PROHIBITION CONVENT

Evening Star, Issue 10896, 3 April 1899, Page 2

PROHIBITION CON V E N T

At Saturday afternoon’s sittii*“sie Mr Finley (Temperance moved—“ In view of the approaching

op ioo polls, to be held colony not later than the month of December next, this Convention realising that, owing to the great advance. made in the strength of the no-’icense vote in, 1896, the contest will be carried on by the liquor interest with greater energy and determination than ever before, as the existence of the trade will be staked on the issue, nrge upon alt churches and temperance bodies the duty of perfecting in every electorate the organisation for securing an effective no-license vote; and, in particular, the Convention strongly recommend for the above object the regular and continuous distribution of bright literature, the use of the public Press, public meetings at regular intervals throughout the towns and country, and systematic personal effort to place the names of every qualified elector on the rolls.”—Mr M'Skimming (Stirling) seconded the resolution, which was also supported by the Rev. A. DewJney, the Rev. Dr Nicholson, Mr A. 8. Adams, Mr Wilson, and Mr Seth Smith. Mr A. S. Adams, in the coarse of his re* marks, referred to the attitude that bad been assumed by the Anglican Bishop of Dunedin (the Right Rev. Dr Nevill) towards Prohibition, and stated that he (Mr Adams) bad, by the last mail, received documentary evidence which proved that the Archbishop of Canterbury was a Prohibitionist.—The motion, on being put, was carried without dissent.

Miss Roberts (of Christchurch) introduced the question of ‘ Woman’s Vote : Her Influence and Responsibility.’ She argued that women still possess great influence, and that the reform they sought would only be brought about by securing the influence of women on their side. The speaker gave some details of her own experience in the work, and urged the women to go to work persistently among their friends, informing and enlightening them upon the facts of the question; and Miss Roberta concluded by moving “That this Convention recognise the fact that there were more female voters than male on the electoral rolls of the. colony at the last election, and realise, therefore, that the issue of local option depends very largely on the women’s vote; and, seeing that women are the chief sufferers by the liquor traffic, through domestic troubles, loss of wages, eto., they urge that women should vote solidly for ‘ no license.’ ” —Miss Niool seconded the resolution, and it was carried unanimously. Mr Innis, on behalf of the Giutha Conven-' tion, proposed—“ That efforts be made to secure legislation next session providing for the licensing uud effective inspection of all boarding-howee."—Miss Roberts seconded the resolution.—Mr A. S. Adams and Mt Graham opposed the motion, which, aft«r oi nsiderable discussion, was lost on the voices.

