STUDENTS AND NO-LICENSE.

Evening Star, Issue 13102, 7 November 1908, Page 12

STUDENTS AND NO-LICENSE.

p.;^|TDSf PAR ALLELE D ENTHUSIASM. THREE HALLS CROWDED. PHILOSOPHY, FUN. AND FOOI.ISHNESS. To most meetings in Dunedin and else- ; where a man may hie at the hist moment and bo welcome. Then, to bo sure, the man has to pay. The man who tried to enter the Garrison Hall at half-past seven last night was treated as a thief caught in the night, or as a lire that needs putting out. Ho was gripped by the throat, or soaked with water. The treatment, however idiotic it may have been, may also have been emblematic. Tire occasion, winch seemed common enough by the advertisements, was a No-liceitso demonstration. Hence the gripping and the water. The No-license demonstrators were students pi Otago University. That was the reason for the excited anticipation of the thousands who marched down Dowling street like an army going to victory. Somehow or other, students the world over are looked on like jibbing horses. They “play up.” now anil again. That may explain the fun and the far from intellectual no he. The silliest student that ever amazed his best friends by matriculating could not account for the unparalleled enthusiasm uhich prevailed The common citizen is not so daft as all that. Out in Dowling street hundreds of vhc lieges, young, middle-aged, old, all sober ns a judge, ran from hall door to hall door in ait eager elTort to train the cheery shelter withtin the Garrison Hall ami Alhambra Theatre and Army Barracks, whence cam* the sound of singing —‘Strike out the Top Line,' —■ and so on. Within three halls, none apparently thought ot arbitration. Above the moan of the wind outside, strike, strike, strike could he heaul with startling distinctness. In the Garrison Hall an enthusiastic scene opened to the view of men, who had had their toes trodden, necks squeezed, and waistcoats washed before they got in to see. And once they were in they couldn't get out. There was- nothing for it but to enter into the spirit of the business or go nucl. From the stage to the door, on llnor and nailery, maids, mothers, youths, and men crowded closely. .Most of them sing lustily ; many anyhow. Every now and again about a thousand mouths, of all shapes and sizes, as mouths are, shaped similarly to sing 'Strike’ emphatically. Un the stage a map showing dry States in America vied in altrac'ing attention with a long-haired young man who waved his arms like Hulls, and led the mighty choir. The ’.indents wnu wcie expected to play the tool were in evidence. They, along with a number of youths, rounded squeakers, repeated hoary gags, made much noise, wete adamant to many stinging rebukes, which would have shrivelled many a navvy and acted generally as such fellows do on occasion:-. As the chairman said, “they wore very young.” When Professor Marshall appeared to take the chair there was 'romendoas enthusiasm displayed. At the rear of the stage a burnt of students gave a .Maori war-cry, or something like that, to the great delight of tile audience. And then the business began. The Chairman explained that although it had been said that the Univeisity look little or no interest In social questions, several students had come to show that they had a real interest.—(Applause.) The students who would speak to them on Nolicense questions represented no organisation in the University.— (" Hear, hear,” tried the funny students in the laxly of the hail.) Some of them had not completed their University course. Voices: “And not Likely to!” they are not the only people who are not likely to,” replied lir .Marshall, with line emphasis.—(Applause.) He asked the band of interrupters to behave.—(" (let your hair cut.” they replied.) Each of live students delivered an address. None said anything startling or now, but all spoke as earnest, men, brave and patient. They did not lose their tempers over interruption and -illy “ehi.uking " from a certain group, who' kept close together, as, goats do on a hillside on occasions. Some of the speeches were longer than they might have been. No-Jioenpc is not decided on a three-fifths majority of words spoken. Action wins. The words of I the speakers, however, whether leadenfooted or nimble, came right from the heart of each speaker. And'the appreciation displayed by the majority of the audience was as sincere as appreciation could be. Here and there in the, great crowd of well-dressed, well-fed citizens elderly mothers shed a happy tear or two because the lads on the stage did so well. Hundreds of the audience gaped with satisfaction. The minority had no desire to hear. Their business and pleasure appeared to be noise-making. They were, happy, too, although two policemcn'walked among them, and curbed the output of noise. Air E. K. Lomas, M.A., M.Sc., spoke, when he got the chance, on No-licenso from the students’ standpoint. He re- ■ ceivecl an enthusiastic welcome. Tils address, in which he emphasised the necessity of brainworkers abstaining from alco- ' hoi in order to enable thorn to achieve moral and intellectual progress for humanity, was broken ruthlessly and often by the one herd of interrupters who seemed to bo obsessed of that rant ‘ We parted on the shore,’ which was roared repeatedly as men sing in taverns. Once a lady fainted, and there was a bit of a commotion. Air Lomas asked the interrupters to exercise commonsense and manhood, and remember that ladies were present. The noisy band apparently did not know of such qualities. Air Lomas mentioned that as it hail been said that students took no interest in the No-license question, he and others had come forward to remove that wrong impression. Ho was sure they had the support of the students—("Rot," and a kind of song I about everybody working but father)— the majority of the students, then.