The Truth About No-License

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume V, Issue 1458, 17 October 1905, Page 2

The Truth About No-License

; ; • •• s'.v.v,v Address by Mr Qixon Ward Last night thore was a crowded audience in the Academy of Mueic ,to hoar an addreas by.Mr J. Dixon Ward on "The Tnitb About No-License." His Worship; tho Mayor, Mr T. Gilmoui', presided. In introducing the spoabcr the Mayor said that they had heard sevnral lootures on the subject frotn a prohibitionist point of view, and that night thoy were to.hoar tlio otlicr side of the question which lie though* was only fair. Ho felt sure, from ; whftt ho had - loomed,' that'the subject would brf dealt with in an able manner. Ho therefore had much pleasure in indeducing to tbo audience Mr J, l)ixon Ward.: Mr. Ward was greeted with applause. He said ho whs pleased to have the opportunity of addressing the Waibi public. For. ssmo yours past lecturers, including some ladios, had beon addresMng Wnihi and othor places on the no-license v question, always from a teetotal view, until many people began to thiuk ihero was only ' one side to the question—ilie 'teetotal side. ,Ho would show them that there was another side to tlio question—iho anti-prohibition side, which, he would venture to say, was supported by Scripture, by i morality, by logic, by justioe, niid by the bulk of . the eminent men of fho world. It wiuld be hia. purpose",' therefore, to Bhow 'that com-' pulsory total abatinonce asprovidod bythe Now Zealand no-license law was (!) un-scriptural;' (2). prejudicial to piiblio health; (B) opposed to the liberty of thi eubjccfc; (4) dangerous to public morals and disrespectful to the public law. A number of ministers of religion bad taken up tbono-liconsa qnesquestion, and preached it from their pulpits, using texts in suppoit of tbeir views. Some of I hem had abandoned parish work and boootno no-liocnso lecturer, to whicb. of oouree, tbero could bo no objection; l v, •: thoro was a very strong objection to to; using of Christian pulpits to <tatniuCi:; political viows which wore by the Biblo. Be wished to emphasiso the fact that ho had tho very highest re?-: peefc for minislots of religion of all minatioDS, bui there were clergymen, preaohing politics ■ from-■ their-pulpit# under a strong political bias, which was having a very pernicious • influence on. the minds of their congregations. Ho would give an example of wlmt he meant. Ho'had heard a teetotal minister delivering a no-licenßo sermon from'tho last chapter of Proverbs—4th, and flth versos-"It is not for kings, 0 Lemuel, it is not for kings, to drink wine, nor I princes strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law and perver! the judg- . ment of any* of tho afflicted." A most touching deliveienoe wa9 made from;! these words, Now, the fact was that the reverend gontleman had divested the parssgo of its context, and so extracted a meaning wholly ropugnant to the words of iHoly Writ. ' Now, he would read the two following verses: " Give strong drink to him that is ready to porish, and wine iinto thoso that bo of heavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remembor his misery no mora." It would be very obvious that the proacher suppressed the truth by of admonitions of tbe sacred 'writer, in order I to deduce a conclusion that was' absolute--1) false, or, in other words, his strong , mental bias, substituted Mb oWn political views for tho wci'ds.of the Bible, For this clws of clergyman," while he had respect for their earnestness, ho could have no resped, for their judgment, and it was unfortunate that thoy unconsciously promuV gated'untruths. . j It was a fact total abstinence in j certain isolutod cises wao enjoined by the Scripturos, For instance, Jowish pries;* were prohibited fiom the U3O of winu while in tho Rcryice of tho sanctuary, and Nazsritos woro total abstainer?, subject to certain modifications'. Jonadab, the son of Richab; commanded his descendants, •'Yo sba'l drink no wine, neither ye nor your eons, for ever.". Bo had heard that commandment used • as a text for a nolicense sermon, Here again tlisj preacher ignoted the, • context, . which was, os follows" Neither shall jo build houses, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyards, nor have any, but all your, days ye shall dwell in tent?." It would