PROHIBITION MEETING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3618, 17 July 1923, Page 30

PROHIBITION MEETING.

SALE OF LIBERTY BONDS. BREWERY MERGER CRITICISED. A meeting’ was held in the King’s Theatre last week by the prohibition party lor the purpose of hearing addresses by supporters of the party and to assist in the disposal of “liberty” bonds. The circle was not utilised, and the lower hall was about three parts full. Prior to the meeting Mr H. P. Desmoulins conducted a community sing. Mr C. Todd occupied the chair. He said that the various speakers had come to inaugurate and start off the new campaign—their old campaign under a new system. They would notice that they were starting their fight two and a-half years before the next noli The liquor trade had been working all the time, and gathering money, and they were going to work all the time, too, and gather money. —(Applause.) Mr R. Ferguson commenced by stating that he was not speaking on behalf of labour. The Labour party took up a neutral attitude in connection with this vote. Ho said that he did not profess to be a pledged total abstainer, although he had voted 'or prohibition every time. He asked voters when they went to the ballot box to place themselves in the position of jurymen, and if they could conscientiously say that the drink traffic was not injurious to the best interests of the State, then vote to continue it; but if the weight of the evidence indicated that it was better to wipe it out, then do their part to carry out this decision. In reference to the financial aspect and the cry that there would be a difficulty in making up lost revenue, the speaker said that he had no patience with this line of reasoning. The traffic was either good or bad; and if bad, no State was justified in considering the revenue aspect,—(Applause.) Money value should never be allowed to be a factor in considering moral questions, lhe liberty bonds were for the purpose of accelerating the speed of the drink traffic in going west” in this country. Every bond purchased would hasten the time when it would disappear, never to return again. All those who had this wish at heart should do their part in subscribing to these bonds.— (Applause.)

Mrs Don said that they wanted to educate the people by getting them to sign the pledge. They wanted to start in now, so that they could get ready to vote against liquor on the day of the next election. The only return that they could offer for their prohibition bonds was the consciousness that they had done what they could to stop the liquor trade. Mr Jonathan Rhodes referred to the money which had been spent by die liquor trade in fighting the last election. He said that if they took the lowest figure it cost the trade, in the aggregate £1 for every vote it secured, and he was quite sure that even that figure was below the mark. The liquor trade, had spent money like water, and only the favoured few " would know what they really had spent. What happened after the last election. Let them VVam’s Hotel. It had been sold for £37,000, whereas a site of about a similar size in the same locality had only brought £IO.OOO. The Oban Hotel had been mirchased for £6500, and had been sold a°-ain for over £ 10 ,0°0; the Prince of Wales Hotel had been sold for £6OOO, and sold again for over £IO,OOO. These values were the result of the monopoly of the trade He did not. however, wish to speak on the money side of the question—the moral principle was really the one to be discussed. The brewers said that they would give their investors 10 per cent, for three years but the prohibition liberty bonds would give them 10 per cent, in perpetuitv —lO per cent, in greater efficiency, and 53 per cent, increase in happier homes in the dominion. The booze factories were a ctisgrace to the town. They would notice that heir Mayor had that day been round the slums of Dunedin. lie would like to take the people round the public-houses l after 6 o clock.—(Applause.) The Rev. .John Dawson said that it had been reported that 10 breweries were combining m what was called a merger. The idea was that these 10 breweries were going to become so much stronger because of that combination. He fully realised that if the breweries had succeeded in getting that million pounds they were getting a very powerful weapon to figlit the people and obstruct their best interests. On the other side, this effort to secure co-operative control must be a source of great encouragement to the prohibition parly.—(Applause.) They were very hopeful that the brewery merger was going to be a boomerang and going to be the means of slaying the trade. The trade was trying all the while to make itself believe and other people believe that at the last poll it had become the dominant party in this country. He wanted to say that this was not true, and, moreover, the trade did not believe it was true. The prohibition vote had been 18.000 greater than the continuance vote, and the trade had only gained a majority because the con tin n a nee vole and the State control vote had been added together. Did anybody mean to tell them that if they had had a straight out vote the trade would have secured a majority of 35,000 votes. If the politicians or the brewers wanted to have this matter settled, let them give the people a straight-out vote —prohibition or continuance.—(Applause.) The trade might- well be combining and gelling ready for the next fight. The three ministers of the church who had become associated with the trade would find out before very long that they had got into very had company. Continuing, the speaker said that the' 10 brewery companies were to be taken over by a new company. This company was to ho represented by certain shareholders who were to have £500,000 in fully paid up shares. The

solely to their land, buildings, and machinery—it did not include any assets in the hotels. What did they find in the last Government Blue Book? The figures up to the end of March, 1322, showed that there were 53 breweries and malt houses in New Zealand and the value of these breweries was given as £736,000. The 10 companies, however, were asking the public to give them £1,000,000 for their assets. This was the kind of business the trade was accustomed to doing. Tlie, breweries guaranteed them 10 per cent, for three years. They wanted the public to work hard for them and vote at least once for continuance. If prohibition, however, were carried, what would the guarantee then be worth ? The directors appointed were all brewers. They were going to look after the interests of the new company as they had looked after the interests of the old companies. In the prospectus they had told them that they had appointed experts to value the properties, but these experts were four of their own brewers. Supposing at the end of 10 years prohibition had not. bee carried the directors reserved to themselves to buy back the debentures. The debenture holders could have no control over the business, Out if prohibition were carried they would have the people carrying the burden. The fight had now become a national fight—it was indeed an international fight. The nations of the world were awakening to the fact that alcohol was an injury to the individual and a menace to society. The speaker referred to the world fight by the liquor trade, and said that this meant that the forces of righteousness must combine die wide world over, and he was glad to be able to tell them they were combining. The Lord of Hosts was with His people and would finally give them the victory.—(Applause.) He wanted to urge upon the people of New Zealand that they must combine to fight the trade, and their victory would be theirs.—(Applause.) Mr Todd said that during the last few days people had been sending in sums of money for their liberty bonds. The payment for a pound bond was distributed over three years, and it meant about id per day. Three subscribers had already subscribed £IOO each for the bonds, four £SO each, four £25 each, three £lO each, one £5, and four £l. This represented a total of £639 to start them off, and there were lots more to come.—(Applause.) They were going to put more vigour into the fight than ever before. They were going to have organisers in every city, and these must be paid.

During Mr Todd's address the people in the hall were filling in the application forms for bonds. These were handed up to the stage, and Mr Todd said that the total applications amounted to £l7O. This meant that they had already secured over £BOO. If the 330,000 who had voted for prohibition at the last election gave £1 each they would “swamo the jolly breweries.”(Laughter.) On the motion of Mr H. S. Adams a vote of thanks to the speakers was carried by acclamation.