OAMARU NO-LICENSE ASSOCIATION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11638, 21 May 1912, Page 6

OAMARU NO-LICENSE ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting of the above was held last evening in the Baptist Hall, under the presidency of the Rev. W. J., Williams. Apologies were received for the absence of the Rev. W. Nichol (Hampden) and Messrs W. H. Rose, R. Milligan. and W. H. Hiett. In the absence through removal of the Secretary, the President read the following annual report:— "The report the Executive now presents deals with a year of exceptional interest —the year of the triennial licensing poll. It has 'furnished abundant opportunities for service in the interests of temperance reform, and there is cause for great thankfulness in the extent to which these opportunities have been tinned to good account. "Alteration of Boundaries —An alteration in electoral boundaries-brought a considerable portion of the. YVhitaki electorate south of the Waitaki River and almost close to our own doors. Liy arrangement with the Waimate TsoLicense League" we undertook to work the portion of the Waitaki electorate south of the Waitaki River. that, added to the long stretch ot our own electorate, which now reaches as far as Waitati, provided a field so extensive that it was really impossible to work it with anvthing like the effectiveness which the importance of the case demanded. Our experience m the past vear has once more shown that the prime need for overtaking the end we have in view is a live organisation m each centre of population throughout the district Failing that the difficulty is enormous o£ attempting from any one centre lo rouse public opinion throughout the electorate to realise the tremendous importance of the issues at " "Organiser.—Following the plan adopted in the previous campaign Mr Hiett was engaged from June to December as organiser and canvasser. It is needless to sav that the duties of his position were faithfully and effectively discharged. Ho had a wide field to cover, but there was no part of it in which he did not make his influence felt. ' ... "Lecturers. —It was oiir_. privilege, during the campaign to be favored with visits"from quite a number of talented lecturers, whose addressees did good service in stimulating a healthy interest in the abolition of the liquor traffic. When such names are mentioned as Mrs Barton, Miss Anderson... Hughes, the Rev. R, S. B. Hammond, the Rev. R S- Grav, Revs. G. Tregear and Knowles Smith. Mr H. D. Bedford, and Mr C. H. Poole, grateful memories will be awakened of. eloquent and instructive utterances'that could not fail to carrv conviction to any fair-minded persons* who were privileged to hoar them. . , "Young Men's League.—One of' the most interesting and useful features ot the campaign was the formation of the Young Men's League. For three months before the poll they held meetings at the rate of nearly two every week in various parts of the district, These meetings usually'involved long and late journeys, but they wore cheerfullv undertaken for the good of the cause The impressions produced were in a hio-h degree creditable to themselves and serviceable to the movement thev so heartily espoused. Quite a. bright spot in the record of the year is the splendid service rendered by the Young Men's League. "Sundav Night Meetings—Mention must also be made of a short series of meetings held after church on Sundav evenings for a few weeks before the poll. Hayward's Picture Theatre provided a very convenient place ot meeting, 'and some good meetings were held especially the last before the poll, when the delightful and ™ c ™ ra £"f spectacle was presented of all the Piotestant ministers in Oamaru on the same platform, earnestly and unitedly pleading for such a vote as would wipe the 'liquor traffic out of existence. "Literature.—ln the department of literature an attempt was "nide to secure a wide distribution ot such printed matter as was thought most likelv to win support to our cause. FreV use was made of the special campaign issues of the Vanguard the War CrvT and the Signs of the Times. In addition to these large quantities of admirably prepared booklets and leaflets were obtained from the Alliance office and put into circulation. As the Liquor partv made extensive use ot Professor Salmond's anti -prohibition pamphlet, an attempt was made to provide a corrective by circulating a number of the excellent replies to thatpamphlet prepared by Mr A. S. Adams and Air A. R, Atkinson. "Advertisements.— There was. comparatively little correspondence.in the local .press cui the subject of Prohibition but free use was made ot the advertisement columns by the Liquor Partv' to put their view 6>f the case before "the public. ,As these statements were not always remarkable ior tailless and accuracy it became necessary to insert replies, and by general consent the No-license-Anti-hqiior advertisements, although costly, proved a most effective medium for the enlightenment of public opinion. ■ . . . . "The Oamaru Christian. Special mention must be made in this connection of the generosity of the publishers of the relio-ious monthly known as. the Oamaru Christian, in placing two issues at the service of the Executive tor the purpose of providing reading matter bearing directly on No-license and National Prohibition. It was a form ot service that was much appreciated, and our thanks are due to those whose thoughtful kindness made it possible. "District Canvassers. —As in times past the town of Oamaru. was divided into districts, and a number of willing workers rendered material aid to the cause by house-to-house visitation. The

extraordinary chauges introduced in the system of official enrolment of voters made it anything but an easy task to ensure that the names of all those visited were on the roll. Attempts, however, were' made in that direction, and not wholly without success.

