NO-LICENSE CONFERENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2934, 8 June 1910, Page 13

NO-LICENSE CONFERENCE.

A convention of the No-license party, »mg delegates from t lie whole of Otago and Southland, was opened on t p Ist instant at the Hanover Street, baptist Church Hall. There was a large attendance of delegates at the opening session at 10.30. Mr A. S. Adams occupied the chair. The first half-hour of the convention was devoted to praise 'and prayer, led by the Rev. Win, Hay, president of the Baptist U ll ion. Mr A. S. Adams, in welcoming the delegates, said that this had now been his pleasing duty for many years. There were many old warriors present whose hearts were still as green in the temperance cause as ever, though their hair was now grey and their forms bent with age. The real hopefulness of the temperance cause lay in the ■ fact that in attempting to save and uplift men and-women the movement was broad-based upon the will of God. They must have improvements in the conditions of the law governing no-license areas; they must have an early carrying out of the repeated promises by Sir J. G. Ward' to abolish bottle licenses. This last must be strenuously insisted' on. In closing, he paid a tribute to the efforts of the late King Edward VII in the cause of peace, which his singular charm of manner had made so successful. Generations to come would better appraise King Edward’s work than they could. They tendered their heartfelt loyalty to King George.—(Applause.) The ' first business on the order paper was the consideration of legislation required by no-license areas. The Rev. R. M. Ryburn, of First Church, Invercargill, read a paper (by Mr J. J. Wesley, of Invercargill) on the weaknesses of the present law. Many improvements were advocated, among them being the abolition of breweries when no-license- was carried, the abolition of the. looker system, no depot within 20 miles of a no-license area, and a wish was expressed that the ipracticability of stopping importation into a no-license area altogether should be discussed. The Rev. Mr Buckingham, of Oamaru, gave an address on the difficulties experienced in that city. They now had improved police administration, and there was very little sly grog-selling. The locker system should be stopped. In Oamaru, howeper, it was respectably conducted, and not much abuse came from it. The worst trouble they had was the great amount of liquor about at such functions as bowling tournaments, and the freedom with which liquor could be imported. Their arrests for drunkenness were going up, because any” person getting off at the station under the influence of drink was immediately arrested. These men all got their drink and got drunk in near-by license areas, and not in Oamaru. Mr A. S. Malcolm, M.P., Clutha, said that Clutha, on the whole, was in a very satisfactory condition. He had feared, however, of late that the importation of drink into the Clutha was increasing, because it was so easy. He was satisfied that temperance sentiment in the Clutha would support the shutting out of the drink altogether. Mr T. Ayson, of Wyndham (Mataura electorate), Mr J. Mac Gibbon (Gore), Rev. Mr Hinton (South Dunedin), Mr Dewe (Invercargill), Rev. Mr Kilpatrick (Green Isalnd), and Mr. D. C. Cameron also spoke. The last-named proposed that a committee be set up to draft a definite recommendation to the Wellington conference, to report at 2.30 tp.m. —Carried. It was decided, on the motion of the Chairman, that the paper sent on by Mr J. J. Winsey, with two small alterations as explained, be sent forward to the Dominion Convention as the desire of the Otago Convention in regard to legislation needed by no-license areas. Mrs Blair, president of the Dunedin Women’s Qhiristian Temperance Union, read a paper on “ The Education of Women and Children in Temperance.” She advocated making more of the quarterly temperance Sundays and establishing a temperance cradle roll; also pressing earnestly for thorough teaching in the State schools and a vigorus course of illustrated addresses. Rev. G. Knowles Smith said that the temperance education of the mass was the crucial point of temperance reform. They could never get stable voting unless they had stable and convinced opinion. This could only be scoured by consistent education. Rev. F. T. Read moved—“ That this convention expresses its gratification at the passing of the act which will prevent the granting of renewals of the wholesale licenses in the King Country.” This resolution to be sent to Sir J. G. Ward and Dr Findlav. This was carried with applause. A discussion was then gone on with in committee in regard to the legislative proposals of the party. Rev. R. M. Ryburn took the chair at the evening session, and gave an address on no-license in Invercargill. The discussion upon the legislative position was resumed, but the first decision will really be at Wellington on June 22, and nothing definite will be known until then. > Several notices of motion were dealt with, and the convention, closed with thanks to the Hanover Street Baptist Church for the use of their hall. NO-LICENSE IN INVERCARGILL. At the evening session of the No-license Convention, Rev. R. M. Ryburn, of Invercargill, who gave a short address on no-license in that city, said : —“ I have only seen one hogging party, so-called, in more than a year. It is an uncomfortable and unattractive way of drinking, and cannot be compared with the attractive publio bar for danger.” He had seen a few drunkards on the streets, but very few indeed. The streets were remarkably clean and orderly, a great contrast to the usual license city. The few drunken persons he had ■seen were usually after picnics at which liquor had been present and too freely consumed. In license areas there is a continuous series of accidents —they are called accidents, but they are not really so ; they are the inevitable result of the drinking of alcoholic liquor. These are absent from the record of Invercargill. The contractor who was to rebuild First Church told him that the building trade was so brisk that no bricks could be accumulated in stock, and consequently he could not start his contract until September. This meant that trade was flourishing. Local no-license was good, but Dominion prohibition would he better. I 'Their disabilities nearly all came from the licensed sale in other districts.—(Appb ic.)