NATIONAL LEAGUE.

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 June 1911, Page 7

NATIONAL LEAGUE.

A REPLY TO CRITICISM. [BT TELEGRAPH —PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, June 5. The Wellington National League, which has come in for a good deal of adverse criticism locally does not, according to its leaders, deserve the abuse levelled at it, by one of the speakers at a recent meeting in Christchurch. Mr. Ernest Hadfield, a well known lawyer and a prominent member of the league, denies that the new league in any way arose from the defunct Liberty League of a. former day. The National League, he explain.s was started in consequence of the announcement of the increasing restrictions sought to be imposed upon the community as a whole by certain faddists and also becau.se of the increasing tendency of Ministers of the Crown to set themselves above parliament and the will of the people. The league includes men who do not touch liquor, but he admits that the wide membership may include people interested in the liquor traffic. These, Mr. Hadfield pointed out, were no more debarred from joining than prohibitionists. It was absurd to say that the League was specially evolved to help the liquor interest. The league’s leaders had not sent lists to the hotels, neither had the league employed any agents. Members took lists to secure the names of friends and naturally these members were free to take these lists from their pockets if they happened to see friends while they were :n an hotel. He presumed that the rumour had its origin in that way. It was also not true that the league was accepting members irrespective of their willingness to pay the subscription.