MR T. E. TAYLOR.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVIII, Issue 12934, 30 September 1902, Page 2

MR T. E. TAYLOR.

WELCOMED BACK TO CHRISTCHURCH. There was a large attendance in. the Art Gallery last evening, when tho friends of Mr and Mrs T. E. Taylor -welcomed them 'back after their visit to the Old Country. The Rev J. Doull, president of the Canterbury Prohibition Council, who presided, said that he, on behalf of tho Canterbury Council, welcomed' Mr Taylor. Kinship with that gentleman, and! .ownership in part, was claimed not only by Christchurch out alfo by all Canterbury and all :New Zealand. (Applause.) The whole province and! colony had learnt with sorrow of Mr Taylor's ill-health. Tliey read with interest the accounts of his travels, and now they joined! da welcoming him back.' (Applause.) They needed fighters in the House, and! Mr Taylor wa-s one. The fight during the coming session would in some respects be more severe than it. had ever been before. Every year under the -present system the list o"f drunkards had l increased by hundreds. At last election a; ■great deal was said to show why the Tem■perance Party ought to support the Government, out of gratitude for legislation passed on the temperance question. The claim was utterly without foundation, as temperance legislation came from the Government as milk came from a, cow. A man was required fo bring it out. (Laughter.) If any person voted for the Government ,on account of legislation it had passed, the voter should now bear in mind the infamous Licensing Bill® of 1900 and 1901, which, must by this time have opened tie eyes of the electors. So far from acknowledging that the Government was entitled to gratitude, the temperance workers felt that those two Bills had opened their eyes, and 'had awakened them to the fact that they must fight for their interests, to retain those things which they had already secured, and prevent themselves being sold into the hands of their enemies. They needed the strongest men they could get to support the cause in the House next session. The speaker also extended a welcome to Mrs Taylor. (Applause.) A telegram was read from the Rev F. W. Isitt, expressing feelings of good fellowship. Miss Roberts said that she, with, heartfelt gladness, also welcomed Mr and Mrs Taylor. They were all sorry that Mr Taylor's health did not allow him to take the leading part he had taken before, but hoped that mow that-his health ih-ad improved in a measure, lie would once more take the lead. She regretted that Messrs F. and L. Isitt were not present. The Prohibitionists were specially glad to have Mr Taylor back, as they were fairly " spoiling for a fight." (Applause.) They had a splendid force, and all they needed was a good leader. She hoped he would be spared to lead in many great fights. (Applause.) When the applause that greeted his appearance had subsided, Mr Taylor, in reply to a remark by Miss Roberts, made-, some humorous references to fat men and lean men, saying that Cassar feared no one as he feaired the lean Gassius. He went on to express his delight at the fact that Mr Doull had been elected, practically, to the position of leader of the Prohibition Party in the district. (Applause.) After announcing, by request, that arYoung Persons' Nolicense Association had been formed in> Christchurch, and having expressed his pleasure at -being back, he gave a bright and interesting account of his travels. He came back more devotedly fond of his country than he had been before. He had never realised so clearly what enormous responsibilities rested on the British Empire. Passing to Australia first, he expressed his admiration of the beautiful buildings there, and said that though droughts and floods might occur, there was nothing that could hurt the country permanently. If Sydney and Melbourne were destroyed, five years' prosperity would bo sufficient to rebuild them. Coming to the Old Country, he said that he would never forget the moment when the White Cliffs of England broke through the mists and came into the view of those on the vessel. There was absolutely nothing on earth to compare with English fields, English meadows, and English hedgerows. (Applause.) It made colonials feel proud of tho Empire when they saw England. When he went through the country, he felt that he. was becoming almost jingoistic. At the same time, he deprecated tlie hysteria, such as was shown on Peace Day, and he ascribed much of it to drink. In London, he came across a whole colony of Christchurch residents. He spoke of the pleasure it gave him to meet Mr L. M. Isitt in England. The educatifcnal system of the United Kingdom., he thought, would soon he made to approximate the one- in New. Zealand. He dwelt on the havoc the driiik evil was working among the working class qf women in England. There was good hope of reform, however, and a better spirit was prevailing. Although there, were some- terrible sores in the Old Country, he believed that the Nonconformist conscience and the conscience of the people were sufficiently alive to keep the country from drifting to disaster. England was not going down, but was slowly, but surely, climbing to a, higher, and better place. In conclusion, he said that it would be has pleasure, as well as his privilege, to push on the Prohibition movement to its logical conclusion. He believed that the Party was going to win. Both Mrs Taylor and himself.would continue to do their little towards making New Zealand what God intended it to be, one of the brightest and sweetest places in which any human being could make a home. (Applause.) During the -evening, songs and recitations were given-, and refreshments were handed round.