NEW ZEALAND ALLIANCE

Southland Times, Issue 20206, 17 June 1927, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND ALLIANCE

ANNUAL MEETING. (Per United Press Association.) Wellington, June 16. Over one hundred delegates attended the annual meeting of the New Zealand Alliance frqm all parts of the Dominion. The President (Mr Charles Todd) was in the chair. Speaking to the report the Hon. George Fowlds said that an organisation with a deficit was better than a clear balance sheet and no organisation. The report wasadopted. It was stated upder the educational policy of the Alliance that the Bands of Hope had increased from 100 to 313 in three years and that the children’s paper had attained a circulation of over 47,000. Progressive convictions for drunkenness showed a rising from 7790 in 1922 to 9652 in 1925, and in women from 405 to 494. The consumption of absolute alcohol in 1925 was 5.72 pints for every man, woman and child in the Dominion, and since the return to license, there had been as many prohibition orders issued in Ohinemuri in six months as during the previous three years. The arrest cases in six months were 191 as against 201 for the previous three years. A demonstration takes place in the Town Hall to-night, at which the Rev. Fletcher of Auckland will be’ the chief speaker. Resolutions were passed at a demonstration to-night in connection with the New Zealand Alliance that the Government introduce licensing legislation at an early date in the coming session of Parliament, making provision for the submission of two issues, viz., national continuance and national prohibition to the electors in the triennial referendum on the licensing question; that opposition be recorded to the suggestion that an extension of time between the taking of the licensing referendum should be made and calling attention to the waste in men and money entailed in the annual expenditure of over £8,000,000 on alcoholic beverages in the Dominion,