TRUE TEMPERANCE GROWS

Evening Star, Issue 12982, 19 June 1908, Page 6

TRUE TEMPERANCE GROWS

CHALLENGES TO MR G. B. I NICHOLLS. £2OO. (Published under special arrangement with William Thomson.) The methods of the U.T.R.C., as repre sented by Mr Nicholls. are so melodra•natie that they cannot commend them selves to right-thinking men. When they descend to acting for the sake of the effect, it is not from amy honest couvictior in their cause, but only to play to the gallery. I am, however, forced, seean: that Mr Nicholls is so anxious to spenc 1 -ither people's money, and herewith, t,. please him, challenge him as follows, tin decision to be given by three—one to be nominated by Mr Nicholls, another b myself, and His Worship the Mayor U preside: FIRST CHALLENGE. £SO will be paid to the hospital if I not prove that Mr Nicholls published th. following falsehoods, Mr Nicholls to paT £SO if I succeed : Ist falsehood—That I "falsified' figures. j 2nd falsehood—That I "misrepre sented" fisrures. 3rd falsehood—That I " admitted " thr charge. If Mr A. S. Adams, Mr Nicholls, or I were. to_ "falsify" or to " misrepresent" figures, it would be with the criminal intent to deceive. Mr Nicholas charge;, are very grave, and constitute a slandc of the worst type. He has the opportunity now to prove his woixls or pay £SO. SECOND CHALLENGE. A further sum of £SO will be- paid tr the hospital if Mr Nicholls can prove the understated figures to bo wrong (which means that ho must prove that drunken ness is increasing)— which show that drun kenness in Dunedin has decreased between the five yeans 1903 to 1907 inclusive—tha.t is, pro rata to the population, which in the only accepted and just basis. If Mi Nicholls fails on his part, he must pay £SO. When the census was taken in 1901 the'popu lation of Dunedin and .suburbs was 52.390 The increase in five years 3,630. which gives an annual iner-ase of 726. Wc have then:

) Year. i Population. , Cases of jdrunkenness. Gases per 10.000 of Imputation.

Average number of .cases per annum for three years, 115. 1906 ... 56,020 570 102 1907 ... 58,056 654 113 Average number of cases per annum for two yeaais. 107. Take now the number of persons arrested for those years, and the decrease is still more pronounced. The calculations are based .pro rata to the population:

> Year. > Population. 1 Persons 'iwi'c.sted. Persons arrested per 10,000 of population.

Average number of persons per annum for three years, 112. 1906 ... 56,020 440 79 THIRD CHALLENGE. Mr Nicholls has lately been advertising the success of Prohibition in Maine. I am willing to test the case, and if he is 60 .sure he can have no objection to the hospital getting a handsome contribution. £IOO will be paid to the hospital if I -annot prove from official records Uiat ommitments for drunkenness to county gaols in the State of Maine (vhioh is under No-license) for the years 1891 to : 903 inclusive have increased faster thaji the popuJation. Mr NioholLs to pay £IOO if I succeed. THE DECREASE OP DRUNKENNESS AMONG WOMEN in Dirnedin i« veiT marked in those years. The figures are : 1903, 112; 1904, 105 ; 1905, 93 ; 1906. 94;, 1907, 78. Compare these figures with Portland (a small town under No-licetLse), where 285 women were arrested for offeaece in 1906, and among thejn no 1»k than 17G for drunkenness, which proves NO-LICENSE IS INDEED THE ENEMY OF WOMEN. In the same year no less than 271 minors were arrested in Portland for various offences, which again proves that no-license is the enemy of YOUTHS. Note.—(a) The population for 1907 is that estimated by the RegistrarGeneral and published in the New Zealand Gazette. (b) The returns of persons arrested an; from the annual reports to Parliament made by the Police Commissioner. The figures for 1907 are not yet available. (c) If Mx Nicholls will accept the challenge, £2OO shall be at once deposited with His Worship the Mayor. Mr Nicholls must do th-i same. (d) Fractions or decimals are omitted.

1903 ... 53.842 680 126 1904 ... 54,568 679 124 1905 ... 55,294 534 97

1903 1904 1905 ... 53,842 ... 54,568 ... 55,294 668 667 502 124 122 90