THE CASE AGAINST PROHIBITION.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15992, 8 December 1919, Page 5

THE CASE AGAINST PROHIBITION.

ADDRESS BY MR GEORGE DURHAM.

His Majesty’s Theatre was comfortably filled last evening to bear an address by Mr George Durham. His Wot-" chip tho Mayor presided, and knotty introduced tho speaker. Mr Durham pwd respect to the opinions of the Prohibitionists. He was not there to ridicule, but to argue, Ho stated the claims of the Prohibitionists, and hoped to prove that Prohibition, where it had been tried, instead of lessening tin- evils, had intensified them. Mi- Iturham quoted from tla 1 . American Senate debater, and) gave figures from the Census Bulletin in connection with the death rate, crime, oivorce, insanity, as between Prohibition and license states. Prohibition, he stated, had never- prohibited. Ho emoted American statistics in support of his contention. He told had Prohibition had sent nr. otherwise regulated traffic into -tho sly-grog bouses, had caused thousands of illicit stills, and Honors of bad quality to bo in use. If the amount of liquor consumed were lees, then tho terrible quality of Elicit whiskey mere Ilian equalled the previonw effects of the intemperate drinkers. Ho dealt with tho effect of Prohibition in industrial centres, quoting Mr Gompcrs and Professor Leacock. He dealt trenchantly with the matter of personal liberty, quoting Fant, Mills, and Spencer, and referred to Bishop Magee’s famous declaration, “Bettor England free than England sober/’ Many opinions were quoted of men who had soon Prohibition in Canada and H.S.A. There was a vein of good humour throughout caused by the speaker’s retorts to interjections. After a forcible address tho speaker was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. The meeting dosed with thg National Anthem.