NO-LICENSE.

Southland Times, Issue 19592, 2 July 1925, Page 8

NO-LICENSE.

NINETEENTH ANNIVERSARY.

RALLY AT VICTORIA HALL.

The 19th anniversary of the carrying of No-License in the Invercargill constituency was commemorated by means of an enthusiastic meeting of citizens, which was held in the Victoria Hall last evening. There was a large number of citizens present —the hall being practically full—and, in the unavoidable absence of the Mayor (Mr Andrew Bain> Mr J. S. Baxter preeided. After the “National Anthem" had been sung the Chairman read a number of telegrams from other organisations in various parts of the Dominion conveying congratulatory messages to the Invercargill organisation on the successes achieved and expressing best wishes for the continued success of the movement in the approaching campaign. Mr Baxter also read a number of messages from prominent citizens expressing their regrets at their inability to be present, including one from the Mayor (Mr Andrew Bain), who was detained through weather conditions at. Clyde. « Mr Baxter, in opening his remarks as to the purpose of the meeting, said he would have preferred to have talked that evening about the beauties of the magnificent mountains and lakes instead of upon such a base, unworthy and ignoble thing as the liquor traffic undoubtedly was. But when any great evil existed it was necessary to speak out and denounce it and to try and seek a remedy. He therefore wished to refer briefly to the state of affairs which existed in Invercargill during the “wet” era some 20 to 22 years ago Of recent years a number of people had come to Invercargill and had given expression to an opinion that NoLicense was not a success, whilst the contrary was undoubtedly the case. He reminded his hearers of the case where a mother and her child had been incinerated in a house in Liddell street simply on account of the woman's craving for drink, and remarked that in many respects the town had fared badly in the days of licensed, houses. A great deal of drunkenness had been prevalent then and many business men in those days had often gone to their homes in a drunken condition and had at times appeared on the streets in a state of intoxication. Invercargill had had plenty of licensed houses—there were no fewer than 35 public bars—-and ample opportunity had been afforded the young men of those days to secure supplies of liquor with which many of them had disgraced themselves. Many folks did not seem to recognise the advantage of living in a dry area, and those who did had a perfect right to speak of the benefits which had accrued since the introduction of No-License as. a result of the whole-hearted enthusiasm shown by the many local workers in the cause, notably the members of the W.C.T.U., whose influence and loyal co-operation, he felt sure, would be available on this occasion. He felt sure that the beneficial results obtained were worth extending, and it was his s’ncere hope that even' one would be in earnest to slav the Master Criminal that was blotting this fair land. SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS. Mr S. McDonald was the next speaker, and he dealt in an interesting manner with the growth of the town and the improvement of its commercial and financial circles since the introduction of Prohibition. Continuing, he stated that the event they were commemorating that evening was of great significance so far as Invercargill was concerned. and it was noteworthy that after 19 years of No-License, the people were more than ever determined to continue that state of affairs. Many people who were evident in Invercargill when No-Li-cense was carried would recollect that it ■ was repeatedly said that the town would go ! back, that trade would diminish, while some had even gone so far as to say that grass would grow on the streets. A great many had also predicted that Invercargill would [ lose its prestige and that it would recede I and not progress in the same ratio as the other towns of the Dominion. In the past - it had been somewhat difficult to obtain statistics to illustrate the real progress of a town or province, but he believed that the figures he was about to quote would make the position sufficiently clear for everyone. The best example that he could quote of the substantial progress made in the town was the financial position of the Southland Building and Investment Society with which everyone was familiar. It had started its operations without capital and yet in 1925 it? assets had reached the enormous total of £753.181. In 1904 its profits had totalled £2814. in 1910 £6177 and in 1924 these had increased to approximately £29,000. Thus it could be seen that this institution had conferred many benefits on the community, and it was vendoubtful whether in any other part of the Dominion there was an institution of a similar nature that had progressed more substantially than the Southland Building Society. Mr McDonald also gave particulars of the growth of the Public Trust Office, for which Invercargill took some cred’t, while the local branches of several of the banking institutions were some of the most successful on the whole of the Dominion. The sneaker also referred to the great strides that had been made by the coal-mining industry, which had been largely financed in Invercargill, while the hydro-electric scheme had been inspired by the merchants and financiers of Invercargill. In concluding his remarks, Mr McDonald expressed the opinion that he had given sufficient proof h? support the contention that Invercargill had prospered and that it was a brighter and ■ better town for everyone concerned. It we* | therefore necessary for the citizens to do ! their best to promote the interests of the town and make it an example to the rest of the Dominion of successful local government. SOCIAL WORKER'S EXPERIENCE. Mr T. Pryde, secretary of the Southland Hospital Board, said that in the social work of the Board, they had a good deal to thank the Chairman and those associated with him in having to work under No-License conditions. While there was only NoLicense in a limited degree, owing to the comparative ease with which liquor could be procured over the town boundaries, they were able to show considerable improvement in social conditions over other towns. The figures for outdoor relief over the past 20 years had fluctuated very much and there might be other causes, such as economic conditions, which would have a bearing on the position. In 1905 the outdoor relief was £l6 9s per week, but from 1907 onwards it began to decrease, and in 1912 it was under £lO per week for the whole of the Southland Hospital District. There was a slight increase till about 1918, when the figures increased very rapidly, owing no doubt to the increased cost of living and the increased population. For this reason, these figures could not be taken as furnishing a reliable indication. The expenditure of the so-called grade two hospitals of the Dominion on outdoor relief last year was a= follows: Expdt. per Hospital district Population head s. d. Hawke’s Bay . . . 40,000 1 2 South Canterbury . 43,000 1 2 Wanganui .... 50,000 0 11 Palmerston North 50,000 0 9 Southland . . - 57,000 0 6 The first four districts were "wet” areas, and the Southland district includes two NoIjcense areas. The figures were very convincing, and whether they were the result

