MEMORABLE MEETING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1303, 5 December 1911, Page 11

MEMORABLE MEETING.

"THE MEN BEHIND THE GUNS." I Seldom, if ever before, has there been .such, a, political, meeting in Wellington us '• that held last night. It was organised. < by the Women's Branch ot the Ket'orm ' League, and the Opposition candidates in ' this city also tool; a prominent part in it. beginning "to "end it war one ' -long' memorable triumph. . I Long before the opening hour, the ! great room of the Town Hall was filled i to overflowing, and even at seven u'eijck oniy.bnck seats r.'crc obtainable. Thousands were turned away, and, ultimately, Dr. Newman addressed an overllew meeting In the adjoining Concert ' Chamber, where a. Prohibition meeting was he'd, cheer after cheer was heard, and bursts of enthusiastic acplauae, and by degrees the sounds proved altogether too much for quite a large part of the. audience gathered there, and t)iey' unobtrusively made their way into the larger meeting. It spoke well for the organising powers of the Women's Branch of the League •that such a huge meeting was carried to inch a splendid conclusion, and after ''fijis "iff can hardly be sa-d" That ''women lire not taking their share in such an important matter as the proper government i>f tiiMr country. The league lias don" ve'ry'fiiie work,' and' such a meeting "as that held last night must have made them feel that they had very considerably helped on tho ctuif.tjor which they have been working so strenuously. They were distinguished everywhere among the nudience and also unon the stage by their primrose badges, fastened with a rosette of yellow ribbon. Some of them—the organisprs of the meeting—found it a most difficult task to gain an entrance into the hall. No more sympathetic meet : ng could possibly have been hnnd anywhere. Fnthusiasni welcomed the speakers at the ■••-.-rv beginning of the evening.'and seemed to wax greater os the mor-ling progressed. Seldom, indeed, is- a speaker asked by the audience to "go on sneaking," and yet that was the case with Mr. Hordman. His recntion was more I'ko an ovation than anything l else. Men who had come with the evident intention of "•nkinor a disturbance did >"ako their wav int» the hall, but, when they interjected, Hi-py wore told by a very vigorous chairman (Air. Morison) that if they disturbed the meeting they won't! he put outside, where there were some thousands waiting and eager to take their places. Needless to say hey found their places well worth preserving. It must hate been n strenuous time for the five Tteform candidates—Dr. Newman, Mr. Herdman. Mr. Fisher. Mr. Bell, and Mr. Wright—for most of them, if not the whole five, had either; addressed nthcr meetings, or else had to go rw.-iy afterwards to do so. One could not help being struck by the keenness of some of the youthful members of the audience. An instance of this was shown when Mr. Wright was snonkimr of the nr's'nn reform scheme, nominally introduced by Sir John t'ind'av, but which was really j hi- Mr. Edwin Arndd ynvs 370. "Vos. 1 Thnt was the year that Findlay iras.de-: featerl," called out n hoy from the audience. Such signj of the times are encouraging. The resolution- "That the. time had come when the Government should be denosed"—was carr'erl unanimously, and with acclamation. 11 tv' a memorable p-pet-in" rlnscrl to Hie strains of "God Save U>« King." Previous to the cofim'meemont of the ?vpii ; ng.T)r. Kington FyfTo entertained fl>e waiting audience with selections on the or^nii. M-s. Newman, the. president of the WnP ipTi'= Hrineli of the lonr'ie. Mrs, ITerdman. Mrs. Wrht. and Mrs.- p. M. H. Fisher, were of course among tho audience.