THE LICENSING ELECTIONS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6911, 24 February 1894, Page 3

THE LICENSING ELECTIONS.

MEETING OF TEMPERANCE PARTY,

A meeting of persons interested in the cause of temperance was held in the City Rink last evening. There were about 200 present, and the Mayor occnpied the chair. Canon Webb was the first speaker, and said that while thoroughly sympathising with the temperance movement and desiring to see all the hotels closed — which he believed in time would be the case — he yet had fears of their going too fast ami endeavoring to enforce prohibition before the people were ready for it. Such a step woxild damage their own cause. He was for individual teetotalism, and his great object was to induce people to stop drinking themselves. In Gisborne there were many in favor of prohibition who were not total abstainers. He then detailed a movement which took place some years ago in the Danevirke district, where he was stationed. A murder through drink took place in Danevirke, and the people on account of the event put in a Btrong temperance committee, who, when they had the power in their hands, thought it would be a good thing to close all the hotels in the whole district. They did so, and he mußt say that there was no open drunkenness in that place all that time. Bnt there came to be a strong reaction. The committee had gone ahead of the wish of the people, and then they found that they could not spread temperance principles because the people were so imbittered against the whole thing. Another election took place, and where there was one hotel before there were two now. All that had been done before in temperance work was swept away. He feared lest they should move before the people were ready for it. The Rev. Mr Malcolm said the one question Canon Webb had been discussing was whether the time was ripe for prohibition. There was an easy way of finding out. He could not tell, they could not tell, whether the people were ready for it. There was only one way they could tell. Let each of them declare their opinion at the ballot-box, and thus let them know whether the people were ready for prohibition. The only way to find out whether prohibition is ripe was to have the votes counted. If prohibition was carried in March, then the people of Waiapu were ready for it, for it was required that a majority of three-fifths of the people should declare in favor of it before it could be put into effect. He assumed that there was no educational influence so strong as an election struggle. A great many people simply knew nothing about this matter, but he believed by election day most of them would know more about it than ever they thought of before in their lives. The complaint was made that it was dangerous to go ahead of the people. There was more danger in standing back. This was proved by the notable case of the Dunedin election three years ago. Prohibition had been fought there for years and years, and beaten every time. At the election he spoke of one influential gentleman who had been in the fight got up and said it was no use fighting against hope ; it was simply no use, they must exercise a little common sense, for by going in for prohibition they only made themseves a laughing stock to the public. Some agreed with him and decided to consult the •'moderate" party and endeavor to carry some small measure of reform, such as closing one hour sooner. They wrote to the moderates— which was really the publican party — and their letter was treated with contempt. There were many amongst the prohibition party who were not discouraged by past defeats, and they decided to fight hard for prohibition. There was keen excitement over the election. Although the prohibitionists aimed at such a big thing as closing 48 hotels in that city, out of 1250 votes recorded they got only 30 votes less than the other side. Upon the question of the coming election, some were saying " It doesn't matter which you vote for, one counts ior the other." That was altogether a misrepresentation. If they voted for prohibition it would count for prohibition and for prohibition only until the votes had been counted and. it was found that threefifths had not been recorded. It was enly if prohibition failed that prohibition votes counted for a reduction. He also heard it remarked— and one could easily gneiss by whom it was started —that if people wanted to help prohibition they had "better stay away from the poll. If there was anything they wanted to do to harm prohibition let them stay away from the polL Before any acknowledgement was taken of their vote one-half the number of votes on the roll must be recorded, otherwise the present state of affairs must continue and there could be no reduction. He nrged them all to do their very utmost to get people to the poll. The speaker then in a very forcible manner referred to the evils of drink upon the individual, the family, and the community. Some people said " I have never Buffered from drink and it doesn't matter to me." Did they live simply for themselves. There were many in their midst wretched in the extreme. He had been into some of the very worst houses in Dnnedin, yet he had seen some houses in Poverty Bay about as poor and wretched as these. Let them start a house to house canvass for prohibition and they would find how many homes in Gisborne were affected by drink. There were Borne people who whilst sympathising with temperance refuse to give their aid for fear of being in some way affected. That was slavery, and a Bin of omission was as bad as a sin of commission. Who held the sword thus over the peoples head but the publican. He urged them all to do their utmost for prohibition. (Applause.) The Rev. Mr Griffin said it was not so much a time of speech-making as to take counsel as to the important work that should devolve upon them at the election. They were about to attempt to crush a monstrous monopoly, and should well weigh the matter, and of the evils of the trade conducted by that monopoly. He had been in various parts of the North Island, and had seen the bad state of affairs in places where there were public houses, but he had never Been such drunkenness and evil effects arising from the liquor traffic as he had seen in Poverty Bay during the last ten months. When he was forced to a conclusion like this, he could feel there was no other way open for him but to remove that agent by which all the evils of intemperance were so rampant in their midsk. If they read the daily paper they could not fail to believe that in this drink they had the greatest source of vice and criminality. At least a dozen times in January there were cases reported iu which drunkenness was stated as the first offence. That gave food for reflection. There was no other trade that caused such evil as the liquor traffic. This trade had the greatest monopoly at its back, nevertheless he was confident that if they did their best they would accomplish very much. If they did not get the requisite majority they would do much to pave the way to the day when this evil should be removed by the unanimous and hearty vote of the people. Mr John Somervell said one got carried away a great deal in what they had seen in their life generally. This temperance movement was now a direct fight with the publicans. In the early days temperance people got very little sympathy. It was very truly said that there was no family who could say their house had not been touched with the eviL He had a large family, and if this drink was going to lay his children as low as he saw people in Gisborne, he would rather walk to the grave behind them to-day. Were they going to say that these houses should be kept open as a nuisance to his children ? He would vote against them being kept open as a snare to their children. Referring to a case in Court this week, iu which he sat on the Bench as a Justice of the Peace, and had before him a wretched woman charged with drunkenness, he said if he could have brought the publican and brewer before him, and have given them seven days, he should have done it. He urged them to nail their colors to the mast ana do their duty, for " England expects each man to do his duty." Mr DeLautour said he had very little to do beyond tendering thanks to the speakers who had addressed them, especially to MiMalcolm for his kindness in coming in from Ormond. They bad to consider what they decide upon doing, and if they all HjjjkUed upon a uniform course and carried about, and let it be known, it good effect. What they had pretty well by prewould be about 4200 rrquira 2100 to have any side goiug to