of Prohibition, or trade conditions, or due to other causes, he was not prepared to say. Figures proved anything, but the fact

remains that the Southland rate was less than half that of Hawke’s Bay and beautiful Tim aru which had been advertised in their papers that day. (Laughter and Applause). As one who was in close touch with what was called the seamy side of the life of the town, he could say that taken on the whole Invercargill was a clean town. With regard to conditions affecting the health of the people, and especially the iniquitous “keg” business, during the inj fluenza epidemic of 1918 some of the worst ' case of suffering and degradation which i had come under the notice of the Vigilance | Committee were in homes where the weekly I keg was much part and parcel of the I household commodities as any article on the grocer's bill. It was not giving the | town a fair deal that this should be allowl ed. They found that very closely associated j with the liquor habit were the seeds of tubi etvulosis which were sown in the children even in this town through the neglect of

i parents. What then must be the condijtions where licensed bars still existed? I Having regard to the welfare of their children. it behoved them to set themselves firmly against this stumbling block in the I‘path of the young, and to •eliminate it I from the community. The argument had ' been used that No-License would interfere ;with the use of alcohol as a medicine. This j was a bogey that had been raised so often i it was a wonder people didn’t get tired of j hearing it. But the idea of these people i was not to use it as any other medicine, I but to take it wholesale. If they wished to j be consistent, let them use it logically, and i treat it as a medicine, and not as the animal drank from a trough. In conclusion, from his experience of social work, the people of Invercargill took the wisest step they could as far as improvement of health was concerned, and one That should commend itself to every part of New Zealand. (Applause, ) A VIGOROUS ADDRESS. The Rev. J. Lawson Robinson said that he noticed by the programme that he was to deliver an inspirational address. He did not really know what that was. The rever- | eqd gentleman then proceeded to put his i audience in rare good humour with a sushained fire of humorous observations. In • more serious vein. Mr Robinson remarked ’ with regard to the breweries outside the i town boundaries, that it was the most inj iquitious provision ever set on the Statute ’ Book that the will of the people should be set aside by the political chicanery that \ made such a state of things possible. Many ; people said they would be satisfied with i something just short of Prohibition, which ■ was too drastic for them. They would welcome some measure of reform, they said. If he thought that drink could be made inocuous, that all the wretchedness and misery ; could be eliminated, then he would support ' that measure of reform. But he had not seen any proposal that was likely to do that. ' During all the years of fighting the liquor ' traffic, every reform had been brought ! about not by the New Zealand Licensed • Victuallers' Association, not by the New ! Zealand Moderate League, not by the New ' Zealand Liquor Reform Association, but at the suggestion of the New Zealand Alliance. ; When they suggested six o’clock closing, * who fought them ? The Moderate League and the liquor interests, who wanted no interference with the making of profits. The liquor traffic was past reforming. With all i the restrictions and regulations, it was still 1 making its depredations on the population of the country, ruining their homes, and blighting the happiness of the people. The speaker referred to the tale of St. George and the dragon, and said that they had got to curtail the liquor dragon, and fce place to curtail it was behind the neck. It had been claimed that Prohibition was a restriction of personal liberty. It was no more a natural