bo evident to bis hearers tha;if the first command was universally obligatory,' so- also was the latter; so he would ask his teetotal friend' to givo ap farming, to abandon their house! l , and go out into the wilder- j nes?, spend the remainder of their lives in' tent', and leave tbe rent of the community free from their interference. The real fact was thflt the Old Testament condemned drunkenness as it condemned all other excesses, but it,taught that winp was 1 a good creaturo of God, to be rightly: used both for health and enjoyment. He would mention ' a few instances. Tbe Psalmist sang tho praise of "Wine that mafeetb' glad tbo heart of man';" Jacob blest with corn and wino; Nehemiah, in counting his blessings, spoke of" ifee of all sorts of wine," Fiuthor, that" one? in ten days this store was replenft'id," Evidently Nehemiah was not a teeto.aller. All sorts ofr ,wine' he bad mentioned probably mcludcdS'ot only grape win<vb';t akobeer ahd sprit's. The lecturer showed that inibot age beer (the b tr'ey wine of .the ancients) was mod in all the countries surrounding Palestine. Alio, that spirits were distilled in India and Ceylon from uie remotest antiquity, and seaborne commerce from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean was well-organised by way of Pbaronn Necho's Canal Also, there' was an overland trade by moans of caravans. He would challenge aoyminißtor of religion I oprovo that there was any foundation for the.tctal abstinence theory in the Old Testament, and he averred that any minister who pretended Biich .an authority was misusing his pulpit, The New Testament was equally devoid of any such authority. There was all the evidence needed to show that Jesus, was an habitual user of alcholio wine.' His first miracle was to convert water into wine. Ai examination of the Jext would fehow that the ruler of the feast was well ' aware of the effect of alcohol on tho palate, and after men had well drunk, a wino of inferior quality might be given and go i>n- - detected; but tho ruler of the gave as hisjudgmont tbat "Thou hast kept tho good wino until now." If this good wine was, as his teetotal! friends' stated, unfermented grapo juioo, the rulov would not ' I'ave made use of these words, nor w^uld tho guests havo consumed it, recognising 1 at once that it was not tbe wine at all as 1 customarily used in those Jewish feasts, 1 whioh frequency lasted several days. , j At the institution of the Last Sapper f Jesas gave tho cup, saying, "Drink ' of this. I say unto you I will not drink 1 hencolorth of this fruit of tho vine until j that day I drink it now with you in my 1 Father's kingdom.'! And again': -"Do j this in remembrance of . me," Here wo ' havo Josua inatitu'iing a ceremony in,, j whioh wino bistd copspicuoua j a ceremony to ; be continued , through all , the ages'of Christianity. Some of his teetotal friends interpreted the wholo pas- ■ Bageby the word /icw,' Ho would show presently that their argument was base o loss. On an earlier occasion Josup, rebijking tho unbelief of tbe Jews, used those ■ words: " John tho Baptist oame neithor, . eating bread nor diinljing wine, and yo \ say he hatha devil. The fcW of Mania comeMiiog and drinking, andyesiy '! Be- .0 hold a man, gluHonous %nd a wino-bibber,, J 1 a companion of publicans .and, Biuners,"; .jj In tho passage quoted their .was _ #ll th;' } evidence that tbe Eedeemor, living in a ' wine-drinkiog country,'lived as thepopu- $ lace lived, and drank the hovcra™ thoy o drank, ' ' l | '[> g BilllllllllifiJiSi

Be tytult] now direct , their aUebtioti to, thefiretday of; Penifcco s having receive Jthe -.gift of "ioogUdß, ■■■ tonisbed < thomiiltitude, who volunteered various explnuai ions; •. Some said,'; mockingly, "These men aro full of now wine/; Now, if new wine./was the harmless ex- , pressed grape juice that bis teetotal friends spoke of, there would have been no war-1 canty for the mocking assumption. Peter recognised the accusation, and repljod," These men aro not ihunhn, ns yo suppose," It was quite, clear that his toetotal friends were wrong, and that tho new wine of tho Bible did intoxioftto if takon to excefs. Just oiio other ijistanco. Paul, writing 'to the/First Bishop of Bphesus, i and sptaking of the qualifications of an aspirant to that office,- anid amongst other things ho should he " not given to