do ? It wa3 probable the other side would look at it this way : Beyond our own wives and servants and persons we can shove to the poll no one will vote for us. What a terrible picture of the character of this trade that gave. He believed it to be so, that that there would.be very few people indeed who would voluntarily go to the poll and vote for it. Every effort would be made to keep people from the poll. Thus it would require 2100 votes to be recorded to carry anything. Underlying the Act were great opportunities. He thought they should not be disappointed by his defeat at the last election. Although the main plank of his platform was temperance, many who believed in temperance no doubt voted against him for other reasons. In such a large district it was indeed a difficult matter to get people to go to the poll, and they need to be in earnest and do their best to induce them to vote. In September next would come the real struggle. After the elections were over the question would be put, " Well, Stout, so you consider the colony is ripe for prohibition ?" He was sure Sir Robert Stout would say yes, even if he had heard Canon Webb that evening. Parliament would then judge the feeling of the colony by the results of the voting, so it behove them to take care, for they had a great responsibility in this matter. By coldness, by supinenes. , by neglecting the duty to vote, they would be making stones with which th» Government or whoever was leading the publican's party would do their best to kill temperance reform. It was their duty to vote. As to the necessity for prohibition, whe could fail during the last few weeks to note what had been going on in Gisborne. He did not think instances could be quoted stronger than the death that occurred in the hotel that was burning in Gladstone Road. What did they find there 1 A man lying there in that hotel at the time of the fire helpless with drink, unable to get out without being severely burned, dying in the hospital of delirium tremens. He said to them he did not know the murderer of that man, but that man was as truly murdered as many a man for whom a person had gone to the jibbet. (Applause.) Of course the proprietor of the hotel in which the man would be would say M I didn't do it. If he got any drink in my house I don't know about it. If I didn't take him in I would be informed against." If the man did not get into that state there he must have got into it in some public house in Gisborne. They must know how drunken men went round the town with their companions, dragged from place to place, never refused. Did they ever know a man refused drink in a public house yet ? If they did write it down, it was the exception. So they bad four deaths in Gisborne this year from drink. Who was responsible ? If he had sugcested to them that the publican was responsible, he threw it back — they were responsible, every man and woman who had the power to vote was responsible. (Applause.) He moved the following resolution : — " That this meeting is of opinion that every effort should be made to carry the vote of total prohibition at the ensuing election, and that to effect this all voters should be urged to vote (1) that no publican's licenses be granted, (2) that no bottle licenses be granted and (3) that no accommodation licenses be granted." Before closing the speaker referred to the sad sight of a woman lying helplessly drunk iu Palmeraton road as people were coming out of church the other Sunday morning. Mr George Benfield seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the chair.