WET CANTEEN URGED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16668, 13 April 1916, Page 7

WET CANTEEN URGED

EARLY CLOSING OF HOTELS. % DEPUTATION TO MINISTERS. || CPib Uwttbd Passe Association.) ,-M WELLINGTON, April 12. /I A deputation representing the Wa» Necessities Committee waited upon the , M Prime Minister and the Minister of Dβ- ,# fence at Parliament House to-day, and' $ urged (first) the establishment of wet can- ,J% teens in military camps, and (sefeond) the * | early closing of hotel bars. ,& In the course of his reply Mr Massey ,/■& £aid a great deal of stress had been laid. * S upon, the opinions of military authorities. Hβ had approached tie matter with, a _ fi strictly unbiassed mind, and before mating up his mind he had obtained the - -■.! opinions of military authorities in New *% Zealand—the opinions of the two men 'f% who had' most to do with the training of soldiers—-and they both agreed that a . wet canteen woold not be consistent with fp, or conducive to the proper training of li soldiers. Up to that time his personal /J opinion had been rather in favour of a •J$ wet canteen than otherwise, but the depu- • % tation would see that he, as bead of the ,%>% Government, could not be expected to ,& advocate, a wet canteen after he had ob- , •{£ tained those opinions. If he thought for /jj one moment that a wet canteen was &;. x% remedy for some of the evils that existed, ' |i| he would agree with the deputation's pro- \Jj posal; but he was quite sure it was not .J| a remedy, and that it -would be a mistak*-. <Q to establish wet canteens in camps. -4 ,■ Mr Massey said , he wished, he cookL *yM show the deputation the police reporte he '>$, had received on the proposal to close, '/ f hotels earlier than at present. There-were^,,'* , certain, establishments where liquor sold which it was impossible for the police here or in any other country to suppress, p. This wSs a matter that would have to be ' ™ dealt with by Cabinet. If it was decided,- ,| that it was advisable that hotels shoulur*' ,% close earlier, Parliament would be asked, 'q to pass the necessary legislation. 'He A hoped no impressiou woukl go abroad, that l■& our soldiers were addicted to drinking.— (Voices: "No, no.") *& The Prime Minister referred to the fact /,*| that he had seen the departure of troops. '% who had been placed on their honour .to i> reassemble after having had six elav. He had been exceedingly anxious when ''* a the proposal was submitted to him. He "A had gone down to tfee wharf at 11 o-'clocfc.f ■>>.s not as Prime Minister, but as one of'the *-^ citxz&ixs of "the corortry 1 , axui after "what lie jf% ha deeen he felt prouder of the troops than $L ever before. Eeeteictions regarding the. xg sale of liquor would be submitted to Par- •£§ liament with a view to the better control of liquor during the war, and there would be no discrimination between the soldier '% and the civilian. —("Hear, hear.") Haf-y® and Mr Allen would have pleasure in submitting the proposals made to the net, but fter consulting military authori- "Vj ties, he thought a wet canteen would be \i a retrograde step, and did not think it would be agreed to. '• ,!"S The Hon. James AHen said that, aa a M military authority of nearly 30 years' ex-i l( f3 perieoce, in regard to the canteen >h.e unhesitatingly said it would be a great w ? i* blunder if a wet canteen was into New Zealand. Egypt had no licensing laws, and some of the liquor sold there was abominable. That was why a „';•* wet canteen was established in Egypt, „ jg much against General Godley's wish. It^ ,- was asked that hotels should be closed 7 o'clock. But they were not going .tofjiJj be close'd to troops and not to people. Mr Allen said he knew of thin" that would be'a remedy except prohibition, but what would men be <-,JA they could get absolutely no liquor heref y y when they were confronted with all the '~*§ attractions in Egypt? An effort was made \'M to train men to resist the evils of Egypt. f.'*g He thought it would be a retrograde step " ijj to establish a wet canteen and dose the :*«>jj hotels if it-meant the magnifying'of evile a *}g that already existed. m >