j'jSut the abunfjanb & %id It; •%& sngii(t ■ ffie' Waa ieally enjoyed. TQ on such & day, by the eloe; Of friend, and idle away the tiffie' la oonwrße.< * sedate or otherwise, aecofdtog wlndmaqab inollnatibny tuid to find ih' th# fcega/tthj ip| sufficient excuse for the grateful loll,* thef occasional pipe, the sweet sense of temporary' emancipation from the round of dally dutms| —this was pleasure, audit was the-way ini which the bulk of the holiday-makers spent: their outing 5 and if they properly retaein- ! bered their benefactors, the originators of this excursion, they would also shower blessings on the head, of Mr.J. A. Mite, 'through whose friendly, the Railway pepairttoent was at thb.JasV.m----1 duced to arrange the excursion. Now that i the. picnic is all over, it s'eeins a little strange that the authorities wanted any stimulus, Since there must have been rolling stock. Somewhere in the locality of Dunedin in readiness Waiting for the specials on Easter Monday. But, having enjoyed the holiday, we do not propose to reflect on'the depart* I ment or ba anybody who at first stood in I the way. Unpleasant remarks are foreign to the subject in hand, which is to say, something about this very-much appreciated regatta and its surroundings., To tell the truth, the regatta itself was ' quite of secondary importance. Nine out of ten present would have gone home quite contented if there had been n* regatta—- | that is to say, as things turned out. All I the same, it was as well, i|| case of less favorable weather prevailing, to have the regatta properly engineered. It might have been wanted. And if it had been, the arrangements were quite equal to any strain put upon them. Mr John James, Mr Leslie Wilson, Mr W. L. Hooper, Mr John White, I Mr J. A. Stables, Mr W. Wilson, Mr Le j Cren, Mr Jay, Mr Jackson, Mr “Andy” | Hunter, and others had the whole proceed- ! ings adequately planned beforehand,-under the general superintendence of Mr Butterworth, who thought out the whole scheme and got as grimy as anybody in perfecting it; and the names mentioned, including, os they do, the names of men who have been continuously associated with the management of rowing matters in Otago for many years past—Mr Hooper, for one, has been nine tunes secretary of a regatta committee, and Mr James is a regatta committee in himself—are a guarantee that no necessary details would be overlooked. And such was the case. The whole thing was well considered and efficiently carried out.. Amongst the general arrangements which’ may be mentioned approvingly was the providing of seats along the river bank, and the fixing up of a refreshment inarqilee bn the railway side to.be worked in conjunction with Mr Amos M'Kegg’s hostelry on the other. Both did a roaring business all day, and at night too 5 and. Mr M'Kegg’s enterprise in connection with the matter was evidently! rewarded in a substantial manner, since there was an incessant demand for the eatables and drinkables provided in abundance, and the tangis of the hen roosts and the wakes of the duckponds for miles around are . a result of the energy, of the M’Kegg. family and the appetites of the visitors. Strange to say, too, there was not a single complaint about the starting. . Mr James and Mr Leslie Wilson did this job race and race about, and in every case sent the crews off on equal terms. the races were on the strip of water from the Henley bridge to the point where the river makes a T and shapes for Waihola one way and the. mouth the other way. The starts took place on this T, and the finishing point was at the bridge abreast of the post office. This meant that there were two bends in the course. It would have been better, perhaps, for rowing if the straight mile had been used, starting from the bend, but this would have meant shooting the bridge, and though, with the smooth water that prevailed, this could have been done all right, the Committee would not have been justified in depending on this beforehand. The worst of the bend that was in sight from the finish was that it invariably put the crew on the hotel side at a disadvantage. When two boats came level to that point the one on the hotel shore was at once found to be a length to the bad. It be said that this lost races, for as a matter eighteen contests were As a only compensating the the disadvantage the at the first bend, part of against the strength and rule Fours, the starters And this was the most important the day. ..... The “Dabs” crews were the chief prizewinners, netting £2O of the £35 offered in cash, and also securing the valuable trophy attached to the Henley Fours. The North End won £B, and the Queen’s Drive £7, The “Drive,” it should be noted, were unlucky in that Shanks, the stroke of their four, missed his passage, and they had to put in Pritchard, who was only partially trained. He took the bow oar, and Bell shifted from bow to stroke.

Only once during the'day did the Committee have to meet, that being to consider whether the final of the Maiden Fours should or should not be rowed over again. Braithwaite, stroke of the Drive’s crew, broke the handle off his oar with the first stroke. Under such circumstances, an opposing crew will sometimes stop and let the sufferer get another ear. This, however, is by no means compulsory, and we are not disposed to blame the North Enders for going on. It was their right to do so if their consciences were clear. Tie Committee decided, of course, that it was a start. Mr Leslie Wilson had given the word “ Go,” and after that is done, unless there is a recall before the crews leave the mark, every boat must take the consequences of its own mishaps. The delay in starting the final of the Henley Fours arose partly from the Dabs having to borrow a boat and a coxswain for their second crew ahd partly from dilatoriness on the part of the men, for which Columb was fined 5s and Wright 10s. The Bluff boat was the one lent for the occasion. The following is a lull report of the proceedings : MAIDEN CLINKER FOURS. Prizes, £3 and j£l. First Heat. North End.—W. Knowles (stroke), J. Mitchell, S. Abram, D. Taylor. Sroble (cor) ... ... 1 Dunedin Amateur.—G. Watson (stroke), H. White, J. Stables, A, Watson, C. Thomson (cox) ... ... ... ... ... 2 Won easily by about three lengths. Time, 6min 44sec. Second Heat. Queen’s Drive.—C. Braithwaite (stroke), D. Bradley, J. Morgan, T. Omand, R. Cook (cox) ... .1 A walk-over. Time, Bmin 45sec. FINAL HEAT. North End ... ... ... ... ... 1 Queen’s Drive ... ... ... ... 2 Braithwaite broke his oar at the handle on the f ret stroke, and though he struggled bn he had no show. Time, 7min 30sec. MAIDEN DOUBLE SCULLS. Prizes, £3 and £l. First Heat. Dunedin Amateur.—W. Weir (stroke), W. Wilhelmson, C. Thomson (cox)... ... ... 1 North End.—B. Nichols (stroke), A. Knowles, Scoble(cox) ... ... ... ... 2 Nichols gave up when a quarter of a mile from Time, Bmin 41sec.

