NO-LICENSE IN CLUTHA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9607, 5 September 1911, Page 6

NO-LICENSE IN CLUTHA.

•MR MALCOLM'S ADDRESS. . Mr A. S. Malcolm, M.P. for Clutha, 'last night addressed a largo audience in -the Municipal Hall on the results of Nolicenso in his constituency. The Mayor presided, and Mr E. 11. Crabbo also had a scat on tho platform. Apologies for •absence wero received from Messrs D. Buick, M.P., and R, McNab. At the opening of tho meeting Miss Pees sang "Nearer my God, to Thee," after which tho chairman introduced tho speaker of tho evening. . Mr Malcolm, who was received with applause, said he was thero to tell his hearers tho truth about Clutha._ They would want to know his qualifications for speaking on that subject. He had been connected with the district for 22 years, but they would want to know Ins bona fides. He was A LIFE-LONG TEETOTALLER, but this did not make him a prejudiced person. Ho had nothing to gain by misleading tho audience. He had taken an active interest in the cause, but for his voars of work had never taken a penny in return. Ho cast his mine back to tho state of affairs in Clutha 17 years agobeforc No-license was carried. Tho trade then took itself very seriously, and its emissaries began to impress on the people what an important thing the trade was! Thoy even told the electors that if No-license wero carried, thoy would have to pay more for their sugar. In spite ot all the fuss and parade, however, Clutha took its own opinion on the matter, and wiped tho liquor out. No-licensc was carried in 1894, at the next election, 1896, there was a majority of 53 per cent in favour of No-license; in 1899 tho majority w»s 57 per cent; in 1902, 62 per cent; m 1905, 63 per cent; and at the last election 65 per cent. For some mne or ten years (he No-licenso people m Ins electorate lad been so satisfied with their position that they had carried on NO AGITATION WHATEVER; . all they were doing was to see that voters wero put on the roll. At tho last election less than 1000 out ot 6000 voters on the roll voted for the return of licenses Mr Malcolm related instances of the social effects of drink in Clutha before the carrying of No-license. In one case a publican, on being remonstrated with by a mother for selling liquor to her son-a lad of sixteen—replied that ho was there to sell it, and as long as tho boy had tho money to pay for it he would bo served with liquor. It was for reasons such as this that the liquor traffic was turned out of Clutha; drinking had formerly been as common there as in other districts where license obtained. For nearly live years past in the Clutha district there had net been ono conviction for drunkenness within the boundaries of tho electorate. (Applause.) Drunken men had certainly come into the district, from outside; but in a period of three and a-half years following tho closing of the hotels, as compared with a corresponding period just prior to No-license, the convictions had fallen from 146 to 6. 'The speaker had not soon a drunken man in Clutha for he could not say how long a time. His eldest, daughter was seventeen, and she had four sisters. Not one of these girls had over boon frightened by a drunken man, with the result that even the youngest, had no hesitation in going out on a dark night. This was a small circumstance, but it was significant. It was true that for a time after No-licenso taking effect, the convictions for SLY GROG-SELLING did increase. Ho had predicted that they would do so. The experience of Clutha", however, had since shown that prohibition docs prohibit. So long as license had held power in Clutha, it had been almost impossible to enforce the regulation, but after it was swept away they succeeded in enforcing prohibition, and sly-grog selling soon became a thing of Hie past. Suggestions had been made in certain quarters that prohibition had turned the people of Clutha into sneaks and liars. Ho would guarantee that tho biggest man in tho audience would not. dare, to go and fell that to the people in tho southern electorate. Sly-grog sellers had been compelled to toll the truth when summoned to Court, and had pleaded guilty on more than one occasion. The magistrate at first was so struck by such an oecurreneo that he was rather at loss as to how he should act. They had found that there was less, and not. more, lying in Clulha after the advent of No-license. In the days of license thero had been plenty of tragedies. Tho Clutha river came to bo called tho "GRAVE OF THE WHITE MAN." becauso so many, either from accident or suicide, were drowned in it—and in nearly every case the tragedy was due to drink. A medical man had informed him that during a period of two or three years previous to prohibition there had been, in the Clutha district, eleven deaths directly duo to drink, and two committals to tho mental hospital from the same cause. There was never anything of that kind now; tho speaker had only remembered two deaths due to drink in the district, sineo.No-liconse was first carried. One of theso occurred soon after the poll, a man being killed through falling off a dray. 1nJ.907, in the wholo electorate, thero was not ono offenco against property, and thero wero only two against the person, Convictions eeldom amounted to moro than one or two a year. Thero was one thing that No-liconse had not done: it had not stopped the growth of Californian thistle. (Laughter.) The weed had spread, the Department of Agriculture had been moro insistent, and thero had boon a considerable number of prosecutions. On ono occasion it. was announced to the world that Clutha was in a very bad way on account of the number of convictions that had been recorded in the local Police Court, When tho matter was looked up it was found that all the cases were in respect of failure to eradicate Californian thistle. (Moro laughter.) A few years after prohibition was carried a statement signed by a few people was published discrediting its results. Of those- who signed the statement it was found ONE MAN WAS AN UNDERTAKER and another a chemist. If these were tho businesses affected Palmerston peoplewould be anxious to seo the advent of No-license as soon as possible. It was a fact that f&r a few years a number of men who previously had leamod to drink procured liquor in two-gallon lot* and consumed it openly, bringing tho town into disrepute for the time being, but this was largely done out' of bravado. There was always a certain amount, of difficulty in getting liquor, with tho result that tho game virtually died out. Time must bo allowed for the new system to establish itself. The conditions complained of had disappeared to-day, and it was only on an odd occasion that any liquor was brought in for a jollification, BETTER SPORT. With the carrying of -No-licenso the championships in football, cricket and shooting all camo to Clutha, and stayed there, with one of two cxeoptions, until some of them wero wrested away by other districts that had carried No-license-. BUSINESS BENEFITS. The results to business had been wholly beneficial; the town was growing extraordinarily. Freezing works had been established on a large scalo closo to tho town-hip. The small stores of former days no longer sufficed, and handsome brick buildings had been erected, that, would bo a credit to any town. Tho i same thing was happening, to a lesser extent, in ether parts of the district. Clutha was one of the few electorates that had found its population too large, and territory' would require to bo taken away, instead of added as in most of the electorates in tho South Island, The speaker did not wish to give tho : wholo of the credit to prohibition, but he ; would point out that if tho j opulation 1 had decreased and busines s fallen off, I "their friends the enemy" would have put I it down to prohibition. Ho held that . some of tho good results attained were due to prohibition. Money formerly spent in drink now went into legitimate , channels Largo stock sales wero held i every fortnight, and ho had never seen I, a man under the influenco of liquor at' J thoso sales, It meant that th 0 farmers