right to drink alcohol than to fly to the moon. No man had a natural right to endanger the welfare of the community. The test of all restrictions was whether they were for public liberty, and the more highly organised society became, the greater would be the restrictions imposed on it. They were hemmed in by restrictions on every hand for the public good. The only liberty the liquor traffic was anxious about was the liberty to filch eight millions put of the pocket of New Zealand every year. There was a greater word than liberty. That was sacrifice. That was something they had not learned to do very well yet. It was a far greater thing to give up a thing that was harming .someone else than to claim it as a moral right. The divinest thing a man could do was to put the welfare and happiness of others before himself. (Applause.) Mr J. D. Gilmore moved the following resolutions:—‘‘This representative meeting of Invercargill citizens on this, the 19th anniversary of the carrying of No-License in Invercargill, while gratefully appreciating the manifold blessings arising from the total abolition of the liquor bar from the town, as evidenced by the absence of drunkenness from our streets, the practical disappearance of serious crime, the highly satisfactory improvement in the social, moral and material welfare of the people would at the same time strongly urge that the larger reform of total Prohibition of the liquor traffic from the Dominion become an established fact by the will of the people at the next poll.’’ The motion was seconded by Mr S. McDonald. and carried unanimously. In conclusion, Mr J. Hopkins, organiser for the Southland area, made a spirited appeal for support in the coming campaign. He said that as an Aucklander, he knew something of the liquor propaganda which circulated up north alleging prevalence of sly-grogging in southern No-License areas. He had been investigating the position here, and be had not met with a single case. In addition to that, the Inspector of Police had told him that sly-grogging was practically non-existent here. Invercargill was a town second to none in the Dominion for cleanliness and prosperity. The speaker was heartily applauded. The meeting closed with a hearty vote of thanks to the Chairman, and those who had spoken during the evening. Prior to dispersing, Rev. Mr Robinson pronounced the Benediction. GREAT CHANGES WROUGHT. The Rev. R. Raine, of Dunedin, who was formerly stationed in Invercargill when Prohibition was first introduced, expressed the extreme pleasure that he felt at having been asked to take part in such a notable gathering. He mentioned that the town had been much maligned by the other parts of the Dominion since No-License had been carried, but he could assure them that cn even' occasion he visited Invercargill he was always conscious of an air of prosperity, while the general appearance of the houses and the orderly state of the surroundings was evidence of the fact that nearly every one owned his or her own home. As showing the diminution in the amount of drunkenness recorded in Invercargill he quoted figures showing that during the last year of the “wet” regime in Invercargill the number of convictions was 209, while in 1923 the number had dropped to 75. Another convincing argument was that the amount of money spent on liquor in licensed districts per head of the population for 1923 was £7 0s 7d. while in no-licensed areas it was only 19s 4]d. Such a com-

parison was clear proof that a great deal of improvement was being effected in the different districts. It was estimated that £8,000.000 annually was spent on liquer in New Zealand, and if that money was used for developmental purposes it would be to the advantage of the people. It was not for want of conviction that they 7 were not carrying Prchibition in New Zealand and one cf the strongest arguments that could be used was through the children whom no father or mother would care to see ensnared by the dread traffic.