NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14355, 27 October 1908, Page 9

NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN

-■■ ♦ .-— — ■> MR L. M. ISITT'S ADDRESS The Garrison Hall was crowded last night, when Mr L. M. Isitt delivered a trcnohant address._ The Rev. '&'.. Bailey (chairman of tho Christian Endeavour Union) occupied the chair. .' i Mr Isitt, ivhen the storm of applause which his rising occasioned . had subsided, said ho was glad to hear this applause, as he might now say whait he liked. He was not about to make a fighting speech, hut would consider mildly the claims which the no-license movement had on the support of the young peoplo. The theatrical pcoplb had quite an errouneous idee of the ethics of HumptyDurhpty. Humpty-Ihrrnpty was a whining little boy whoso people had dumped him ion tjho top of the wall. His (the speaker's) advice to them was, "Don't bo dumped," They were not sacks of coal or barrels of ■treacle. They were men and women mado in the image of the Living God. So ho would say to t-hemi " Don't bo dumped," oither in Iheir religious or political life. They could not blind themselves to tho power of environment, but Ihey must not take .their politics from _ anybody. In this, land we must have independent, intelligent, views, and stand bv them. He asked themmot to be dumped in tlio matter of liquqr. If they analysed tho basis of tho convictions of the vast body of pooplo not yet awake to the viciousness of the- 1 liquor hahif, fhey woult] iind they had i i n '' (,u I m P ed " into it. It was pleaded that tho liquor habit was an ancient one. So Jt was. It was an ancient record and a very bad one. Since Noah, they read' or hoard of no man who had been uplifted by.the habit. Pliny,' living in tho year of I our Lord, testified that i n his day tho whole world was given up to drunkenness. The battle of Hastings was lost Wausc tho barons were drank and the Normans sober. Dean Parrar had said that unless the Church found p. remedy for this drink, drink would blot, out our very name frqm among tho nations of Iho.earth. Tolstoy was saying that tho'Russian people were seekin"solace from their misery in drink and , making matters 10 times worse. From time immemorial poets had woven for drink .their ■'garlands of song, and to-day it wielded a, power over millions of hearts. What was it like? Did it come as the Uvist, meek and gentle? . Did it, sanctify the peace and joy of the home? No! They knew better than that. Beside tho Gorgon head of Bacchus the very Medusa would be pleasant. Upon i(e head rested ho iniquities of centuries. They must not think that because the record was old that it was not a vile record. Tlio sunny vineyards all the world over and the breweries should not count with them. Little souls were impressed with great things, and •when they saw BiiTton-on-Trent, with its mite of breweries and miles of barrels some wore impressed. He' would teli them that the most' sumptuous hotel bar was doing mst the same work as the dingiest little shim tavern. ■ Tho speaker wept on to ask his hearers'not to be dazzled at being bujited -up • against the "biggest monopoly in-,the world. If .their commonsense told them, that drink wa? an evil and a. dangerous- thing the must' fight Inose wlm still stood by the liquor bars Intel been "dumped," and he would prove jt; If slavery were introduced into this Dominion tlio whole people would bo up in arms; t yet 60 years ago then brother Prosbyteriaiw, Methodists, Baptists, and Congregatioiialiste were advocating slavery from the pulpit wstfi all their might. If when they hud opinio this colony their iVw ■ ? ■ *' ,se on °u»li to say Alcohol shall never come in here," a.nd to-morrow the 2000 liquor-selling places were licensed, w d ruined 35,000 of our boys -what then? They knew that when a bov offl or 22 took his whisky protty freely drink would ihaye him in its* grip hotoe he. was 40. Liquor had been welcomed into this Dominion as a friend, but. lib an arMcr, it had stung the hand that fed 1 j tT* tlumkful f «f the changed attitude of the churches. It was no good sittang in an- armchair and singing " Rescue the perishing."-, They.had not come out to this young land with all its freedom to sacrifice their convictions, and be like apeasant in an English village, where the PjW . Wl s i tlle were two Jittle gods. ;Ihey liad the opportunity to ho engaged in a magnificent reform. There was enough latent forco in that meeting to shake Dunedin to ifs foundation. Tho speaker tlieni asked the young men not to Jot the worldlywise sneer them out of their opinion's, ihe -mere he saw .how this drink evil stood behind and strengthened all that destroyed what was Godlike in man, the more' ho reabsed how grand it would be to rid tho country of the monster. The young were on the threshold of life, m ] if they would only say that they would lead tho people to liberty thoir'life would be a- great, and brilliant success. He was sorry to announce that Mr Thomson had 'left for Invcroargill tlmt morning, but he hoped that, when. Mr Thomson 6a-w the opportunity he had to pulverise the No-licenso party at these meetings, he would give up any little engagement ho might have and come along and pulverise. The Rev. 0. Dallastoiii moved, and the Rev. N. A. Davis seconded—" Tlmt in view of the fact wired by the United Press Association, throughout the Dominion that tho number of first offenders for drunkenness during the last seven .years in New Zealand exceeded 55,000, we, each and everyone, pledge oureolves to do our utmost to carry no-license at the forthcoming local option polk" The Chairman asked all in favour of the resolution to stand, and tho audience roso in hundreds. Ho then called on those I agaiiist tlio resolution to rise. One young I man stood up. I The subject to-night- will bo "Liquor and Labour." It i? hoped nhat a prominent labour advocate will toko the chair, and tho meeting will 1m? purely secular.