LIQUOR QUESTION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 76, 31 March 1919, Page 5

LIQUOR QUESTION

I address by moderate league REPRESENTATIVE. ’

CROWDED MEETING AT THEATRE ROYAL.

1 At the Theatre Royal fast, evening Mr R. A. Armstrong, secretary of the New Zealand Moderate League, deli- ! Vere’d. an address in ' ‘ connection with the liquor question. The building was crowded, and numbers were upaple to gam admittance. The proceedings* were most Orderly. The chair was taken by the Mayor (Mr W. W. -Snodgrass). The chairman said that as Mayor ' it was his duty, when asked, to preside at a public meeting. On lUth April a , very important subject would be decided by the electors, and it behoved | every citizen to be thoroughly persuad!ed betore ihat date on which side he would vote. It was, therefore, the duty of all citizens to get all the information they could. One of the speakers, Mr D. M. hindlay, had wnthim to say that his .wife was ly-

ing seriously ill, and he codld not leave Wellington. The Mayor referred to incidents at recent meetings, 1 but trusted that the speaker that evening would be given a fair hearing—every ..epeaker was entitled to that; At- the /end writ ten questions would be answered, but there would be no; resolution. He then introduced Mr Armstrong. Mr Armstrong, who was received with applause, .said he was pleased to come before such a large and representative gathering. He regreted that the President of the League (Mr fHndlay) was not also present. .Mr jifindlay had asked him to expres* deep regret thal' he was not able to come to Nelson.

The citizens were called upon id consider a .matter that might very Vfell have been ’deferred so-that other more important matters might have engaged their attention—-indusrial matters, and the repatriation of soldiers, for instance, which were of more importance than whether prohibition should Be carried. (Applause). •■--There- ' was never such a need for unity as at. present-, yet three > sections of. tjie community were at ■ one ■'another’s throats.. 'lhe Moderate League had no. connection with the ’ liquor trade. Prohibitionists said the League was'the ni’outhpiece of the Trade, but the Trade had nonihg to do with the Leagiie or .tg policy. The licensing law, continued Mr ■ Armstrong, had been altered last see- ; sion, wheri a ‘Bifl-of Vb UaCas*' went through the House in a few hours. The moderate section of the public had not been considered’. Tile-Bill'was the result df bargaining between the prohibition party,-the trade, and poll* ticiaus. The prdhibitionists ’got an im* mediate referndum with, a bare niajonty, and provision was made' tor compensation. This, while, those in favour , of State Controi were disfranchised and the soldiers-, were out ot the country.

Un April iO‘h there would be-'trio issues— prohibition with compensation ot 44 millions and continuance bf ■ the present system. , ;Jf prohibition was .carried, compriisatiph would' be'.paid to the trade, and that was the end of it. Never again would the question ’ be* sdbßfit ed. to the people. - Was that democratic? ( Voiceq: “No.”) If prohibition was earned It would be absolute" prohibition—no home-brewed beer pr wine.. Alcohol would be, admitted ’ for media-

nal purposes, but that would be pure alcohol; udt beverage- alcohol. There would be W Whisky, brandy, gin, -'or stout to take when they { were ill—and which some of them • took .-when they were not ill. (Laughter). If continuance was carried, at the General Election in a few months' there would be a further vote—on prohibition -without compensation, continuance,’ or tJfete ownership. The prohibition party said vote *or prohibition on April 10th, whcih meant , 44 million for a’ yfehiv: It the prohibition ' party had a majority.. they could carry , prohibition at the general election, *-nd j for nothing. - (Applause); ■ ’ pealing with the-' Efficiency Board, Mr ’ Armstrong said their report- was what was expected 1 , seeing that most of the 'membera -were prohibitionists before t-h«^-l'rient‘ ; on-, , ‘the‘. , BoaK|i:- -The Ef-

