CHURCHES’ VIEWS

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24624, 21 July 1945, Page 6

CHURCHES’ VIEWS

Submissions Of Methodists COMMENTS BY CHAIRMAN i ______ ( “What I would like to suggest, to the churches in particular, is that they j sit down and find the facts, and then ( proceed to draw conclusions,” said Mr , Justice Smith, chairman of the Royal ; Commission on Licensing, after the 1 Rev. M. A. Rugby Pratt, connexional ; secretary of the Methodist Church, j had given evidence yesterday, reaffirming the conviction of the church i that the only solution of the liquor i problem was the total abolition of the 1 traffic in the beverage use of alcohol. When Mr Pratt submitted, in reply, , that the churches had reached their j decisions after a study of the facts, i the chairman said he would suggest i that the statements contained no sign 1 of that. "You cannot get what you j want within 10 or 25 years, and in the . light of that how should you view the evidence as to the effect upon such | matters as the triennial poll?” he ; asked. i Mr Pratt answered that if there was j any measurable advance towards the , goal of the churches they would find , the churches supporting it. . i Presenting a statement prepared by direction of the Methodist Church, Mr Pratt said the vital principles of Methodism were embodied In its general rules drawn up on May 1, 1743, ( by the Rev. John Wesley and the Rev. , Charles Wesley. The first counselled ; the avoidance of “evil in every kind, ’ among which the church had detailed “drunkenness, buying or selling spirituous liquors or drinking them, unless in cases of extreme necessity. ; They maintained that their mission as i a church was not only to regulate the liquor business but so to enlighten the public mind as to create a public sen- « liment which would be crystallised in laws for ’ the overthrow of it. This was regarded as a great moral reform. Temperance Education The first of the specific requests was that legislation be enacted to ensure fuller use of the facilities provided by | the Education Department for temper- ; ance education in primary and post- i primary schools and that it be graded in accordance with the age and interests of the young people. Such instruction should be factual, dispas- ; sionate, and common sense, and it should be integrated with the general , education of the scholar. More decisiveness was needed in temperance education, the church holding that the effect of such educational processes would be the curtailment, and, In the j course of time, the cessation of the use manufacture, and sale of intoxicants for beverage purposes. “We oppose any increase in the hours for the sale of liquor or any extension of selling hours beyond b p m. as being against the best national interests,” said Mr Pratt. "We urge

strict enforcement of the liquor laws in regard to the illicit sale of intoxicants outside hours and at weekends, and also in regard to the sale of liquor to minors.’’ No-Licence Issue The reintroduction of the local option issue in the licensing polls in all electorates was urged by Mr Pratt, who said the church was opposed to the granting of tourist licences in nolicence districts. He expressed the conviction of the church that all redundant licences should long ago have been cancelled. If such transfer was proposed, the church urged that it should not be effected until a poll of residents in the immediate locality was taken. The church was opposed to any facilities being afforded for advertising intoxicating liquors through the commercial radio stations and by Railway Department hoardings, and asked for strict control of all forms of newspaper and other advertising. “The Conference of the Methodist Church of New Zealand does not weaken in its conviction that the only real solution of the problem created by the liquor evil is the tqtal abolition of the liquor traffic," said Mr Pratt. “It declares that the findings of the Inter-Church Conference do not give all that we, as a church, desire, yet it recognises that such findings do embody, apart from the section relating to liquor bars, practical proposals which have its approval as marking a measure of advance towards the goal it envisiohs.’’ , , To Mr P. B. Cooke, K.C. (counsel for the Licensed Trade), Mr Pratt said that his statement had been approved by 12 members of the Public Questions Committee and probably 20 had seen it. Mr Cooke: Are there any beverage uses of alcohol other than medicinal use you would allow? —As a counsel of perfection and as a counsel of common sense, we would urge that the entire use of and consumption of alcohol be eliminated. If evening hours were to mean less drunkenness would you still oppose it?_We oppose the extension of hours in the evening. Replying to the chairman, Mr Pratt said he would not accept the assumption that evening hours for hotels would mean less drunkenness or insobriety. Mr J. D. Willis (for the Crown): Would your body not be in favour of some equitable redistribution of licences by a central board, with local people being given some right to vote against the transfer?—lt would suit me. Would you agree to liquor being served at tourist hotels in no-licence districts only to guests.—No. Establishment of Prohibition The chairman said he was inclined to think that there had not been any impartial investigation of certain important facts, and opinions were formed without findings or effect. Did the Methodist Cnurch still regard the establishment of prohibition in New Zealand as a practicable or workable scheme?

Mr Pratt replied that it could be made workable by the determination and power of the Government, and the Justice Department endorsing the prohibitgry legislation. Asked how long It would take to make education effective, Mr Pratt replied that a generation or 10 or 12 years was needed. The chairman: You think, notwithstanding the American experiment, that in 20 or 25 years you can establish a sentiment in New Zealand to make prohibition practicable?— Yes, if we had the right education in the schools. It was then that the chairman suggested that if liquor was to be sold in the country for 10 or 25 years that the churches should consider the evidence as it affected certain existing arrangements.