NO-LICENSE LEAGUE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13699, 1 June 1915, Page 8

NO-LICENSE LEAGUE.

ANNTJAt; MEETING. The animal meeting of. the Gisborne No-license League was h,eld last night, tho Rev. F. W. Cbatterton presiding ■ov*r a fairly large attendance of meinfeers. In his report the secretary (Mr W. Hay) said, they had had a very important, and, for a time very strenuous season. He urged the devising of means £» arouse their people to push forward <t.be -temporancc sentiment m our midst, especially as they had such a noble example* set by the King and many of the leaders of our nation, although it had been written m tho sacred- record for 3000 years that "wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging 1 , and whosover Hs deceived thereby is not wise," and ti\ey of the No-license League had been endeavoring to show people that such was the truth. Some of them knew from bitter experience that it was no easy matter to put conviction into action and ' out boldly for the cause that they believed to be right. He could not help thinking that there were in.uiy who could 1 very well share a heavier nnvt- of the responsibility than they ha(^ done m the past, and so lighten i ho burden of the officers of the League. He suggested that a Finance ; Committee be formed . of business men vrho were members of the League, but not officers r also a Literature Committee. - - . •■'.•'•-."■ '..' The report of the treasurer ' : (Mr iJ.. Morice showed a balance .of £5 17s lid, with liabilities amounting.' to ■-■ £7 6s. A quantity of eoirespqiidence .from tne Now Zealand Alliance' < was : read and considered. ± : ■' " '"''' THE PRESIDENT'S REViEW. :

The chairman read the following interesting review: — ' ' ""Since our la^t. annual meeting many SlVeat -events have happened wnich'bear closely upon the reform f or - \yhich we are working. The great war wljiich Oyershadow^ everything else|' and; is' itiaking its demand upon our %^pk national resources, has had some revelations to make with regard to" the temperance question. All the, great military and naval leaders, as .well as many nf the prominent statesmen' of the cQtiii-. tries engaged m the (gtrjiggle, haye^reaN ised that alcohol is the greatest enemy oi efficiency, and that unless some drastic remedy is applied to the dvink *?viV all the heroic efforts fqfithe armies : sn the field may be rendered abortive.' >Tever before hi the history of the world I has the temperance movement received such ample justification,; and ,its t principles been so fully vindicated. ,* : Only, m England have vested interests once again, as so often before) proved the stumbling block to any effective solution of the difficulty, •" atkl Agreed has proved itself' (stronger than' patribtisrtv. But we still hope for better • things, and the King's co? ample., has been a strong- rallying cry to the Empire." ' His action goes much further v th'ah' personal abstinence. He has adopted the principle of prohibition for the Royal household which includes large ynumbers ot pnoplo, and thus has shown ; once ; more that he has grasped the seriousness ot the situation, and has shown a courage which has already appealed to the patriotism and loyalty of large numbers, and will have far reaching consequences. "The results of the last Jicensing l *^)bH were disappointing, though not altogether unexpected, considering. the political action which was taken r for thq. first time, and which undoubtedly lost us many votes, even though it is said to have secured m the House -a majority of members pledged- to reduce-, the unfair handicap. For years tfye- majority ' of electors have shown that 'they are strongly dissatisfied with, ; things as they arc and at last election, m spite of the fact that a thi rd party came into the "»n>M for ~the first time', -the number of votes polled for national prohibition nearly equalled the other two. parties .together. It must further be renieihbefed that there wet* thousands of voters who voted continuance because they thought it better to wait till after the war was oyor before committirtg' the country to a great change£ while others wanted to see if the "Mojderate League wag i» earnest m seeking for real reforms. ! feel _ sure that next election wil! show a. different result to the last, especially m view of the illuminating fa-^ts that tfn? war has brought to light.' the phenomenal success of total prohibition m Russia has given a full and final answer to those who are always Hsk'nig 'What about tho revenue?' 1 The public should not forget that the great iiiui of tin- Moderate League has been, to prevent the carrying of prohibition and no-license. In the great mass oflitorature used at the : : last election, it marie no serious attempt .; to ' show the evils alcohol was producing. The economic waste, . the mpval 'and social wreckage produced by drink did not spem for them to exist,, and* their later action . m trying to induce JtheY Defence Department to introduce 'the wet canteen into .our camps is ariptlier illustration of their failure „to realise the gravity of the problem. :We have no evidence that their members have ever shown m the past any, ke^n; interest 'v repressing the evils of intemperance, nrul their action seems to be directed to saving the trade rather; than the victims of the trade. , '.Wet have just recently had brought under our notice their programme" of >ref orm.; ' Like so many ot the panaceas of r : wick-regulative type, it- looks well on paper.- The sug-! ger-tion. that the systems of State control, municipal control, arid trust <i6ntroi should be examined ijs no new one. Each' scheme has been ■ 'advocated m turn by temperance reformers years ago. and all are in ' operation" "hr differ--ent places to-day, but speaking it may be said that' the* countries' that bave had most experience" of these methods are least satisfied with them, and are looking for something more effective. Are we, after all these years of waiting, to dp'end an6<sh'er.2O jfe&rif while the Moderate lieague Is trying experiments which will leave us judging from the experience of others ,*' < nrt> i belter than we are now? In his official announcement the other day the organiner stated that the fact of the British Government declining to . entertain the suggestion of prohibition was the;strongest possible endorsement of the moderate view point as propounded , by ' their league. So far 'from this' bejng .tlie.j case it is well known that ( £he reasons 7 ' why the British Government did' fabt" entertain national prohibition was the tear of the trade, which has again and again threatened to wreck huiy^GoYetti-' ment that dared to attack it. ilfcris top ridiculous for words, if it.Aj'ere not/ so i pathetic, that after proposing -h'aripus measures to cope with the seridusn'ess Of ] the drink problem m a national crises' Mr Lloyd Goorye was at last reduced to consulting representatives of 'the: trade itself, who have objected to each proposal, to see what curtfcilm'erttfj to their business they would- allow him to make. This is some indication of the opposition that has to be. faced, at every step of temperance rfefoTm, . and will explain why more rapid progress has not been niade. The British people have never yet been able to get even a Local OpHnn Bill for Biiglana ihrougfi the House of Commons, though they have tried for more than 1 60 years. The position to-day is regarded iby- many of the sanest thinkers of England with deep concern. Mr Lloyd George's words* to the shipbuilders' deputation have made? a profound impression." 'We jivo lighting Germany, Anstria^a'hdvdrink, and as far as I can see (he said) the greatest of these three deadly ;foes is drink' No one will say that Mr .Lloyd ».«eorge, who has done so much m this crisis, doc: ijo.t know what ; he ris .talk-. m>t about. While Russia arid France have realised the danger and have shaken tlicraselvcfs free from their national vice to fight the better, England alono stands hesitating, when her hesitation ie seriously imperilling the .lives of her brave sons at the front. When i a newspaper like the English-., Spectator,,! which has always m the,, past argued against prohibition, now brings all the •weight of its great influence \to advocate total prohibition for England during the war. using the very arguments ■which we have used for bo man? yearn , and declaring that, it is not the. people of Eugland who are opposed to "it at the present- j tincture, but only the trade, the Moderate League might well hesitßt» to take it for granted that* it did