ficiency ’ League/ whjch -'was-the new prohibitionist 'r : movement, had -come very much .to 'the - - fore inconnection with the :?financiah aspect, and they-said. the fund ; ior the 4A millions would be made up very easily. The"” Efficiency League ,kaid £71)6,000 could /he made by a2O her cent duty on goods on which £1,000,000 would' be spenV and a 25 per duty on goods, on which £Z,WU,WO would be spent bv the country. The speaker combated the ■ Efficiency League claim as to what would be‘saved 1 in police expenses, old age pensions, hospitals, ! etc. He remarked that with inch a j ragged coastline as .New Zealand ■ thott* j sands of coastguardsmen would) be heeded to deal with smuggling. The Efficiency League had a fighting fund of 4/3W.(XX>, but he warned the Prohibition ParV Wbe careful'. they were’not; having their leg pulled. A New Tork h»jl stated that the Amencan Anti-Saloon League was planning to take par-, in the N*ew Zealand Prohibition campaign.? ’ Sd land had been fairly clean in -political life, and they should see that American political methods were not in’foduoed into New Zealand. In the prohibitionists were ’ able to influence politics. If American methods were In'roduced here, then he said God help New -Zealand. Behind the prohibitionist inovemem- . were self-interest ind intolerance. In' Auckland ■'five bu»F > ness men had given £SOOO apiece and , the people were asked to believe that that money was put up for the benefit jf New Zealand. Thesfe. people -Were putting up £SOOO in the hope of gelling b’bUO,UUO. If the National Jttfficnncy recommendations were carried out* La- j oour would be put back 50 years, afld here would be a return to the sweating of women. me recommendations, the other side said, were for the period jf the war, and his reply to thav was: ‘yea; so was 6 o’clock,” ■ {Applause), ;1 !dr Will Thorne, and Mr G . Ki 'l'b 6 ®' ierton, were quoted as opponents o. Prohibition, and Mr Armstrong declared that if prohibition- wa« carried here would be not only aristocracy of wealth, but an aristocracy of liquor, !Vs to intolerance, if prohibiten was larried there would follow agitation to ibolish horse-racing, smoking, dancing, nixed bathing—the old i/uritancal spirit still existed. Preachers were delarting from the, ways of Christ, who ised moral suasion—not legislation. As. i, young New Zealander, with two little prls. he demanded the right that they ■ hould meet the temptations of life.

Temptaion made men and women. In 1914 the prohibitionist party were 10,225 vote* behind, and had raised ft win the war cry. But the wag was now ended—it was won, and there was M longer any need for that cry. "Vimcountry had been stated by the other side to be from 10 to 20 p«r cent inef-

ficient through drink. Striking an aver-: age of 16 per cent, and making thei fair assumption that- abbut halffdid hbt drink at ail. this statement implied that the other half were 30 per cent unfit.

through drink. Mr W. J>. Hun*", one of the Efficiency iLeagud- leadert, thus charged the workers ■' with Bfeitig two days drunk and incapable every week. He hoped they would repudiate the as-

A woman/ has lately tauten on the strength of the Snrrev Conslahrilary »n<3' been cn’ven tlie rank d)f sergeant: This fa the |wt time a woman hae/had siKh aw appointment there.

persion in April. He had made a careful ifiV,estlga-ioii of the conditions relating to fenme in th e No-license 'areas, ';' Be had ; based his' calculations bd *«a official .report that had been laid before - Parhament. This - disclosed the * remarkable fact that crime generally was greater '. in - the No-License- areas. ce ft other thah drunkenness the proper- ■ tion per thousand population: -was-'fpr;; n, : the whole Dominion di ; .h per thousand, and for Tie JNo-license districts SL6 per thousand. Offences against the. j, jMrson were all greater in .proportfbß,,. : , j|| the No-license areas than in -the whole Dominion. He had also taken the figures of "he No-license district of Ashburton in 1914, and-they disclosed that the convictions for drunkenness there Were six tunes asmany as in. JfilloSmere, five and a hall tutus a* many a® in Hurunui, twice ’ as many as in • itaiapoi, almost twice a$ many -a* 1° tielwyn, and 12$ per cent greater than Temuka. Offences against the person,. against property, and other offences, were also greatly itf excessin Akdhbnr- - ton. A further investigation had ‘been made of a group of -five d&teicli

