ON THE EVE OF THE BATTLE.

White Ribbon, Volume 17, Issue 197, 17 November 1911, Page 9

ON THE EVE OF THE BATTLE.

13 Littlehourne Crescent, Dunedin. Nov. 3, 1911. Dear Crusaders, This is probably the last time 1 shall send a word of greeting to you on behalf of our Women’s Crusade, for before the next issue is in print the tight will most likely he over. The burning question which is now uppermost in our minds is: What will the issue of the conflict be? Shall we win the victory? The answer rests largely w ith the women of the Dominion. Remember the last clause of our Crusader’s pledge : / will try to induce others to vote for No-License and Dominion Prohibition If from now on to the polling-day every woman induces one other and she in turn influences only one more, we shall easily win the victory.

Dear Fellow-Crusaders, we are fighting in a cause worthy of our highest endeavour, worthy of the very best we can put into it. Are we prepared for sacrifice? Are we ready for any manner of service, wherever our Captain may beckon us ? Remember ever that the Lord our God, He it is that doth go before us. Our Great Leader is counting on the help of the women of New Zealand. Let it not he laid to our charge th«_u we came not to the help of the Lord against the mighty. In the recent tight and victory in Maine, Mrs Lilian Stevens, President of the Maine W.C.T.LL and General-in-Chief of the White Ribbon Army of the United States, said that any Maine Union which had any money left in its treasury on Sept. 11th or one ounce of strength among its members, would have cause to be ashamed of itself. Are we giving, working, and praying as the women of Maine did? One prominent fea-

ture of the Maine victory was the holding of Prayer-meetings every evening On election day some Churches were open all day and continuous prayer-meetings were held from six in the morning with an hourly change of leader and an hourly ringing of the Church bell. Now is the time to prove the faithfulness of our God. We KNOW that God is on our side: therefore we should march forward with confidence of victory. Let us wait on God in earnest expectancy while we do our utmost to achieve the victory we desire. It was stated almost without exception by the papers of Maine that the women had been the biggest factor in the great campaign and in the winning of victory. One of the papers made this comment before the final results appeared :

“ The women have been aroused. They have appealed to moral sentiment. And moral sentiment isgoing to conquer. If Prohibition triumphs, it will be due to the women. W hen the women appeal to moral sentiment as they have appealed in Maine, the battle is more than half won." Shall the women of New Zealand lag behind the women of Maine in enthusiasm and moral courage, and above all in a sublime faith in God ? They won in the face of a terrible assault by the liquor makers and liquor sellers, and their victory is proof that greater is He that is with us than those tha* be against us. The final overthrow of the drink traffic in these fair Islands is as sure as the fact that (Jod is on the Throne and that His cause must triumph. For right is right, since God is God, And right the day must win ; To doubt would he disloyalty, To falter would he sin.

Let us see to it that we are found fighting on the side of God. On whom * side am YOU i Yours in the fight, Annie J. P. Driver. Sui t. of Women’s Crusade.