THE LOCKER SYSTEM.

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 March 1910, Page 4

THE LOCKER SYSTEM.

A cr.cn MEMISER EXPOSES IT

r«V TKI.KOUAI'H SI'ECI.U. TO THE STAII. j

CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. i Imtc was a stormv am! disorderly i'JrVVK 1! r v;u ' l "f ‘lip Sydenham \wking Mens Club yesterday evening, followm ; nji.n a specially convened meet mg of (lie Clnl. members, at which .Mi A. Avery, a menthol’ of the inana,remeiil unnniiltce of the Club. desired In hi im/ for ward a lesMii) ion doing awav Sunday lo< Vi ” system? under nhieh members are allowed In buy n op (dies of Honor for Sunday consumption and store them in (heir lockers. The .special meeting w.w a very -hort one. and a mint of ord' r w ,l raised In Mi \\ illshii c (hat the meeting was roll vened for a specific purpose and that no side issues could lie considered, and Mr Avery was not allowed to move In's resolution. (hi- ruling on (his point being received with prolonged hooting directed til Mr Avery. Mr Avery then announced his intention of addressing (he members, of whom there was a goodly number present, on (he footpath outside the Chib's promises, and went out for that purpose. The members, however, refused to come out am! listen to him, and lie went bad; to (be yard outside the meeting ball of (bo t bib and started a speech, Mr Avery said be bad been appointed a member of the flub f'omniittee, and iconsidered it bis dntv to improve the management of (he Chib. He bad always been fair, square and above board with the members. Tie was not a purist or a piilnit banger, but he wanted to do away with the locker system because he considered it was not a good thing. At this stage a Lyttelton Times reporter, who was taking notes of Mr Avery’s remarks in the chib yard, was approached by a member of'the Committee and asked to withdraw from the Club’s premises. a request that was at once complied with. Mr Avery's remarks wore, however, quite audible from the footpalh outside.

Mr Avery went on to say that lie was going to put a stop to the intemperance that had been witnessed in the Club on Sunday nights, when demijohns of beer were stuck on the centre of the table. It was a had omen if the members persisted in refusing him a hearing and refusing to vote on his motion. He would ha ve to make a report to the Registrar of Friendly Societies and have matters remedied through the channels of the law. The club’s charter would then he endangered if this locker system continued. (A voice- “ Rats”).

Air Avery, continuing, said that it was never intended by the Legislature that the “Sunday locker” system should exist and that it was, therefore, a stolen privilege. It would he to the lasting credit of the Sydenham Working Men’s Club to first aHi inn the abolition of the Sunday locker Cyptetn. If the Sunday locker" system was continued, it might happen that the publicans of Sydenham might be blamed by the public for incidents which were really the fault of the svstern.

flic proceedings then tool; the form of a heated and acrimonious discussion, in which Mr Avery toolc a leading part. He was. subjected to a good deal of coarse ■''.line, though some of the members conducted the opposition side of the argument in a perfectly courteous and friendly tnanner.

Later in the evening Mr Avery was seen by a reporter, ancTsaid that he had made every effort in‘his power at the special meeting to liave the proceedings 'conducted in camera. He had pointed out to the members that if he was not given an opportunity of moving his resolution and speaking to it, he would have 8° outside and express his views. After the informal outdoor meeting ho had received notice that he was suspended from all privileges of the Club until next committee jqe.ejyig.