wine." Mr, Ward said ho had heard ' a very eloquent sermon preached from tfao3e four word?, but it would bo pla'n that the expression convened tbe same meaning that it now conveyed in plain English—which was that a bishop should not use wine to.oxotßs, This was abundantly proven by a subsequent letter to tbo same man,', in.whiohPaul'advisedTiraolhy to " drinkno longer water; but take a little wine for tliy.stomobli's sako and thine often infirmities."; Teetotal speakers usually dodged the position by asking anyone who quoted the wordsi "Aro-you Timothy, for if yon: ace not it does not apply to you." (Liughter arid applause). The speaker said that if it was right for ♦no-licenso ex i ponentß tci iiidividua'ise, and localise awkward ti-xts, it would bo equally correct, for any interpreter of the Sacred Writings to treat other texts in a Bimilar unmner, .and we might say that the words, "Bohevein the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved," Bpoken to the jailer of Pltillipi, also iho words," Follow me and. I will make you fishers of lo the sons of Zobedee, were ouly applicable to the persons to wtioiri they were utter* d Are yon the jailer of Phillipi?" "No Then it doosn't refer to you,(Laughter) " Are you one of the sons of Zobedee ? "No t" M Then it does not apply to yon," (Laughter). Teetotalers had thus given them, a method by which they coul J interpret right out of existence till the grand texts that had juatained the Christian Church in all ages. It was mean-it was dishonest—it was despicable—and: no words could bo Jonnd strong enough to condemn it, (Applause). Now, he would cbtego any minister of religion, to show that the New Testament Inculcated tbo; teetotal heresy. Prohibitionist lecturers not only suppressed the meaning of Seripluro, but they .were also' anxiouß to suppress any truth appearing in tho current literature of the day that condemned thoir fad. . Recently si prominent American journalist, interviewed in Aaoklaid, ■ uubcsitaupgly condenied the results. of prohibition in America. 1 A No-License Conference 1 met shortly afterwards, and passed the following resolutiop. "That fie' conference regrets the publication of an interview with Mr Ltfiingwell, thus enabling the liquor people to use the influence of tho paper? to uphold a system which' is a m.enaco to the best interests of tho .commonwealth." Of course they regretted it —they regretted tho publication of the truth. (Applause). The'truth was unpalatable, to the no-licenso gentry. (Applause,) The prominont prohibitionists in the churches had degenerated into,self constituted spies, and published misleading figures in support of their nefarious desigDS oh the liberties/of. the people. ,He quoted from the Daily Telkoiuph the following message from WellingtonOn Suadiy, toptember 30tb, the Council ol Churches set a watch on 111 hotels in the city irom 9 p.m. to 10,15 p.of., io order . to ascertain the number oi customers of the hotels' between the hours mentioned, Only those who camoout of the hotels were counted, and in the time stated 7886 men and 404 women emerged." It would bo hard.to find a meaner attempt to misload the pooplo by a, misuse of figurbs. Tho Council of. the Churches must have known-tbat in the hotels of Wellington thet'C would probably bo; on Saturday 2000 boardors, a largo proportion of whom would emerge. from tbo hotels. These boarders would receive visits from friends aggregating more-than the total number of boarders. Many young men and youths yisited the ■ billiard rooms,—in foot, frequently there were more people in the billiard room than in She bar, There were saveral hundred; domestic? in the'hotels who would go out for an airing. They could imagine one of these despioablo spies standing in the shadow, and, witli pencil in hand, adding these , boarders to the lists of "drunks'" (Laughter), Tho spaaket' had as many us eleven visitors to his hotel the ;kt night ho was in Auckland, If the spies, had been' out •' those eleven would have been added to the lists of drunks. (Applause and laughter). Tho billard-playing youths would have been on the saaiQ list. (More laughter), The innocant domestics, strolling out with their sweethearts furnished a horrible example of the increase of female depravity. (Much laughter,) , ;: To make a fair deduction from the 7 ,100 of the Council, about .75 per cent, of tho total must'be eliminated, leaving about iOOO who went in to drink beer. Thoy would bd mostly working mon v taking a little recreation after a hard week's toil. 5 hey deserved their enjoyment and refreshment,- and it was an iniquitous movement that sought to deprive them of it, (Applause,) ' Tho leoluror proceeded to prove that tho adoption ofa no-license law was prejudicial ti) public health, The alcohol-using nations of Europe had surpassed tbe Mohammedan nations in .literature, in art, in soieoce, and in war. The wine-drinking,nations wore still enjoying the virility of youth. '..Taking tho .people of European extraction, facts and figures wero'accumulating, demonstrating conclusively that the users i of alcohol did better work, were healthier, and lived longer (ban the water-drinkora. Teetotal lecturers had been telling the country of Sir. Frederiok Treves' condemnation of alcohol, but equally eminent men, in the proportion of four>or five to one, had given an emphatic opihiou" in- favour of / the moderate use of alcohol,: '. The: lecturer then quoted from Sir James Paget, Dr. Louder Brunton, Dr, Bomae Button, and others, tbo quotations, being received with applause and some interruption., ■ ■The speaker,olaimed that he wostho )n ly temperance leoturei in New Zoaland, wd be bad both fc'cripinral and medical rothoritiCß to support his position. His jpponents had neither, ;■ .(Applause),; vfeasrs, Kowntrce and Bher\vell were juoted in proof that under prohibition irtinkenness had increased in prohibited iteas in America. The latest available inures showed lift the arrests for Portand Miine, were 42porthousand, whilst in Auckland thoy were 12 per thousand! both iltios being seaports and with nc appioxiiiately equal foreign commerce,, It had . leen asserted that untold thousands, of icoplo in tbo United S'ates went down mo drunkards''graves. The faces were hat not one-quarter; of one per cent, of tho otal (loathft wero due to alcohol. In 1900 : he deaths from alcohol iu Maine, Now Jampsbire and Vermont, : after prohibit , ion for 40 years, was 2.41 per thousand, whilst the avorago deaths from the sauio* ; Huso in lon licensed 'States was . 1,63 per liousand,, It was* manifest that prohibt- \ on did not prohibit, and the public health: < ias suffering under this objeotiouablo law. ■ \pplouso). Prohibition was opfoted to the liberty [ tho subject. a priceless oritage,,won after centurjca of struggle, ad ivith the effusion of oooana of blood. \ t was not ouis to givo away) but a trust ibe banded down to Us lqstro 1 > lits scope unHmitd,-|vNo-llcense etriick; <■ I the very toot of perVjiial lljiottyr' (Ap- ; i -A*

coin, and others of his. tention.' Liberty also Included the^niflfu, L? Ed, The no license law,.confiscated' ; property, Tbe Government bed encouraged winegrowing in the poor, lands of thi ' • •K.orth.^a-Sriumbei^of'/thev^sjpißli^settl^ wino-growing industry, flie law confisosted their propeity. Waß that British (> . llistice? Was it fairway? Nol Every ; < principle of British justice, every instinct ' ' of right,, demanded t that ,all theso, men , should bo fully, compensated. . ( (Applause, and dis'oni.) 1 > The experionco of America showod that ' 1 ' whorover this law had been carried it was i dangerous to public morals and jbad begotton a disrsspeet lor law. Alarge minority would not acquiesce in a law which deprived them of the right of saying what : ' thoir food should be, i'he law was a t \ ! langhing-stook. ' '1 j • He would toll them a : etory of a New .. : I Zoalander passir:® through a prohibition ' I State. - .An Auckland friond of his travelI lint; in a prohibited S'ato in America, with letters of introduction to a leading citizen, was invited to spend tbp day with ' * i that citizen; Just before' dinner, tbe host. , beckoned him into the ofiiA, shut tbe door,and asked, "Like an appeiiiser?" ' , His Iriend replied," Don't tantalise. This is a prohibited State/' „ "0, that's all ; - right; I keep a bottle of whisky for my : :j •, own use. Nobody knows anything ebont' . ' i it, not even my wife," /fnd out of a secret. pbico ■ ho produced the. bottle, whi h.; • .; ; ■ both onjoyed, After dinner the hostess beckoned him aside.:/"Like a iitlie liqueur ? I always take gome after dinner,,. Nobody know? anything aboutit, not even my husband. I just keep it for my special friends." And out of a secret nook she k v produced a bottle of cherry : biantly. Later - the groom took him for b drive, and, being . ! !