NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 56, 20 October 1911, Page 5

NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

a A LADY LECTURER

The floor of the Town Hall was well filled last night, when Mrs. Barton, an ox-Councillor of the City of Glasgow who is touring the Dominion hi the No-License interest, delivered an address. The Mayor (Mr. J. Masters) occupied the chair. The meeting was opened with a „ hymn, after which the Rev. Thomson *\ offered up prayer. The Mayor, introducing the spenter, said Mrs. Barton was a (list inguished lady for the Old Country, and ho extended a cordial welcome to her on behalf of the citizens cf the _ Mrs. Barton, who was. greeted with /applause on rising, said she was always glad to meet public men in all parts of the world; and she felt sure that Mr. Masters was a man with a high ideal always before-him for the good of the community. Applause.) At "the present day there was constant war between sections of the community, which should not be, and this was the result of people doing more as they liked than as they ought. What was desired was more recognition) of the responsibility which rested on people to look after the welfare of their neighbours, tohe had not come to Now Zealand to dictate tb the people, but desired to advise them to the best of her ability. She wjis glad to be in a country like New 1 Zealand whore there was every prospect of the No-License fight ending lit'victory. Ever since she had been i small girl she had felt strongly a&ainst liquor, and she had resolved tb' lighl it to the best- of her ability; ahd she was overjoyed to be engaged ia a fight in New Zealand which had every prospect of success. Just before ah election the Trade became verj solibitous for the welfare of the eloctprfl’ children, warning them not to vbfcb for No-License and thus throw theif children into the grip of the sly-, . f gtogger. She had , just come back Frbm a tour in Otago and Southland. Iti Scotland she had got figures regarding New Zealands No-License areas, and she was not quite sure about the success of the working of No-incense. She had, therefore, visited the areas. She was not easily convinced, but after her tour she found that the system was working pipte satisfactorily than she had expected. In New South Wales sht gad been told such tales about the New Zealand areas that she was almost afraid to visit them, hut siic by personal observation, proved hat these tales were untrue. An jqiharu tradesman said that the first tear No-License was in operation his ipSinoss had increased by one-third, .mj had gone, ph increasing ever (pipe. The Oamaru police sergeant stated that the amount of qpbr going into Oamaru per annum less than what was previously ispdsed of by. one licensed house during the Christmas trade. At Mosgiely un the Bruce No-License area, the Maypr stated that though he had pot‘ previously been in favour of NoLicense, his experience of it had made a convert of him. He also slated from the platform that since NoLicense had been in operation there >vas less sly-grogging than when License obtained. The present figbt was being put up by the Trade raero- : ly in the interests of their pockets, and No-License was carried the money question would obtrude itself again, sly-groggers going into business for the purpose of lining their purses. The Commandments said: “Thou shalt not steal,” and “Thou shdlt not kill/* ~ These commandments were embodied ini the statutebook of all civilised countries; and she thought -that sly-groggers should' be very severely dealt with, tine allegation which had gone the rounds of the press was that in No-License areas in New Zealand good accommodation was not procurable. She , had .been to Gore and had found there a number of excellent houses of accommodation. The proprietors of one of these places said she was doing very well out ’ of the business. The accommodation at the place where sho (Mrs. Barton) stayed could not have been bettered in London. After her tour in the south she felt convinced that in the No-License areas the peo{ile were rolling in prosperity. The ecturer quoted the case of a Balclutha hotelkeeper who, although ho said he was ruined by the carrying of No-License, had since taken up storekeeping and made a. success of tho business. In New Zealand last year the drink bill was four millions, buf this only gave employment to nine thousand people. If the amount of money had been spent in any other trade it would have employed sixty thousand people. She had spoken to waterside workers at Lyttelton, and •they had said that they had decided to give a block vote against liquor. These men said-their eyes had been opened to the evils of the trade; and the desire of No-License workers was to open the eyes of tho public. The liquor trade killed more of its workers than any other industry. Scotcli people had always been regarded as being particularly careful about money, and she was astonished that it had taken so long to convince, the Scotch people of the waste of money resulting from the encouragement of the liquor trade. Beyond the great waste of money which was caused, the great loss of life was appalling. Despite the great degree of misery in the Glasgow slums, the fact remained that there was more drinking being done in New Zealand than in Scotland. / The annual drink bill in New Zealand Was £3 13s Id, that of i Scotland £2 11s, and England’s was 7s 6d less than New Zealand’s. In New Zealand the bill was £4 3s in license areas and 16s 6d in No-Licenso areas. The. people of New Zealand should not allow the forcing of liquor on them, as had been done in India and Africa. Sho recounted the appeal of an African chief to the people of England to cease sending liquor to his country. She was ashamed to think that a man from Darkest Africa had to make such dn appeal to an enlightened people. Those people on the Trade side who made a great noise about' liberty should take a leaf out of General lan Hamilton’s book, the General having taken a pledge of abstinence, not because ho himself could not resist drink, but merely as an example to others and for the benefit of the race. A great number of officers who had been through the South African War came back convinced in favour of temperance. They reported that on tho march in Africa certain men fell out. V These were not the long, or the short, the lean or the stout, but, in almost all cases were those addicted to drink. The lecturer quoted tho case of a licensee in the south who had informed her that he desired to get out of the business, and she was sure there were a number of others who were sick ol tho business. She stated that at Home her parish council rate was 2s lid, and the Glasgow City rate was 3s lid; but if it were not for tho ' drink traffic the parish could get along with a rate of lid, and the city with a rate of Is sd. The conditions, she thought, would lie much the same in New Zealand. She had visited the prison camp at Hanmcr, and without an exception all the men