ilie right thing hi fighting prohibition at the last election. 'In declining to adopt prohibition the British Government (says the Spectator) have missed a. great opportunity — the greatest perhaps that any Government ever had for improving the morale, the physique, and the industrial efficiency of the nation at the most momentous crisis m our history, 1 and the articles goes on to add : 'If it is not too - late, we would implore the Government to reconsider their refusal to sanction prohibition.' .

"The Moderate League's proposal to ask for the setting up of a Royal Commission to go into the whole question sounds well, and will no doubt offer some consolation to those who look upon Royal Commissions as something infallible, but where the drink question is involved, it is almost too much to expect to get an impartial verdict from a Royal Commission. We do not forget the Royal Commission that was set up m England some years ago on the opium. question % and how it shirked the vital points m the issue altogether. Where large financial interests are '.n---volved moral issues are as a rule unfortunately given scant attention to by Royal Commissions. "We hold, with the best scientific opinion of the day, that alcohol is a poison, and that whether sold by the State, by the municipality or .by a private monopoly, it -has the same effect upon the pnysical and moral welfare of the comintmity. and therefore the community not only has the right, but will be acting m its best interests, when it decides to abolish it entirely. State .after State m America is doing this with the happiest results. Custom, prejudice, and' self interest are the greatest barriers to overcome, but all these have received some severe blows since' the' war began, and greater things are yet\n store. Public opinion needs a great deal of education, but m the strong* agitation m. issue of the Australian States for 6 p.m. closing of hotels we see that public opinion is. moving. Why should not the public house bar close when all other businesses are expected to close? If ever the measure of i*etorm were granted, some good would be achieved: The time has arrived when Here m New Zealand we should probably find that people were ready for this step straight away, and it would be a good'thing if the No-license Leagues throughout the Dominion took the matter up. Individual members of the Moderate League would no doubt give such a- movement their support. But even this must not deflect us from the larger question whidi calls for increased energy and determination. The reform for which he have been working so long cannot be carried without much self-denial on .our part. We have no axes to grind, neither do we receive 'much open sympathy. Many would Work with us, if they could, and many more if they realised now much they might do. it is a truly patriotic work of the highest kind, for its object is to free our country from what blights it, and causes so large a proportion if its misery and its crime. > . "While thanking those who have so loyally done their share of work m the past, we shall welcome any new* members who' are prepared to spend ■ and I .be spent m the service of their fellowmen." (Applause.) A hearty vote of thanks was accorded ,Mr Chattertin for his very able and exhaustive report. The chairman, referred to the inspiring articles that appeared m the April 3 and 10 numbers of the Spectator, which he said was' answer to tlie Moderate League. — It was decided to recommend the Alliance to give further publicity to the articles. The Rev. F. W. Chatterton was prevailed upon to accept the position of president for the ensuing year. Eulogistic reference was made to the magnificent work accomplished by Mr Chatterton during the years he had been president of the League. J Other officers elected were: Vice-pre-sidents, ReV. R. Raine and Mr J. C Field; secretary, Mr W. Hay (re-elect-ed); treasurer. Mr D. Morice (re-elect-ed); roll secretary, MrsWilkes; executive, Revs P. J. Wainwi-ight, E. A.' McGutcheon, Messrs J. Dawson, F. S. Malcolm, F. R. Ball, R. Johnston, J. A. Jones, and Mead, and Mrs H. J. ,alker; correspondent to the Vanguard, Mr J. A. Jones. The chairman said he had disposed of 60 books of patriotic pledges. Mr J. Somervtell moved that steps be taken to express the opinion that hotels should close at 6 p.m. and open at 8 a.m., m fact that they should come under the 1 Shops and Offices Act. — The Rev. E. A. McCutcheon seconded the motion, which was carried. The chairman said the Alliance would probably be sending put circulars soon on the' subject, but ; it' was well that, th^y should give an expression of opinion. . Messrs Israel and Bpstok were olected members of the League. Supper was provided by the members of the W.C.T.U.. vand kindly dispensed by Mcsdames Weller and Ashworth, who were accorded a vote of thanks.