WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19136, 2 April 1924, Page 8

WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION.

Tiie oc'd in ary monthly meeting of the Dunedin District "W.U.T.U. was uekl yeoLruay alternoou in the Hanover Street Baptist Sunday schoolroom. Mrs Dick (vicc-piesi-dent) was in the chair. Owing to the absence of the president and other officers wuo have been alien cling the Convention of the iNew Zealand W.CVi'.U., the attendance was not large. After devotional exercises conducted by Mrs Dick, a considerable amount of correspondence and business was dealt with. Very interesting leports ot meetings were received irom delegates to the garden party of the Mosgiel IV.G.T'.U. and me .National Council of Women. Mrs ’lackaberry, a visitor from Canada, travelling through New Zealand on official business, gave a most informative and instructive address, dealing chiefly with the effects of prohibition in Canada. Touches of humour lightened the tacts and figures which ■ the speaker brought forward to corroborate her statements Prohibition exists in Canada except in Manitoba, British Columbia, and Quebec, where State control was carried. Mrs Tackabsrry spoke of the many hindrances to the effective carrying out of the prohibition laws, but said that these regulations were carried out very successfully. It astonished her to read the reports often given in the newspapers in Now Zealand. The Attorneygeneral of Ontario in 1921 stated that the amount received by that State in fines for breaches of prohibition laws was 865.(KK)doL tho cost o f administration being 181,084d0J. The State thus made a protit in money of 351),916 dol., or about £76,000. A questionnaire sent out by the Dominion Alliance asking for information about the effect of prohibition on the fairs elicited the almost unanimous opinion that it had improved .them financially They were conducted in a more orderly way, and accidents and drunkenness were practically eliminated. Mrs Tackaberry emphasised that the Canadian National Exposition, held every year at Toronto, !:ad benefited greatly by the passing of prohibitory laws. In 1922 there were present 1.373,600 persons of many nationalities and all classes, and there was only one arrest for drunkenness. She stated that she had scarcely seen one person intoxicated in Toronto for several years Since prohibitory laws wore first put into effect in Canada as a war measure for the purpose of adding to the revenue of the country, the bogey of loss of revenue being caused by prohibition was never raised by the opponents of prohibition in her country. The drink bill of Ontario before the war was calculated to be 39,(XX),000d01. annually. A conservative estimate of the benefit of prohibition was that it brought revenue to the country valued at 60,600,(i6Jd01. annually. In 10 years’ time, from 1912 to 1922. bank credits for Toronto had increased threefold; the value cf property had greatly ‘ increased; and among other things the area of parks and playgrounds had increased. Mrs Tackaberry gave details of some of the special temperance work in which she had engaged l , and snoke of the wonderufl way in which Mr Peter Bryce had organised that work in Toronto. She spoke of many difficulties and obstacles which confronted the workers, these being similar to those met with by workers in Now Zealand She emphasised the interest and enthusiasm shown by the great majority of the women in Canada in bringing about prohibition, and said the intelligent questions asked by women, especially in rural districts, were surnnsir g. The speaker concluded by saying (hat *he temperance workers of Canada, realising tho good prohibition had done, were determined not to relax their efforts, but to carry on until the whole dominion was “bene dry.” A very hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mrs Thackaberry.