THE NO-LICENSE "CAUSE."

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 319, 5 October 1908, Page 8

THE NO-LICENSE "CAUSE."

Sir, —In your issue of September 29 appears a report of a meeting in connection with the Christian Endeavour Convention, in Vivian Street Church. The Rev. E. Downey inquires, " who is responsible for sly grog in Ashburton ?" A truthful reply would be: the No-License party absolutely. Mention is made of an Asliburton mother, who corroborates the painful and deplorable experiences elsewhere, of mothers, sisters, and friends, in the matter of insidious harm inflicted on the young-, especially the man, by social conditions only possiblo through tho operation of No-License. None, only tlioso who wilfully blind thbinselves to facts, or disregard official statistics indicating complete failure of "morality by coercion" (that is; where, a British community is concerned) can deny that 'the moral condition of a prohibited district is worse than before. The No-License argument that sly grog is sold in licensed districts may be true to a certain extent, but what jve want to know is:—Will No-License decreaso drunkenness? That's the question in a nutshell. Leave sly grog-selling out of the question—men don't get drunk by sly grog-selling, but by grog drinking, sly or otherwise. If wo regard the simply enormous quantities of liquor that are legally, and daily sent into our Southern "dry" districts as a criterion of the " success" of No-License, then "failure" of No-License would amount to a veritable national catastrophe. • The liquor which can legally be purchased from outside a prohibited area for consumption insido, is consumed under the most ■< immoral an dcriminal-making circumstances' imaginable. ' No wonder the unfortunate Ashburton mother complains. I make the statement that, during the past few years, tho licensed victuallers themselves, have done more genuine temperance work —far more in accordance with British principles—than havo any other' body, tho No-License party included. No-License does not go to the root of the evil—tho drink itself. No. The No-License party have agreed that there shall bo alcoholic drinks —by their refusal to accept Mr. Seddon's proposition of No-License No-Liquor, but their agitation is apparently against tho peoplo whose livings are got from tho trade. Well might Mr. Dewdney ask, "Who sold the liquor?" It is also very noticeable, what a high percentage of invective, abuse, and sarcasm is contained in this twentieth century method of compulsory good behaviour—indicative of anything but the Christ principle of "love ye." Thanking you for the courtesy of •insertion, I may say that I hold no brief on the silo of any interest,' but I' believe that I am voicing tho opinion of many when I say, that I refuse to restrict the privileges of a sanctioning very doubtful methods of revery high majority of moderate people, Oy forming the extremely low minority of those who are immoderate in all things. I am, etc., TRUE TEMPERANCE. September 29.