" • ■ i t andprices, w. - and M’Doiujfd, * w. (cox) ' 2. -.-Asave! '' • , ■/, :ii' v 4 '. ■ '■''■ ! ■’■ i Dunedin 0. J JHOwo, (owe) I N -w&#if * . aivM '.» The , ~o W bjr a couple-of lengths Ti^Tn^ioi^',.., . > Dunedin Anktetof . ,J > -.„ ... ... 1 Dubadin AtaAteur ..V ' > : -... ...,;, ‘ ... 2 Oolumb’s ' orew<■■ wan< o«Uy by about : three lengths,’ Time, fitthflSmA* '•* SOULbS. Dofiodln A^ate»l frtrpke), J. Given, Soobifr Wbn.’ «Ulottt/by,a Jap|ftn and a-holf. Time, Otagb.-Tp. J. (atflsSi\W. McDonald, Cozens (oo*)? **.: t * ... ... 2 The best finish of the'fiay; won by a foot. Time, 7min£osec. , ; * t- " FINAL HZjiX. ‘ , ; ' Dunefiln Auiatefir ..; - <.. ... t ... 1 Dunedin Amateur ... ' ... ... ,1, 2 Williams and Jsaacs beat their club ma f es by three lengths. Time; TftinlOgec. - junior,qilNKp pours. , FtWMA'- ■■ - Fiftt Hist, , : Queen’s Brsithweite (strokeX D> ; Bradley,- B. AgderMO, : |T..D'attnd ... . „.,. 1 Awarua.*rT. M'Denald (stroke), 1. Nichol, W. Parland, P. Farrell... ... ... ... 2 Wonbytwolengths.fiUbut, Time,7mlnlßsec. North J. Mitchell, S. AbreS, D. Mt; f®:(cox) ... o 1 Dunedin T. Scurr, J. Tates, L Msoleaoi o.;Thpmaon (cox) ... 2 Won by ovet a doseh lengths. Time, 7min 16aec. ... pinal heat. North End ... •„. ’ ... ... ... 1 Queen’s Drive •*•; .<• ... ; ... ... 2 The Drive gave up 60yds from home. Time, 6mln64aec, 1 • r /• ' SENIOR CLJNKER PAIRS. . Prises, jt‘4 and j£l.; Queen’s Drive ,“t). M'boDAW (stroke), A. Bell, G. Thomson (ojx) .:. " - ..;. ... ... 1 A walk-over. Time;. Sdifei . Second Host. Dunedin Amateur.-C. "Uolumb (stroke), W. Farqviharson, C. Thomson (cox)- 1 North End.’ —D. Wall-'(stroke), A. Bianie, Scoblefcox) .;■• , ... ... ... 2 Won very eaa(l> by a little over a length. Time, 7minToseo. . ■ rrti&t beat, Sueen's Drive ... . ... ... ... 1 unedln Amateur ../ 2 Columb aud his mate could not see it out. Time, 7min ISaed. A contingent of (he Engineers’ Band played duriAgtheday, ?'