A Resident’s View of “No-License.”

White Ribbon, Volume 11, Issue 126, 15 November 1905, Page 3

A Resident’s View of “No-License.”

To the great majority of people the hope of seeing “ No license a fact, and not a “ fad,” is still in the future ; hut to us in the Ashburton Electorate it is a reality which we enjoy very much, and are not for one moment expecting to give up when the issue is again put to the test of the poll. The writer lived, previous to coming to Ashburton eighteen months ago, in a town which was a hot-bed of drunkenness ; where Sunday was spoiled for those who lived in the place by the crowds of excursionists and pleasureseekers who came in five-car tramloads every hour. The man or woman who ventured out would l>e saddened and disgusted by meeting, in one short walk, sever'd, and often many, young men, reeling along with ribald mirth and noisy laughter. No w'ords c&w express the sense of decorum and calm of an Ashburton Sunday after those spent for nearly seven years in Sumner. • Certainly, there are groups of young lads and men at the street corners, and one wishes they could be won to go to church. But, beyond an occasional cheeky

word to the passer-by, and the customary aimless stare, there is nothing objectionable in their behaviour. The churches are all well filled, in one case to overflowing ; whether NoLicense has anything to do with it I cannot say.

Perhaps the most noticeable improvement is the absence of ill-smelling corners. Accustomed as most people are to having their senses nauseated at each bar-corner, it is most refreshing and surprising to pass the erstwhile unsavoury door, and find the atmosphere free from the objectionable odour.

There is, of course, the formidable bogey of sly grog selling to contend with. That it exists no one can deny, but it existed before No-License became a law here. \Vhere\er there is a law, some few will always be found who delight to break it. Notwithstanding this evil, as someone pertinently remarked, ioo sly grog shops do not contain the element of temptation of one open bar, for it is only the inveterate drinker who will stoop to skulk about in questionable places to obtain the stimulant to which he has so long been addicted. What we in Ashburton need more than anything else is for the electorates on either side of us to carry No License also. If this could be attained, and we could ensure a just enforcement of the law, sly grog-selling would soon be no more nor less prevalent than other misdemeano jrs.

Meantime we are working hard, and expecting, by a substantial addition to our numbers, to prove in the best way possible how great a success we know it to be. G* L. M., President Ashburton W.C.T.U.