- a very affnble feilo'w, was wrell tipped. As 1 his friend alighted the groom looked mystoriously round and beckoned him into the stable. "Begpardon, sir, but you're a rea| toff. I've a special .bottle pi whisky : here, No ono knows 'anything' about it, not even the master or tbe missus.'? And '• out ofa ounning biding placo he produced tho grateful cordial. His friend next proceeded to the billiard room to ha\ e'a game with tho,eldest boy (about'l7 years), Jast ; before starting play tbo. youth remarked, " Say, old pony, like a juice'? 'I always ■ keep a bottle for decent pals. The old ■ ■, ; . peoplo haven't it isuapicion of it:" And from a most irinoccnt.. looking place lie produced the comfort.' (Laughter), . The hypccricy. of prohibition—tho l.umfiiig of it—the pretence, tho dishonesty. (Applause)./, With all the;e object lessons bis r teetotal triends still persisted in remaining ' blind. Vlt waslimpossiolo to get an honest verdict from such biased persons. (Ap- 1 plause). . .. ; Here was'Wholosole contempt for an in- / iqultous .(Applause.)'And it also: - opened the way for increasing' the deathrace from alcohol, which placed tbo licensed States in an enviable position. (Applause ond cc,ie3 of Give ua New Zealnnd,") Ho would do.. so. He would . tell them f abotitishbnrton N It was a good place for botlle collectors, (Liughter.) One man in ' five month's had. collected 13,600, bottles thai; had. contained beer, whisky, and brandy,'/Another J collector; in three . ' months had accumulated 6,000 whisky bottles, all from private houses; . !Ho : li«i^ in Ashburton, (Laughter).- The taetotal fraternity paraded .tbe decreased convictions; for drnckennessi but the bulk of thoso convictions had been station and -farm 'hands v and bush workers, who': simply went to . - : other phees or imported ! intoxicants inw-,, .■ bulk. The : exerciso of comtjpnjtnse would show that police. statistics v |d no proof of diminution of drunkenness. The prosperity of the town had been paraded • by teetotal but the per centage increase of rateable property .had beeti/iciual-, ly reduced since no-lioense.; •; Ashburton - ( : would 1 probably repoat. tho: experience of 'America. 1 . 7 Uiider. tho .plea of ;, saving the yyoutha they W6te thrusting them into •' . greater danger, for.:tio one could doubt that . ' MrrepHtioiis iiippiogJn the. hoino wonld ' lay. lheAfountJaVion of drunkea ba'oits tnuoh iiioro readily than open drinking in in ao hotel bar. • In conclusion, he said-he thought he had shown tbat.ihe teetotal arguments had no Scriptural-basiv andV therefore were j anti-Christian; they were illogical, opposedl, to .tho medical .opinion,, a groj's violation of liberty, and in every ■ rospoct a substitution of emotionalism for I . . : calm reasoning ;'and be . would call upon ' thotn, in the name of Christianity, of jus- >. tioe, of liberty,' and of. publio mornla, to - vote down :' No-License." (Appkuso). v ,-. QUESTIONS. What grounds have you in snjpoit of- .' > yiur strictures on prohibition parsons, 1 whom you say do hot tell tho truth ? Snrcly he was riolit in-saying that thoy were ■■.;••• . dominated'byastrong'mental bias when , they wholo of the Biblical teaching .v concerning • temperancoi and promulgated abatinence whioh had no Biblical fonndationi I Their anxiety, to v - v suppresßcurrent-knowle'dgo, asi contained in tho newspapers and. statistical. returns, proved his charge 'up to tbo (Ap. planse.) What theological school did you graduate in ?—He had sumo training. in the Chutch : of' England College, btft did not take ' orders. Questioner: "ft iB a pity yon did not ■ • take orders." " Yes, it is a pity,'for you . are the poisoner, and if I were in the : i pulpit now I-would be the antidote," . : : 's (Laughter). , Can you point to a single death from -if, alcohol in.Ashburton since no-license was > it; carried ?'Answer: "Can Jonfurnish.me ■-. with tlio nauoo of a single person wbb died through alcohol during the two and a half- : .rx* years preceding no'liccnse ?" I If,no-licenso tncrtaws the sale of drink, m i why are you fighting against it?