had money to spend on legitimate roquircmente. Ho doubted if in any town, with the oxception of Goro, another Nolicense centro, tlioro were go many HOMES OWNED BY WORKMEN ( as in Clutha. Ho did not think that j state of affairs would have come to pass . but for No-license. Ho was not a bitter L . man. He would Jiko to seo tho licenses | done away with becauso thoy were bad r for tho public and bad for the publican. Mr Malcolm instancod a Clutha publican \ who had a £I7OO mortgage to pay off and r feared that No-licenso would bring him [ ruin. When ho lost his license he dej yelopcd the storo business attached to tho hotel, with tho result that ho had been , ablo to take a trip Home and row lived 5 in leisure, NO DRINK IN THE HOMES. r There was a charge that the No--1 license people could not meet for a time > -viz,, that there was greatly increased 1 drinking in tho homes, Thoy could not get at the facts to disprove tho statement, but they had sineo had ample proof 1 of the scarcity of liquor in the homes of . tho district, and Mr Malcolm mentioned l some telling cases in point. At, one time ■ thero wero evidences of poverty in Clui Ilia, but tho prosperity under No-licenso ) had been amazing. Dorcas Societies had . been in existence, but within a year they , had to close up, because there was no . one to whom they could give tho clothes. , There wero three papers in the electorate; , ono had been in favour of No-licenso and [ the other two against it; now all three , supported it Ho used to say that pro- ; hibition could not savo the man who was ; already a drunkard, but ho now had cviI dence that it could do even that. Some . people said "Why should we givo up drinking because others mako beasts of ' themselves?" That was tho very reason '. why they should givo up. It wag their duty to save tho weak. After an apt illustration, Mr Malcolm concluded with ; the wish that Palmcrston would not delay in "popping the question to Miss Noliccnse." Ho resumed his seat amid prolonged applause. A collection was taken up in aid of . expenses, and Miss Pees sang "Rock of Ages," tho pianisto being Miss Crichton Imrie. A hearty vote of (hanks to the lecturer, proposed by Mr Crabbo and seconded by Mr Johnson (Church of Christ), was carried by acclamation. _ Mr Malcolm responded, and (lie meeting closed with tho usual compliment, to the chairman. Tho Licensed Victuallers' Association wish to draw attention to tho statement m the report of Mr Malcolm's lecture appearing in our local contemporary that 75 per cent_ of the electors in Clutha vote for continuing the system of No-license. We may state that what Mr Malcolm said was that.tho majority at last election was 65 per cent,; but the Licensed Victuallers' Association point out that even this does not constitute a majority of the electors and quote (lie following Government statistics for Clutha at tho 1908 election:—Number of electors on the roll 5077; votes for restoration, 981; votes that license be not restored, 1839; number of valid votes recorded'. 2820.' Soventy-live (75) per cent, of the oledor s would bo 3807, and as only 1839 voted non-restoration it would be soon that tho figures had been grossly misquoted. No-licenso and crime.—A return showing, in respect of tho licensing districts of Chitk and Tuapeb, the total number of convictions for crimes and offences (distinguishing between oll'ences against the Licensing Act,, against tho person, against properly, and breaches of by-laws), was presented lo Parliament on Friday. In Clutha tho convictions for tho past four years were 42, 48> and 96. In Tuapeka the figures wero 46, 39, 66 and 67.-Auckland Weekly News August 51, 1911.*