Mrs. Helen Barton

Horowhenua Chronicle, 14 November 1911, Page 3

Mrs. Helen Barton

HER LOVE FOll CHILDREN.

of AN ASTOUNDING DECLARATIO! de- MR J USTICE PRING'S to JUDGMENT. inom (h/xtr acted from "Fair Play, ; ' for March 17, 1911.) nn 1n " FN March of this year Mrs Barton X a lady employed by the Pre ■° k " hibitionists to lecture on their be ' 01 ' half in New Zealand, sued a news paper in Australia for libel am ' iC sought to recover £2000. She go ll( j £5 aud had to pay her own costs ncl the judge, t Mr Justico Pring, o '••T Sydney, where the case was heard ac j saying the case ought never to havi ; . K > boon brought into court, it- However, that fact in the case i. °f not what commands attention fron "" a Prohibitionist viewpoint. It ii It Mrs Helen Barton's amazing state "d ment as to what would 'be her atti 011 tudo to a dvmg child. as Mr Shand, Iv.C., had Mrs Heler Barton under cross-examination. " Mrs Barton said sihe had been t id Prohibitionist all her life, anc ( >i' would go as far as to say that liquoi 111 of any kind should not be taken tindor any circumstances whatever, id -Mr Shand: But the advocacy oi id Prohibition does not necessarily m--11 rolve abstinence at all times .r ie those who follow it? Is that your "S view? if Mrs Barton: I believe in Prohibii- tii n e'lf and out. '■ Mr Shand: I suppose you will add mit tflmt those who advocate Prohi>f bit ion d o not all go to the extent o you go and refuse to admit the use >- of liquor under any circumstances? 1- Mrs Barton: I have nothing to do e with what other people think, it Mr Shand: Answer my question, it f nni asking what you know. ii- Mrs Barton. I don't advocate it d oven as a medicine. o Mr Shand: If a •doctor was treating your favourite child and he « said, "I can save tlhe child's life by '■ siving it brandy," would you give i- it any brandy? Mrs Barton: No, I would not. •s Mr Shand : You would let it die? o Mrs Barton : Yes, I would. a ® His Honour; Vou would not give brandy to a dying child when brandy war, recommended by a docs tor? 0 Mrs Barton: No, I would not. His Honour: Are yon married? Mrs Barton: I have 'been a widow 0 for fifteen years. - His Honour: Have you anv ohilv dren? -Mrs Barton: Nine children. His Honour: Well, I might inform [) you that if you refused to do it. and n the child died you would be guilty of manslaughter. j. Now, the Prohibitionists have en- ? gaged Mrs Barton at, it is said, a 1 high salary to disseminate her views throughout New Zealand. They acj eept the responsibility. but siirelv p , the less bigoted will repudiate their p agreement with Mrs Barton's avow- , ed inhumanity. To save tlhe Do- [ minion from being under the d'omi- . nation of those liokling Mrs Barton's . deplorable views, the women voters I will strike out the bottom lines on , both 'ballot papers. THE JUDGE'S REMARKS. Mr Justice Pring, in the course of his summing up in the case, said : | The plaintiff, Mrs Barton, advo- j cates not only total abstinence, but ; prohibition. She would not even | use brandy to save a person who [ w.y.ilrl otherwise die. 1 hope there ■ are nob many in the community who hold the same views. A large mass -if thinking people in this community do rot believe in total abstinence, •t nd are wise enough to believe that everything given to us by the Creator may be put to a good use: Used properly, these tilings are beneficial, and the evil lies .t their abuse. I hear people proclaiming loudly against liquoi- and I often wonder whether they are not • I'iusing some other gift' of the Creator. Ib is just as disgusting to gorge food as it is to follow inte-n----poiv.nce in the drinking of liquor. Vie find that Mrs Barton has come out here for the purpose of taki..g part in a N.)-license campaign Ap"*-p-.'.rontly fill: herself in her publ'c addresses is nt above attacking other people. She ihas called every hotel iu this con >1117- a den of infamy and iniquity. That is language one cannot excise. It is going'tc.- far altogether. By accident as she snys, she e.ilu d down God's e.irse ou .a bishop. .Accident or 110 -iceidrat, she called down a curse on Bishop Strrttch. We find that sihe is a woman who is not above slandering other people .... _ This is straight, outspoken, and .lust. It needs no comment, is confirms wiliiat so frequently has bev 1 said by those opposed on the est and sa.n?,y, grounds to No-licen ; nivl Prehi'bnion. But the Prohibitionists arc paying Mrs Barton !o spread her views in New Zealand, and she is dring this for the tmu-hw of having those views established (here. We cannot think the men, and especiallv the women, will agree to vote as Mrs Barton bids them. * WSWM—pp—|