AFTER THE BATTLE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 961, 31 October 1910, Page 8

AFTER THE BATTLE.

- : V ; - -' ..'V','-' 'THE NO-LICENSE FIGHT IN NEW SOUTH WALES. A CAMPAIGNER'S VIEWS. Mr. G. B. Nicholls, the organiser for '.tho No-License party in Du'nedin, passed •through - Wellington on Friday on his .way back from. New South Wales.. Mr. .'Nicholls .delivered : about 100 .addresses lin. some 70' centres in New' South Wales . 'during -the recent No-License .fight; ■ and is" thus in,a good position .to espressian. opinion on the results from a campaigner's point of view. r . '' / Was It a "Trada" Victory? Interviewed 'by- a - representative '• of .The-- Dominion,--.-Mr. Nicholls . remarked :that itwwass s entirely erroneous fco: say that'what had,happened was a "trade" .victory.'. "There -was no op l , jportunity -for the .'trade' .to make a .victory,'' he said. .'."All they could do ' 'at the best was to prevent us achieving , a ' victory. This they partially aceom- J plished, as wo only carried reduction , ' in-15 electorates, .probably meaning 'the , abolition'of .' some'Bo licenses. At the , first : campaign tho Liquor, party looked j on .with - contemptuous amusement, and | did scarcely , anything. We hit . them ' hard by:"'carrying reduction in 65 clec- * torates, and destroying ' 338 licenses. This time: the 'trade' -was-fighting for its life,'and spent an'.enoriiious sum of , money oh . large display advertisements ' '-an the pjipeis during;the last ten days. ,j jThe threats of.' ;eictra. taxation, ;etc., j 'Which they -have, published deterred a J very great'many weak-kneed and .ill- ] informed,-supporters, from voting with 1 : lis., . This jsort . of thing would- not.- be- ,] successful in. New Zealand, as-we, are t ■too well .educated on the question, but j /it came off fairly well over there: for J rthe first "time of' using. 'It 'will .never. i ■come off so well .again,'. ,and I. think , ■tho No-License people there, may con- j igratnlate themgelves : thjit they have new i ■ full .strength, of; the ,enemy. : , ' We in "Now Zealand did not. Accom- 1 phsh even that much. The No-License, 1 forces kno-v now that they have a steady < grind of education to .fac'e, : and 'will. < set about it' with a good heart. It is ( perfectly .safe to prophesy that, taken i on the present basis, the No-License I vote there will, in - the future, steadily increase. The basis, however,, may be owing to the~Labour party. vici ' :'tory.>'The figures'published , so far from • N.e.w South Wales are incomplete. It is ; .jFjng to. say that the wotal Net-License 1 rote, has decreased. S<i far as oan 'bo a I fyScd ■ trom figures .available, - the day ( 1J eft'the" total No-License vote has in- ] .creased,' not decreased. - 1 :

Tho "Trade's" Resources Underostfmatsd. " "} n . T ' ew ;Of;.-tKe _tr6mendofls'.assaiilt -^ 6: :^9:Licens,e position^'and or the fact, that • the. political* situation tendca to- drive . the workers -,to vote ior OontmuancG, I think it says a:great deal for the.possibilities'of future.progress of t]ie cause -in .New South Wales that,-we' were able ;to -hold A up to lour original vote... There ..will be closed in the;; two;]>olls '■'there-'mire; licensed, premises;:.th'an.we in New -Zealand ~ havi? 5i o S®*/altogether .in our 'six campaigns', i'he ;oflly thing'that can .really, be said -9.9J 1 hght .is : ,tli.at< TjotH> parties expec uetl a too easy,and tgo sweeping' victory, for. No-Licenso. ' Because they had succeed©! so:well,at':the first pollwith.™ng a , great deal of solid work, the Ao-Licen'so . advocates "' seemed/ to' think in many places that the same «cmld be again.,'., It';;was a different thnjg;><however,: :; when the trade ? got,-to work, as their' vigorous assault needed- a well-educated . public Bind to withstand it.

My remarks as to the Labour supporters. voting; with . .the, Liquor' party have not been: made exactly-plain in .transmission' by cablegram,'' said Mr. Aicholls.. ■ '"I do not say .that, there was any orncial alliance: between Labour and laquor. | ';What,: I-do .say .is that > the xacts that the. jN o-License vote was given 1 by. the Wade, Government, and- that the Laoour feeling against the' 'Wade Government was' intense;., that the 'Daily telegraph' "and 'Sydney Morning'. Heraid bitterly, attacked the 'Labour party almost ■ daily,. and -/at -the. 'same, .time tried to make political capital for Mr. Wade by partly .supporting ..No-License,' and urging his. claims on the No-License' .ad.ri^W.ior...siipi»rt'against Labour; and ~that Mr. Uruntnell, the ./'-.{general superintendent of the No-License, party happened, to, stand : in ■ the Liberal interesfc, wcro. all reasons that tended, partly, ..to .bring, about: the'actual .result, i:e.,' that to a large degree Labour "voted with Liquor.. /-,,

Labour and No-License, that, .the Labour. .. party -is aow,m . office in . New' South' Wales;,.it, -may :.be of _ ; .ihterest to tho public to learn that 1 " its platfonh,. oil the • Liquor. Question is': , -- - . ■ "(1) State, option on a bare majority (taking; away, local option)i- ; "(2) A plebiscite .-as to whether compensation is to be paid or not and, '(3) Whether; the ; liquor . trade .'shall ba nationalised.-; . : /'Our New Zealand Labou'.v platform gives us local and Dominion vote by a simple majority. This is our whole demand. V "A circular was,spread' about," Mr. Nicholls continued, ''stating that now that we had 'the 1 accursed, drink under' bur heels' wej intended, to-move for' local option on 'smoking 'also. 'This prejudiced many against., us. Of course, we have no .intention of touching theismoking question.. Neither :are wo ''kill-joys, 1 ' \ as many, parrot-like, repeat.' Wo are in this fight because, wo want to add to the joy -of life,'not because wo want .to reduce it. Many other yarns wero spread abroad, such as that bread would, if .No-License wera carried on Friday, rise on the following Monday from 4d. the ■ half-loaf, to 6d. the half-loaf; that Mrs.. Barton,' one of - our leading' lady lecturers, had suddenly ceased from her cursing of the.:hotels, etc., to run across to one of them' and'get. brandy for a ladv who had fainted, at a , meeting, rhese were absolute foolishnesses,, arid pure'falsehoods. ; I look forward with confidence to the future in New South Wales." . -'. ' ,

"Great complaint' has been made by the No-License party in New South Wales that its. representative's are.not allowed' to -act as secretaries,". said 'Mr. Nicholls, in conclusion,; "and the ballot will never have our confidence -until ihat is ..conceded,"