THE LIQUOR ISSUE

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 7, 8 July 1922, Page 7

THE LIQUOR ISSUE

POSITION OF ANGLICAN CHURCH "HAS COME OFF THE FENCE'! DISCUSSION BY SY'NOD, '. The liquor question aid the Prohibition issue came up for discussion at the Diocesan Synod yesterday, when Mr. E.,.G. House (Lower Hutt) moved:— That in view of the forthcoming referendum on the liquor issue, this Synod earneetly commends to church people in the Diocese the resolution on{, the subject recently carried at thai meeting of General Synod in Auckland, which is as follows :—"That this Synod expresses its strong conviction^ that it is the bounden duty of Christian people, unless they are prepared to vote for total Prohibition of t'ua{ liquor traffic, to have some other dras- ; tic remedy for an evil which is sapping < the work and efficiency of • the eoiu° i munity." Mr. House said he viewed the resolu-t tion as the most important to come be-'---fore Synod. This year they were in fow one of the biggest fights against ': the-j liquor Trade that they had ever seen..; If.the Ghurch of England would only; stand by the Prohibition Party Prohibi-i tion would be carried. (Hear, hear.)'; The resolution of General Synod practi-' cally exhorted them, as sons of thaj Church, to vote Prohibition, if they did! 1 not have some more drastic remedy. I They were sometimes told that the,1 Church of England was "sitting on the 1 fence." By the resolution passed afrj General Synod he. believed that the. Church of England had come- off the>l fence. (Hear, hear.) The epeaker be-i lieved that if the liquor Trade werai swept away there would be less-unem-j ployment and the people would be.better off. If such sane and business-like people as the Americans could keep Prohibition in force, then there was every chance that the people of New Zealand, with the backing, of the Church of England, could carry the next poll. It was most' important that the Church should takaj the advice given by General Synod. CHANGED VIEWS. • . THe Rev. H. G. Blackburne (Palmer,, ston North) seconded the motion. Ha ■ said that he had not always been in favour of Prohibition, and he had even written articles against it. /Mr." Black-. bume said that he had altered his opinion because hia experience had been that while they would never stop the eon- i sumption of liquor, yet, by Prohibition, they would remove a temptation from1 the young people \ growing up. The second reason why he favoured Prohibition was because of the attitude of tha Trade in England during the war. tThe Trade had demanded its "pound of flesh" in the form of grain for liquor, ■ and iff had also absorbed a good deal of-man power. In England the Trade.'had a. stranglehold on the country and they must prevent such a state of affairs arising in this country. The overwhelming ■volume of medical testimony was opposed to alcohol being usefuj as ,a food. For economical, physical, and moral reasons he favoured Prohibition. "When he firsE came to New Zealand he f avoui'ed a form of State control by the adoption of the Grothenbury system, but this country offered no means of remedying the evils attendant to,the traffic. State control would be a disaster and would only offer an inducement to the Government to obtain more revenue, as it did through the totalisator. The Government would run the traffic for all its ■worth to obtain money. Prohibition would effect a radical change in thei country. He had a diffidence in speaking from the pulpit on the matter because his congregation had no Opportunity of controverting him, tut .he diet believe in advocating Prohibition from the public platform. > s He wae so certain that spirits did such damage.to. the system, that he had no hesitation in favouring Prohibition, and he urged support' for the resolution adopted by General Synod. "LYING REPORTS." Arch'deacon Russell pointed to' priests of the Anglican Church who "had been through the martyr stage" in.the advocacy of temperance reform in New Zealand. They must now,admit that the Prohibition movement was of God., Other branches of the Christian Church, except perhaps the Roman, had been strong for Prohibition, but the Anglican people had wanted a'lead. Now, thank God, General Synod had given such a lead. It was commonly stated that Prohibition did not prohibit, and that conditions were worse where no-license obtained. Having had, experience inOamaru he could only say that such reports were lying reports. In the whole eleven years he had spent in Oamaru he had not seen half-a-dozen drunken men, > and he'knew that there were men there who would not go to live in licensed districts in order that they might avoid temptation. Once he had been given £5 to help poor people, but he had not been able to find anyone who needed the money. He told a Salvation Army captain of what he wanted to do and the captain replied, "I'm on the same job and I can't find any." There was no sounder place economically in the" South Island than Oama/u. Archdeacon Russell stoutly contended that, from his experience, conditions were much better in no-license districts than in districts ■where liquor was sold. He believed that an overwhelming majority of diocesan synods were in favour of Prohibition. The discussion was adjourned until Monday.