—(Applause.) The most important reason for coming forward, however, was that they were present at Air IV. Thomson's meeting in Albany Street Hall, and wore impressed with his unfairness. He referred to suggested remedies for the drink blight, and said that the best remedy was. No-license. It was the duty of the pre- i sent generation to settle this difficulty of 1 strong drink. I There was* a burst of applause here i with a counter demonstration from the band of university students and others at the side of the hall next to one of the j emergency exit doors, who repeated their : chorus of ‘We parted on the shore.’ A , storm of hisses and hoots drowned them, 1 and such chaos ensued that the chairman 1 sprang to his feet and shouted ; “ Will ! those gentlemen realise that thev are disturbing a meeting of about 2,000 people who want to hear the speakers.—(Applause.) Wo don’t wish to have to resort to strong measures, but they will be adopted if this continues."—(Loud applause, and a voice ; “ Put them out. "). There was renewed disturbance quelled at last by two policemen, who had taken up their stand among the rowdy section. Air Lomas concluded a twenty-minute speech in comparative quiet. Mr Hector AfacLean. ALA., spoke on * No-license in Its Relation to the Aloral Welfare of the People.’ He commanded - a better hearing than most of his friends, j and talked of the degenerative influences of the open-bar system on people handi- : capped by inherited weaknesses, and there- j fore weak against temptation. Improvement j of their environment was the only wav to j help them. Was the case for No-license, I judged by its moral effect on the people, ■ stronger than License ? The real pros- ! perity of a nation consisted in moral and spiritual advance. Anything tending to lower the moral tone of a'great nation was a pernicious evil.—(Applause.) Air Mac Lean cashed if No-license was an adequate remedy, and said it would remove “‘ the many open saloons where drink may be had for the asking.—(Voices; “Ah,! ah, and ‘ Can it i ). Granting licenses meant legalising the tempters of men’s souls. By this time it was getting on for 9 D-m., and the audience gave Afiss Marie Bouden a good hearing and an encoro for a vocal item. Mr W. H. Pettit, a tall young medical

student, was the next speaker, his subject 3em {C »“ No-license from the medical vs pec t. ’ He had scarcely begun when mother dose of ‘ We parted on the shore ’ mused him to desist and consult with the chairman, who rose and said : “ There is just one remark for those gentlemen over there. It seems to me a very unfortunate thing that any body of young men should put themselves in such a position and behave in such a manner that they have to be closely eyed by the police.”—(Loud applause, and a voice : “ The Prof, himself should be eyed by the police.”) Mr Pettit : “ We have never once in all this time made any protest. We have never asked for a fair hearing if we could not command your attention. We don’t ask for a fair hearing for ourselves, but for the sake of the rest of the audience.” —(Loud applause.) He went on : “We stand face to face with an enemy dismayed and discomfited, for we are convinced we are on the eve ot a most glorious victory. ”—(Cheers.) Here there was another diversion caused by a reverberating hammering at one of the side exit doors, where many of the excluded disappointees were congregated. Air Pettit resinned when comparative peace had been secured. “It is true.” he said, "that the medical profession in New Zealand have not taken any prominent part in temperance reform, but we need m> justification of the stand we take. Look at the stand taken by the profession in older countries.'’ Again burst in the ‘ We parted ’ chorus, followed by ‘ There is a happy land,’ and ‘Me 11 hang old Nicholls on a sour apple lire, the strains dying away to pianissimo us the two policemen (without showing any batons) took a hand at “conducting.” Air Pettit went on to speak of the irmge of the medical profession’s attitude towards alcohol. A Voice : “ Here ! Do you go down to the hospital!? Whitt about the patients’ stout and brandy?” Another Voice; “AVhnt’s the drink at the medical dinner?” ( horns : “ Beer. beer, beer.” Again Air Pettitt consulted with the hairman, and a. muffled voice, coming hrongh one of the ventilators in the passage and requesting a bottle of humanised niik it he could not get beer, caused roars of laughter. At 9.30 the l!ev. W. Slade got up to mike some announcements from the platform regarding future Nolicense meetngs. A vigorous Alaori chant from the disturbing section sent a wave of excitcnent through the hall. He urged the people to keep their seats, and then by a nappy inspiration started the campaign mng • Strike out the top line.’ It was heartily taken up hv the big majority of [he audience, and simply drowned all other interruptions for the moment. Air Slade at length announced that at me of the meetings a No-licenso speaker would meet Air Thomson in debate—“if he comas."—(Laughter.) .V Voice ; “ Well be there.” Air Slade : “ Well, thare will be some Fools there in that case.” He went on to announce the collection, and explained that in getting the hall a promise Had been given that any damage done would be made good, and some damage had been done. After a vocal duet by Messrs Armour md Bathgate, during which the collection was taken up. Air \V. F. Adams, a law Undent, spoke briefly on the success of No-license, and a song was given by Air Smart Thomson. By this time ten o'clock had arrived, md the doors had to he opened to allow dmsc who wished to leave to do so. This gave some of the crowd ontside a chance '■'> get in, and in no time the rear of the bull was packed with a fairly rowdy lowd or men. among whom bottles were freely circulated, waved about, and occasionally put to thirsty lips. After this [lie noisy section at the side of the hall had to yield pride of place to these newcomers it the back. Every now and again some fresh commotion at the rear would alarm die audience, who stood on the seats to get i view of what was going on, but all that ■onhl be seen was the movement of a policeman's helmet in the densely packed iirong. Mr J. L. Robinson, an arts student, who was the 'a.-t speaker, consequently had a very difficult task before 'him.' but he showed great pertinacity and no mean l owers as a speaker, and got through it He dealt with ‘ Ihe Liberty of the Subject.' and in doing so he dissected the irgiiments put forward by Rev. Wm. Thomson on this aspect of No-license, to the great satisfaction o: the bulk of the audimre. He said that it had been stated that ivory reform went through four stages: ii-st it was ridiculed, then it was reviled, then it was fought, and last of all it was uce.pted as a matter of course. No-license in Dunedin had reached the third stage of evolution. The dm at the back had by this time aecomc indescribable ana the atmospheie ill over the hall electrical. Alany timee the chairman had to appeal to the people to “ Sit down, please; there is nothing to 5CC.’’ (suddenly there was a diversion in front. There was a. swift hiss and a thud against the wall that forms the background to the platform. Like one man the thirty or so -Indents who were sitting on the platform is a moral support to the speakers sprang tp and rushed for the side door leading tc the wings. Wrath and a lust for revenge I'istortyl their faces. But presently the; returned, some smiling in a rather pained sort of way. others angrily wiping their riothes with their handke'rchiefs. The; had beer, enfiladed with the fire hose bv mine wag m the wings. The hose, which bad been used by those in control of the meeting as a defence against the crowd who tried to force an entrance from Mactiidrew street at 7.30, had been left lying in the wings, and someone had seized this -hance to get even. The play of the jet anly busted a second or two, but it got in some telling work before its director deauipeel in .sore jeopardy of being mobbed oy his dripping victims. Air Robinson (who escaped a wetting) persevered with his speech as soon as he ■mild, walking up and down the platform mil gesticulating freely while quoting poetry. Turning on his tormentors at the rear of the hall, he said: "Look at these men here. If they have got anything tc say, let them." He regretted that he would have to cut out the best part of hie speech. "Ho on!” shouted a sympathiser, encouragingly. “ 1 won’t go on while this interruption lasts.' said Air Robinson. He managed to get a further hearing, and concluded shortly after 10.50. The Chairman announced that the over flow meetings had filled both the Alhambrr theatre and the [Salvation Army Barracks, —(Applause.) Cheers for the chairman and for the students brought a remarkable gatherin', to a dose. THE OVERFLOW MEETINGS. The overflow from the Garrison Hall filled the Alhambra. Theatre to the door; in no time, and of the residue those whe elected to go to the Salvation Army Barracks rather than go home disappointed sufficed to fill that building too. The earlier speakers at the Garrison Hall wenl across to the Alhambra as soon as the; hj id finished, and repeated their addresses there, and some of them afterwards wenl to the Barracks and spoke a third time. The Rev. T. Fee presided at the Alhamunv Theatre, and the speakers were the Rev. E. 0. Blamires, and Messrs E. K. Lomas, H. (who was particularly well listened to), W. H. Pettit, and the well-known No-license advocate Mr A. S. Adams. The Alhambra meeting was much more orderly than that at the Garrison Hall. Interruptions did occur, bu( the interrupters invariably came off second best, the big majority of the audience being evidently No-license sympathisers, The well-known trick of uncorking -bottle? of sulphuretted hydrogen was played al one stage. The evil-smelling fumes wen liberated at. the back of the stalls, and also up in the circle. “A joke’s a joke,’ said one half-suffocated victim afterwards “ hut there was no getting out of the place.” At the Salvation Army Barracks th< meeting was orderly and enthusiastic, Staff-captain Dixon presided, and addresses were given by Alessrs Blamires Lomas, and Mac Lean.