sho met there had started ihe-ir downward career through drink. She had visited other gaols, and her experience in each had been much the same. In New Zealand tho people spent about six millions for the purpose of getting revenue of £750,000, which aid not

seem very gobd business. It was not poverty which caused drinking in Now Zealand, but drinking was causing poverty. There were children being brought into the world who would probably become a charge on the State because their parents, througn drink, were not doing, their duty by them. This was a very sei ious matter—probably more serious than people recognised. People who wore not quite convinced about No-Licenso snould take a trip to Invercargill, where business was very brisk. During next year a sum of £130,000 was to bo spent on buildings in Invercargill, one building being a big private hotel. That did not seem to indicate a bad state of business. At Bluff two prohibition butchers were boycotted by tho hotels, and a now Ipi+cner started in business with a promise of all the hotel trade; but the notel trade was not sufficient to provide a living for the butcher, who lost all tho motley ho had put into the business. Thereafter the prohibition butchers were able to dictate to tho hotels and make them pay tho same price for their meat as other people, it had been stated that No-Licenso was a failure in Ashburton, but this was not so. In the train near Ashburton a man told her that in Ashburton a groat many houses of ill-fame had sprung up as a result of No-Licenso; but enquiries from tho police elicited tho fact that there were no such houses in Ashburton, and that they could never exist in conjunction with No-Licenso. Further, she had found that tho men who had made tho statement was an agent of the Liquor Party. She had met him again; and chided him for making the statement he did, stating that he had been unfair in endeavouring to mislead women about tho alleged evils of No-License. Tho owners of licenses had used their money in gambling on tho lives of the people. Tho license was granted for one year only, and not for all time; and if licensees lost their means of livelihood by tho vote of the people they should not whine about it, hut should find out some other means of making money. Tho operations of licensees tfere in tho nature of those of men who had betted on horse races and who had to accept the position as it was if the horse failed to win. The Trade were fighting in the interests of their purses, but the No-Liconse people were fighting for the good of the whole community, and she advised all her hearers to decide to strike out the top lino on each voting paper. She thought . . everybody should do so without reading the voting paper, which would Very probably confuse them. A great many mistakes were liable to bo made, but No-License people would serve thr best interests of the party by deciding to strike out both top lines. The. lecturer concluded her remarks with an earnest appeal to her hearers to vote liquor out of tho country, thereby obtaining true liberty, Mr. R. H. Robinson moved a hearty vote of thanks to the lecturer for her lucid, intelligent, and convincing address. He felt sure that if Mrs. Barton could stop in the district until the election No-License would bo carried in the electorate for a certainty. The motion was seconded by Mr. W. E. Porter, and was earned by acclamation. On the motion of Mrs, Barton a vote of thanks was passed to tho Mayor for presiding. Kly r.ij'uiiKt ; *,