TEMPERANCE CONFERENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9490, 20 April 1894, Page 6

TEMPERANCE CONFERENCE.

• ALLEGED ROLL STUFFING. Yesterday evening in. fche Lecture Hall attached to the Pitt • street Wesley Church, a conference of temperance workers | •was held for the purpose of considering the beat means for furthering' the temperance movement. Mr. Spragg was voted to the chair, and there was a numerous attendance. The . meeting having been opened with devotional exercises, led by the Rev. Mr. Williams. The Chairman deplored the lukewarmness now characterising Auckland in regard to temperance work. Mr. French, the convener of the meeting, said it had been felt that the time was opportune to see whether something could not be done to improve matters. There was, he said, no head in Auckland to direcb and lead public opinion. There were articles in both the newspapers in the city which were a. disgrace to the movement, to temperance workersand to the writers of course. Then it was one of the biggest scandals he knew of, that the police were so under the sway, of liquordom that things were allowed which they were paid to put down. The Rev. Mr. Isitt asked for information in regard to the licensing elections. Mr. Field said the City roll had been stuffed with 4000 names which they had reason to believe were utterly fictitious. ("True.") They had hoped to get the money out of the pockets of the temperance people in a hopeless contest. Then it had been thought that the unworkable nature of the recent Liquor Bill might just as readily be shown elsewhere. But in the matter of the election of committees, the South had only reached the point Auckland had attained ten years ago. The Rev. Mr. Isitt said anyone who could congratulate themselves upon the result of the Auckland licensing election was in a very happy condition. The result of the election here was nob only a disgrace to Auckland, but it struck a hard blow at the success of the temperance movement from 6ne end of the colony to the other. (A Voice : " No.") The Rev. Mr. Williams agreed that the result was unsatisfactory. If the temperance party had stuffed the roll to the same extent ib would nob have been concealed for a month or six weeks. In reply to a question, Mr. Isitt said not even Richard Seddon, ex-publican, would dare to say different than that the half-vote clause was dead. No other election would ever take place under it. Mr. W. J. Macdermott said he was surprised to hear that anyone in Auckland had not heard of roll-stuffing, for the fact had been published. He knew a little of rollstuffing, for he had done a little of it himself—(laughter)and had been as near doing it as any could possibly be to keep a public-house out of his district. The licensing interest had apportioned out an allotment amongst a number who claimed to vote, and he (the speaker) and those with him leased nine acres and likewise apportioned it, though amongst a larger number. He challenged anyone to produce a person who had taken a false signature ; the difficulty was to prove the matter. The Chairman said Auckland was not in such a despicable condition as Mr. Isitt seemed to make out. Mr. Isitt: No, no. The Chairman (laughing): Thab word may be a little extravagant, but it hardly comes well from Mr. Isitt to correct anyone for extravagant language. (Laughter.) The Rev. Mr. Isitt said there was more disunion and want of organisation in Auckland than anywhere else in the colony. He would like to see a strong committee appointed to wait upon the ministers of the town, and urge greater union in the churches. He thought a plebiscite should be gone in for, as to the existence of the liquor traffic or not. After some further discussion, it was resolved, " That it is considered advisable to form an organisation to take up the work," and a committee of 15 ladies and gentlemen were appointed to consider the Best method to realise the objects sough t, and to report in a fortnight.