beer depots -plants on the border of the cargfll fcfdjr*en a splendid example of the good effects of no-license. The ab senee of crime in this large ana growin" district drew rrom Judges Denniston IWflliajns, and Chapman congratulationon the state of affairs, the latter remarking, '•That in comparison with former times, the calendar showed a marked di miiration in crime. Commenting on the Invercargill police returns tor the year 3xssp6eio r Mitchell says; "Xh,, gßnerall y have taken kmory - to -KKWBinentr .wan. the result that

there is little or no evidence of drunkenness in the streets. Invercargill is a grand testimonial for no-license, which I think, is nere a crowning success." Ashburton ana Oamaru were also to be congratulated on the success 01 no-license. The beer depots on the border of a nolicense district had been rightly condemned as a source of weakness, and as anything but adTantageous to the enforcing of the law. It was very gratifying, however, to know that these depots were nuw things of the past, having been abolished by the Government. Reference was made to the abuse of steamers and packet licenses. Aβ a consequence of the agitation for some reform, the Government passed a Packet License Bill, which, while not abolishing the liquor bars on steamers, made some provision for the protection of steamer i passengers. The license had been transferred from the steward to the captain, and forbade the issue of permits for short trips. In my hearing, a shipowner once said that ninety-nine shipwrecks out of every hundred were caused by drink, and yet the and crews on steamers which carried valuable lives, had the temptation to drink placed in their midst. With regard to the campaign in New Zealaud agninst gambling, and more especially against the totalisator,. the members worked splendidly to secure signatures, and they had reason to be proud of the fact tflat nothiiig daunted those brave hearts who were aetermined to banish, if possible, the totalisator from this land. Some stood in cold and damp streets for hours, securing signatures, while others tramped weary nuies from door to door for the same purpose, and many of our members stood in church porches soliciting signatures to Lhe petition. In connection with tho

securing of signatures in church porches,

it was necessary to correct an impression which seemed to prevail amongst some or

our sympathisers- It had been stated

I that the majority of signatures on the Anti- Totalis tor petitions were obtained at the church doors. Ihis was not correct. If they had trusted to that-method only, the petition would have contained a few thnu.-a.nd names, certainly not 10.000. For although from some ministers they received much consideration, from others, and some of these ministers of the largest churches in the Dominion, they received no encouragement, and no interest was taken in the matter by them.

In most instances, however, the women laboured without the assistance of any other organization, and the magnificent total of 36,000 aames bore witness to their self-denial and devotion.

It had been denied by some that any value was attached to petitions which were presented to Parliament on moral questions, but experienced Parliamentarians had expressed themselves otherwise.

The Anti-Gan:Hing Bill, which passed into law last session, was a very drastic measure, and was a great advance on anything ever attempted before for the suppression of gambling. But in one aspect it marked a retrograde step. Tho clause which provided for the licensing, of book-makers was no doubt a sop to that fraternity, in the hope that they might be induced to consent to the retention of the totalisator. , The continuation of the legalised betting machine was a bitter disappointment to the party of reform, but the last had not been heard of the matter, and the agitation for its abolition would still go on. How little justified were those people who argued that if the totalisator were installed, book-makers would vanish. Now they had both the legalised totalisator and the legalised book-maker, and no doubt the jockey clubs were quite satisfied. They had two licensed gambling evils instead of one.

Of the measures passed last session of Parliament, none should have better results than the Infant Life Protection Ae-5. The State, by this law, acknowledged the claim which the unfortunate children had upon it. There was no doubt that some such enactment was needed, so that the best possible treatment would be obtained for these wards of the State. The better feeding of infants was also securing attention, and societies were being formed in the large centres to encourage the bringing up of infants by nature's methods, to make humanised milk available for public purchase, and to give instructions personally ajid by correspondence in the preparation of humanised milk and the proper feeding of infants. The sacrifice of life due to ignorant careless nursing had at last raised a protest from humanitarians, and the society was to be congratulated on having come to the conclusion that at least human life should be looked upon as of more value than that of the beasts of the fields.

Another department which should have more attention was that of work amongst Maoris. The state of affairs described by Miss Hera Stirling was most distressing, and it was a great pity funds would not allow of a superintendent being set apart for temperance work amongst these people.

The opium traffic, that to China's millions had brought degradation and death, was still participated in by the British Government, through Indian administration, though there was hope that an end might be made to this traffic.

The tertperance workers in Great Britain had been cheered by the hope of legislative licensing reform, and the British Ministry had circulated a Licensing Bill, which foreshadowed the possibility of radical change in the licensing laws of the Old Land. It was a great advance on anything ever proposed before for the lessening of the drink evil in Great Britain, and all friends of temperance would hail with gladness any change that meant progress on temperance lines.

W.C.T.U. RECEPTION.

The Central Mission Hall presented quite a festive appearance yesterday afternooa, the platform being decorated with feathery fronds pt bamboo flanking the table, in front of which stood a large portrait of the late Miss Frances Willard decorated with a huge white bow. The attendance was good, the chair being occupied by Mrs. Dewar, local president, who, after the singing of "All Round tho World the Ribbon White is fwined," and prayer by Rev. j. Crump, -welcomed the delegates on behalf of the entertaining union. Mrs. Stewart, having given a very pleasing rendering of "Angus McDonald,*" Canon Haseldene was called upon to S T Pea r\^ AS he had not arrived, the Rev. t\ ,* ? rd wel comed the visitors on behalf of the Auckland Ministers' Association. He frankly confessed that in the days when he was neither so old nor so wise as now he had opposed the granting of the franchise to but I after matching the working of it in this and wished the women of England God pohbal nghts. If the mother of John Wesley had been living at the present day she would have been in the tore front «[■the white-ribbon work ta J £ as family cares srouMUOew,

Mr. Harris contributed, "Out Where the Breakers Roar/ a eolo in which his deep bass notes were heard to advantage. Mr. C. H. Poole announced himself as a politician affirming his belief in the enfranchisement of women. If he were in England his influence would all be thrown on the side of the Suffragettes. He quoted from a letter just received from the Hon. Alowys Wilson, exniember of the Illinois State Legislature, as follows:—'"There is a big- prohibition wave sweeping over America, and there will be many changes within the next two years. '

A handsome bouquet, tied with white ribbon, was then presented to Mrs. Cole, New Zealand president, by two little girls, Misses Doris Kenda'l and Olive Bishop, who sang very sweetly, "There's a Shadow on the Home.""

Mrs. Cole then replied on behalf of the visitors. In expressing her thanks for the bouquet, the president remarked that the little children were the worst sufferers from the drink traffic. The thought of these little children always touched her deeply. A number of persons thought the W.C.T.U. was just a few women banded together, but the New Zealand membership was over 1500. This was the largest women's organisation in the world, numbering over a million members. The meeting closed with the Doso. !°gy-