-" I did not say it increased the sale of drink.; I .said it decreased the Eale of healthy wine - and ales and increased .the consumption . .. of 11 chain lightning" wbifky, frequently produced by illicit stills—(laughter)— , . and he he wished to'protect the health ot u *"~ tho people and tbe rovenuc; i t '.- , , i ' a, • You claim to be a temperance lecturer, , ' , Wbal temjSeranoe society, pays you ?—I claim to bo tho-only. temperance lecturer • m Now Zealand, My opponents teach abstinence. I preached temper*' ' ancein Auckland in November last. I 'y dejiated the queation of Temperance versus Absttnenco at Easter last, and. again ■ two ' months ago. Within the last fcw N weeks \ the Licensed Vtotnalkra' Association en- ' m, gaged mo'and are paying me; and tho ]'V money I earn h jtisi as cleanly and honestly earned aa tbe monoy earned by the Bov. Mr. Isitt or any other itinerating ' 1* prohibition parson or lecturer in tho pay v \;f' of the New Zealand A'liance. (Applause.) If wino and beer die good things, why < v } are they not'fold tbe as tea and other commodities ?—Wino and beer are , good thincs, but their sale is licensed in n .C the interests of tho revenue, Pcisonally, ' r«k piovided iho revenue is secure, J have no ■ objection to the oi liquor in shop!, ' * The teetotal people were not to face tins iasue.'whmi "ho license; no liquor" m before. PAi'Uament, voted aga'nst license but m favour liquor,—(Liughter,) % Do jou expect the peoplo of -Waihi,» aelieVo jotir inteipretutton' sent of thbse coming out of hotels in Wel-v Wsm irigton had tot etitorcd for the purpose of' ibtaining drink ?—ln my estimate ?er of sipor cent either,way'dOtß not lut I expect the poopld of sWaihi—Or iny raTe, tho3e, who nbderstnd tnd /Who have|travollcd,VandJ j iyedilif^ v . ot ole—-to 1 'tny^ttSirem^ni J Are yoti prepared'.to .nmAthesßev,':Mr;UßitDoWt»t>j!^^M

iheiflr amln'^Toi: ite r i saues be?'v twe en' MrMsitl atid reIttior^ojjialleiigestbanl'osriaocept,: %Yone ! from Mrs..- Harj;{3oD Lee. igtaphtf lady's groat talents,-. but B ifflfcrtaed the Auckland bracioh of fav Zealand Alliance * that I mast !e to. meet any lady in public debate, im anxious to meet any gentleman ho; ma; put foijwd as theii reptcive, Mr. Isitt preferred, enand whore : does tho libkty ofth/s it begin- and end ?—I eould.tell you rat twenty volomes, but if-vyou- giyfl lestion a spGoifio signification X will 'ou a epeoitie answer. (Laughter,) . ! yonl&ware that tho-liquor, trade the lbweßt percentage;of wages of idustry.paid in Britain ?—lt .is not ■you deduot the initial loading by overnment for revenue purpoßea, and 3e wages'paid in accosaory iodnaivies, as .barley and hop growing, blacking, wheel Wright's work, harness-, ig, and others, lording to John Burns, Labourmom: r;Batterse»; it waj only 7 per cent./ her John.Burns or yourself is mista(Laughter). lat ia the cause, ■of the bulk e . poverty ;im; England.'America, je, • • and • •New j. Zealand ? iw of what, teetotal lecturers have telling,ua,-the question; that $P?\; "drink is the cause. Drink is not the Pf cause.. A lablo was prepared by ; Profossor Warner, of Stanford Ucivereity, Charles Booth, of London, and Mr, Bohmert, inilfeyrestigating causes of poverty in Baltimore, lorkj Boston, Cincinnati, the ."east end of fcondon, and 77 German cities. The figures showed that 20 per cent, of tho worst oases of poverty were due to misqonduot, 75 per cent. ■' were due to mififortnnoi\ and 5 percent, pere unaccounted for.. Of tho 20 percent finder tho head of of misconduot only 11; t pen cent, were attributed to drink. Sappose \ halt of tke unaccounted for wore Ite-vidded, this wor'.d;bring the 11 percent up |gj i'to,lßi per cent. It would be interesting l|kri-.-to traee the ■ (nte'oedents of this 131- per jiient., and we would probably find that Ipkjsthemajority'iof had, norne oonditon i precedent—that, is, the real cause of S'r?Kpoverty, drmk bemg merely ;an aocom-1 praying .result: :?iWe all know that mfatal i domestio:trouble,/physical pain, s&to an insupportable degree, drives mon.to drink/'S.Their deata is attributed to alcohol , i> whpn in reality it: should be attributed to condition precedent. l . (Applause.) *?,. vote of thanks to the speakerwas prcposed■: by .ithe Chairman 'and: carried. by. ,< , acclamation. / j/ ' t Mr/Ward then called a for vote | to the chairman, which was carried by acclamation also. 1 V' ' The address lasted two hours and ai " == ■■