NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 11371, 2 September 1908, Page 2

NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

There was a good attendance at His Majesty's Theatre last night, < when Miss Hughes spoke on "Man-niakers. versus Money-makers.".,. ; The, -Rev. Dawson Thomas, who presided, said that was the first' time he had. made his -appearance on the 1 rio-license platform since. hist election, and he had seen nothing to' make him; change his 'views/ 'T came here four years ago," lie said, f 'with an open mind, absolutely prepared to thrash the thing out m my own mind, but had only been here three months when I was converted to lib-license." Miss Hughes, .who was well received, said she had nothing new to tell them, but still they had to keep, on working, urging them to work and vote for nolie'ense. -.-'Tlie vote for rio-license had increased during the previous nine years up to last election. by 160,600. The liquor vote had not increased- at' all. While they' found a. few antediluvian people who said they were never going to carry nolicense, 'they ; only had to look ait the increase m the; figures at tlie last .election. Out of the 68 electorates only 18 had. a majority for continuance. If they carried no-license and. found it a failure, they could vote the liquor back again. Clutlia's experience was referred to. Tlie increasing, vote there wins one of their great arguments thai lio-license was not a failure. Tlie next electorates to adopt the reformi were those around Clutha, which was^nother argument m favor of no-licerise. When . she visited GTutlia she failed to find all- the drunken men they were told were there, and she had a good deal of difficulty ,m gathering information. ' She had never heard a person m any no-license electorate m New Zealand say straight out that no-license was a- failure. The testimonies of various tradesmen m Ashburton as to the success of the reform were then referred to. It had not been necessary to increase rates, but Invercargill. besides.increasing the Mayor's salary, had lowered their rates. Tins question, however, was not only a financial but a moral one. One of the appalling evils of the influence of the liquor traffic was the number of young men who" Avere drinking. Last year they spent m New: Zealand nearly 3£ million pounds on strong drink, and m return got 10.000 convictions for drunkenness. The proportion of convictions of the population m the Dominion was 97, tftifc m Clutha the proportion was one to 2000. In the last three and alralf years before the bars were closed, there were 146 convictions m Clutha, and m the three arid a-half years immediately following no-licerise being carried, there were only six, and four of those were from arrests made off the train. If they carried no-license m any electorate, they would save the .men. Sho asked them to be patriotic enough to put men— the real life of the country — first, and vote no-license, and do that, not only for tli© men's sake, but also for tlie women and children who hlad to suffer because of drink. I Upon questions being asked, a leaflet wa6 handed to the lecturess, m reference to a manifesto of 16 doctors on the use of alcoholic beverages. Miss Hughes said the manifesto was nob drawn up by a. doctor, but by a. lawyer who was frequently employed by the liquor party. Half of those who had signed the manifesto Avero interested m the trade, and most of them had said if they had known what use was going to be made of it they would not have signed. But against these 16 medical men they had fifteen thousand medical men m Great Britain who petitioned the Government to have scientific temperance teaching given m tlie State schools. "Most rif the. doctors who advocate dririk," she said, are men of grey hairs and who belong, to the old' school." "Will there not always be a demand' for some kind of national beverage?" was the only question asked. "I suppose pepple. will always have to drink something," was the reply ; "there will bo no difficulty m getting water m New Zealand. There will always be a. demand for tea-, coffee. cocoa\ and soft drinks, but I don't think there will ever be a demand for a poison like alcohol." The Cliairmqn,..in proposing ii ,voto of thanks' to the lectiiress. said Australia, where he was bom and bred, was watching New Zealand very closely m reference to thejTo-lujense^question'