In Otago and^^(WlMsm(f;riw : conipiws*-. with five “wet” districts adjoining, and while the **dry” group showed s*» .... drunkenness, it showed 1076 conviction* for other offecee, rasi- agamsfc only ssf in the “Wdt'V group, ifr Armstrong ; irent' on to say that men could •not be :■ made moral by acT of Parliament. .Jf ■ liquor was cut off it was an absolute moral that those who had' had it would get it—he would. T {Applause}, i .sajbet£r - ivies, too, would be,, sought. Already - there had beenf evidence of the use of - methylated spirits in ’ place of ' alcohol: HO behaved-Methylated 1 ' spirits was- a 1 Ipvely drink. (Lauehteri. They ; - had learnt from the ! papers the use of % drugs in America and Knsrlandi Ip Canada-; Government had nrofiibjted >. the so’diers i'frdm Marine- Han'ortf the Soldier,, "Had resorted to cocaine. He ' warned the people to be careful before voting for prohibition that they were - not drooping’oiif’' itff the f -frVfhg into the fife. The onlv justification 1 : fW - a change would he that IV would be fetter, - and the nrohibitioniats should get more' m formation as’ to’ the restilM of prohibition. There was no sufficient information in thL country at urgent to warrant neohle voting for urblilbition. Mr A'*m«tronrr onoted A men can reports' against n>ohihTion. ' and" ‘ • prdrppded t* snv that the heonle'of , TJntpcj Stages had, not voted for.piTffbition. which had' been brought . ip|o force hv the Letrislatures- 'He a-so challenged the sta*emenfc that alcohol had a had effect on children ■ Mid' Mot- • erf ■Rnrriip’h Profe««nr -Gar! parson and J) r fT,thel M. F.lderfinn,’ ; indenende.nt investigators, who renor’ied - that they found that" the children' pf^parents W!if> f ' rV tooki alcohol - were taller, 'stronger, and had be" ter eyesight" thin - thd childs®® of teetotallers!" . Tfe ‘'ftffluedM ejfifd|&mid '■ hhd taught them -a lesson that a3w&m was the'only known'dure the present type'oj^‘that : Mi|e'iSe’fpßfl% 'prohibition it. ’ would \ to get a doctor’s cerificate‘ hosting and then go *o a* chemist whb ehut:or ( >ho i: Of pure alcohbl. • KigOTpjKr would bp put oh thb pfebffle" cinal purposes, ' whereas'beverage hoi should be kept as free after their experinece.' "A r ply must be' safeguarded 1 , 4 dmf*" xftena wa fl : not, sufficient safeguard at present.

so far as the *p»pfe', Were -ooncfflrtWjL' • •Old people ut ’ trie'' (iountry *’ Were kept *• aiive bjria glass’.'‘of‘spirits and they should • ftst -be; this after’ bearing'the' 1 bfeaLiind 'purdte of'the day. Besides''there ty.%; need for 'he people to. take out- ■. hibition order agaxhst themselves f*CO April 10th. I ' ls ew Zealand'was the soberest country'fh the World 3 / were quoted to show that the . avffiw daily consumption ot beer p«fer + head of ths population'triable* - than -. one-quarter of a pint. " tfet to‘ those who voted 1 Uontuniance.fW the last election, and allowing ’ that hihitionietfl never ~ toubhdd liquor, average lor' the 25T,44£ ’persons Jgo voted for Continuance was one pint w beer per head, per day. " The 'gqfeQWff turn of'spirits worked oat-To* titaHrha£ population' was' 6fte-«eventh of -a Wp» Mid if applied td ' thbsb; against Jtrroiubition was lew^n 8 ® -®?, a nip per day per head. that New Zealand fos the soberest country 16 the Wrdrtd. i™ being so New Zealanders would MV» too much self-reSpfecfto' take out a proKibifion order on W* April, and he ft* . iieved thit continuance* wOqld be riedi—but for a purpose. :*'*«» M°deraw League would- demand refbrm hection with the • Ifqdbr pWJ| i liquor. State tried on hj hie scale’ - Britain, and 'here-it ha«j been a great £

Success. Mr Armstrong said the Ball was an iniustice io soldiers, and "fop bgefj ’I the people' would”no« y >*hoso men who-had been tfeh'infr •' 'ns, The.' soldiers' toft' ‘New’.^ftnd- ** : free country and let"Theft 5 i n free countrv, ' {AbtflameV Tt staged that there fcaa ’ ‘ **' irist»fficanß«P m supply of Joint'S on itii ttbonsnip hifci t and J3»s was tifc prohibition!sta. "In conctosmtt* W Aft*, strong said the soldiers and • ♦ton- of the nubhc would be v w v if prohibition. wa« .carried,.. aptf • ■ would be a "state of; chaos'. But - lieved the people of New W^n npfc carry prohibition/ ioritv would -vote .coutthuappe tin «g® - April the soldiers could be and thev would he given fAh* r Hdes. " i ' Jj. " A Mr answered Several quea*,,; turns and ort the. .f*»* : Recorded a Vote of -Ihamcs. -loud. ■ prolonged applause following. '.l s' . *■ •“* f ‘ r •’