"Result of the Poll.—The result of the poll taken on December 7 was as follows: For Restoration 2855. for Nolicen.se 3238, for National Prohibition 3307, against National Prohibition 2718. These figures are in various - ways instructive. No exact comparison can be made with the record of previous years, because the change of boundaries has considerably altered the constituency. No doubt here, as elsewhere throughout the Dominion, the vote for No-license was affected to some extent bv the introduction, of the new issue of National Prohibition. The votes cast in favor of National Prohibition were 330.7, against National Prohibition 2718, showing a majority in favor of 589. That shows a majority over the majority for No-license of 206—an indication that the demand for No-license is being exceeded by. the more drastic demand for National Prohibition. Tin's is in keeping with the total votes cast for the two issues throughout the Dominion. For No-license the total votes cast were 234,676: against No-license 234,834. For National Prohibition the votes in favor were 259,995, against -05.7.10. showing a majority in "favor of 54,285. Comparing the two issues of No-license and National Prohibition it will be seen that National Prohibition leads by a majority of 25.161. These are striking figures, and there can be no doubt that they suggest the need for a careful revision of our plan of campaign. No one can say that the outlook has not been considerably brightened by the large majority of the votes cast for National ProhibitionT what is needed at this'critical juncture is such wisdom and courage as will enable us to press forward the advantage we have gained to the goal of final victory, i

•'"The Year's Changes.—The year that has been marked In- the death of such' a courageous and devoted leader as T. TC, Taylor has a mournful distinction all its own. In v the ranks of our local workers there have heen some changes —hapnilv none caused by death. It was our pleasure to have commended to us as an earnest temperance worker in his former charge the Rev. J. D. Russell, now Vicar of St. Luke's. We have been glad to welcome such support as he has been able to give our cause since: he came among us. "Mr T. H. Mathieson, who for years had rendered valuable service, has left for America. .In his successor. Mr H. G. Hanvard, we, are pleased also to recognise a cordial fellow-worker. Adjutant Dixon, of the Salvation Army, was a genial, helpful comrade while he was with ns; he, too, has left a like-minded successor in Adjutant Brown. The Rev. T. H. Rose-

veare. also a faithful worker, has removed to New Plymouth. Last and by no means least of the changes to be referred to is that caused by the removal from Oamaru to the Thames of our late Secretary, the Rev. F. G. Buckingham. During the seven years of their residence in Oamaru both Mr and Mrs Buckingham shoved an unwearied interest in promoting the cause for which the Association exists.' They both filled in turn the office of Secretary, and filled it with a diligence, a devotedness, a faithfulness which will long be gratefully remembered, by all who \\eri> associated with them. It is a very real loss to us that is caused by their removal': our consolation is the thought that their energies are transferred to another sphere. We are still comrades-in-arms in the endeavor to secure the emancipation of New Zealand from its deadliest social curse. Mr Buckingham's successor has not yetbeen installed in his new charge; we expect, however, to find in him the same ardent sympathy with temperance reform that has characterised all who have preceded him in the pastorate of the Baptist Church. "Legacy.—lt will be the pleasure of the Treasurer 5 to report a legaeyof £SO from the estate of the late Mr R; Blair. During the latter years of his lifetime Mr Blair showed a keen interest in the work of the Association, and it is in every way gratifying that in anticipation, of his deceas'e he should have arranged for such a substantial contribution to the Association's funds. Thanks nave already been tendered to Miss Turnbull for her kindly services in. carrying out her step-father's wish. "Let it be said in conclusion that while the review of the year presents I much that calls for thankfulness and encouragement, the outstanding impression it leaves is that of the need .of intensified devotion on the part of all who profess concern for the moral and social uplift of the human race. An occasional spurt of effort is by no moans sufficient to cope with an, evil so persistent and so colossal -as the traffic in .wrong drink. It will only yield up its cruel domination when the ranks of reform close up in an unbroken uhalanx and charge it with a sustained concentration of energy which will take no denial until it has swept it from the face of "the earth." Tin? report was adopted. The Treasurer's report was submitted bv Mr J. H. Milligan, which showed receipts £261 16s 2d, expenditure £239 13s Bd. leaving a credit balance of £22 2s 6kl. In moving the adoption of the bal-ance-sheet several members expressed appreciation of the financial position. A special resolution of appreciation of past services was adopted with Tegard to the late Secretary, the Rev. -F. G. Buckingham. • The following were elected to hold! office during the coming year:—President. Rev. W. J. Williams (re-elected); Vice-Presidents—Rev. R. J. Porter, Rev. W.;NiclVol (Hampden), Rev. J. Clarke (Palmers-ton), and Mr A, Eraser; Secretary. Mr W. .H. Hiett; Treasurer, Mr J. H. Milligan (reelected) ; Executive—All ministers in svmpathv with, the movement, ex officio. Mesdames Hiett. Cunningham, Daw. Dunn, Williams, Misses M. Milh-p-an'and Hewat. Messrs Jackson, J. D. Familton. W. H. Rose, R. Milligan, H. Grenfell. J. Russell, and A. Aitken. The President" and Mr J. H. Milligan were elected representatives to the Alliance Convention to be held in Wellington on June 26, .27, and 28. Thanks were expressed to the authorities of the Baptist and Presbyterian Churches for the kindness in granting the use of their buildings £nr the meetings of the Association. Thanks were, also tendered to the President and Treasurer for their past services. It was resolved to hold a special meetin<r of members of the Association in the Baptist Hall on Mondav evening next to consider matters remitted from the Alliance to_ be dealt with at the annual convention.