REV. J. HOBBS ON PROHIBITION.

Hastings Standard, Issue 140, 7 October 1896, Page 4

REV. J. HOBBS ON PROHIBITION.

[To the Editor.] Sir. —I was literally astonished to sec a statement in Monday's issue of your valuable paper to the effect that " Rev. J. Hobbs, in his sermon last Sunday, thought the people of New Zealand should not vote ' No License ' at the licensing poll, and he himself would vote for the licenses to remain as they are. The supervision of the liquor traffic for the last fifteen years had proved satisfactory, nnd he did not believe that the views of the extremists would improve matters." Now, sir, lam afraid that Mr llobbs has been seriously misrepresented, but be has not corrected himself; therefore we must take it that he will allow the public to accept the statement as correct. For the last fifteen years no less than fifteen thousand lives have been lost by drink. Does Mr llobbs, who, by the way, is a professed Good Templar, consider that to be satisfactory ? During the last fifteen years the arrests m New Zealand for drunkenness has averaged over seven for every thousand of the population. Is that satisfactory ? I will not take the trouble to tabulate the horrors of the liquor trailic in New Zealand for the last fifteen years. I merely tike a single quarter in last year, and if Mr llobbs considers the dark tale of woe to be satisfactory, I am very sorry for him. During the June quarter of 1895, there were 10,S convictions for drunkenness, men. 97 convictions for drunkenness, women (one with Hi, and one with H.j previous convictions). 221 convictions for drunkenness, first offenders. 19 convictions for drunkenness and disorder.

582 convictions for drunkenness for one quarter. Twenty-one prohibition orders were granted during the same three months ; there were two case* of neglecting familv ; 7 broaches of the Licensing Act;"l7 assaults under the influence of drink (one on a wife, one causing death); o attempted suicides. Now look at the solemn list of deaths One died in hotel; verdict-I >rath caused by excessive drink." One skull fractured". One thrown from buggy and killed instantaneously. One aged 70. from alcoholism and exposure. One result of fall. One fall from bridge. Four excessive drinking. One woman under remand for medical treatment. One suicide of secretary of racing club. Thus we have in only one quarter 625 items of sadness that ought to move the stoutest heart to tears of pity and commiseration. Multiply this sixty times and we have a fair sample of the trade that the Rev Mr Ilobbs calls " satisfactory." To whom is such a record satisfactory ? I answer only to the extremist who mocks at widows' tears and orphans' cries, the fall of the noble life of man, and the degradation of womanhood. A man who can laugh at his dead child in the collin may be satisfied with drink's death roll.—l am, tic., John llosking. "SVesleyan Parsonage, Hastings, Oct. Gth, IS9G.

[To THE EniTOT;.] Sir, —I was astonished at a report which appeared in your issue of the otli inst. that- the Rev. -T. Hobbs told his congregation that he thought the people of New Zealand should not vote for "No License' at the licensing poll, and he himself would vote for licenses to remain as they are now. Sir, I do not know whether the rev. gentleman is trying to lit in with everybody's views or not, but he certainly must know that he will end up in failure. lam informed that Mr Hobbs is a full-blown member of the Good Templar Order in Hastings, and if he made the same declaration when he was initiated into the Order that I made some years ago when I joined the 1.0.G.T.* Lodge, it must have run something like this : —" \ou shall abstain from all intoxicating drinks as a beverage and you shall do all in your power to drive it from our land." Now, Sir, Mr Hobbs has made the above promise to that body, and now he tells his people in the church that he shall support the Licensing Party. If that is not inconsistency I do not know what is. Mr Hobbs said that the supervision of the liquor traffic for the past- fifteen years has proved satisfactory. Does Sir Hobbs think bv making such a statement that people are prepared to swallow such nonsense. It is not the supervision that Prohibitionists are striking a t—it is the trade and the harm it is doing. When Mr Patterson delivered an address on the effect Prohibition had in Kansas he stated that it was the saving of that country from bankruptcy, and then he went on to say that we in New Zealand were digging three drunkard's graves every day. _lf that is a fact we must have bxiried fifteen thousand drunkards in the last fifteen years. Now, Sir, if Mr Hobbs can make people believe that the supervision of the trade has been satisfactory I don't think he will try to force anyone to the belief that the trade has" been a satisfactory one. But depend upon it. Sir, Abraham Lincoln's words hold truth. He said, " You can fool all the people some of the time; you can fool some of the people all the time : but you cannot fool all the people all the time," and so I hope it will prove at the next election. I always hope for the best. Thanking you, Sir, in anticipation.— I am, Ac., Axti Humbug. October 7, 189 G.