NOTES ON THE ALLIANCE CONGRESS OF 1915.

White Ribbon, Volume 20, Issue 239, 18 May 1915, Page 1

NOTES ON THE ALLIANCE CONGRESS OF 1915.

The Alliance Congress, of 1915, stands, in many respects, in striking contrast with that of 1914. In tne first place, the number attending was not above half that of last > ear, a fact due partly no doubt to th«* war. partly to the absence of excitement arising from the near approach of the triennial licensing poll, partlv to sii kness and bereavement. Another punt, even more noticeable than th. small attendance, was the entire omission oi public functions. The usual tea-meeting was foregone, no public meetings were held, there was nothing like the “famous march on Parliament” to appeal to the outside public: in fact everything spectacular was carefully avoided, and the attention of delegates was focussed solely < n the business they had come to transact. Accordingly three sessions were held on each of the first two days, and the morning ■•ession of the third da\ concluded the Congress. Tuesday, April 13th, was the opening dav. and the proceedings began at (). ’,(> in St. John’s Schoolroom, with the usual preliminary business, and the presenting of the Annual Report and balance Sheet. The report dealt mainly with the position of the Temperance Cause in New Zealand, specially as shown by the recent licensing poll, and with the hopeful signs of progress in several Kuropcan countries that arc directly affected by the lamentable war. In the discussion that followed, various speakers dwelt on the causes for the decrease in the vote for National Prohibition. and while some spoke in optimistic view, others in pessimistic,

all agreed on the necessity for steady and persistent effort on educative lines for the next three years. There was no need to b;* downhearted, tor while from some points of view there might seem to be a loss, from others there was a decided gain. The afternoon session was devoted to the subject of Education. in con nection with which three good papers

were given. 1 he first, by Mr Maund er, dealt with the education of the young those under 18 years. This being the most impressionable period, it was most important that right instruction should be given on the Temperance question, and the effect of Alcohol on the body, and though Bands of Hope do good, the only effective method of reaching all was through the day school. Clear and definite teaching ought to be given on tim Temperance Wall Sheets, possessed by every school in the Dominion, and this should be a compulsory subject. not left, as at present, to the discretion of the Head Master. He advocated a short course of 5 or to weeks, followed by a break with the subsequent renewal of the teaching, in order to keep the children in an “anti-alcohol” atmosphere. In the course of the discussion it was urged that more attention should be given to Band of Hope work, especially to make it really interesting and instrurtive, with simple experiments showing the deadly character and effects of alcohol. Two resolutions were passed unanimously, one urging the Education Department 10 make Temperance teaching compulsory, and subject to the Inspector’s report, and the other urging the Churches to take up Band of Hope work. Th<* next oaper, read by Mr T. H. Mathieson, .eferred to the best ways of getting hold of the young people between lX and 21 years. T his was difficult, for they were not yet thinking much about the serious thing* of life. Public meetings did not attract them, Church organisations, such as Bible Clas.es reached only a certain number, and only in some of the High

S< hools was temperance instruction given. But the time seemed opportune for a pledge-taking campaign, seeing how much attention had been drawn to the subject by the grave serious danger that now threatens the nation, and by the tine example set by the King and the royal household. Another method th.it had been carried out with good effect in some parts was to have picture show>, with films illustrative of the evil effects of drinking. More could bo done, however, by personal work than in an\ other way, if earnest men and women, conversant with the economic a>pect> of the question, would get in touch with the young people, and bring personal influence to bear. In this connection, a resolution was passed that the Alliance should he asked to prepare a “vest-pocket handbook,*’ giving in compact form, data and statistics, useful tor argument. It was also resolved that the Alliance should send a letter to Christian Kndeavour Societies, and kindred organisations, urging them to take up a pledge-taking campaign

1 He third division of the subject, introduced by Mrs A. K. Atkin>on and Rev. T. H. Radford, related to the training of new-comers. There was no doubt that the No License and the National Prohibition vote was largely influenced by the immigrant section of the population. Those coming from lands that had not Local Option, required instruction a> to their powers and privileges, and as to the position of the temperance question. The new arrivals muit be got hold of, whether by literature, or by a column in the newspaper, or scattered advertisements in the Saturday issue; especially they must be made to understand that the liquor advert isements were totally unreliable. The best way of all was by personal work, and mui h giod could be done in the back-blocks by sending post-cards, leaflets, etc., to the lonely diggers and miners and workers, to whom the arrival of the mail bag has often brought only disappointment. Leaders and sub-leaders might be sent to country papers, many of which would welcome such contributions; and fait* should be re-stated over and over agair. tor the benefit of newcomers. Something might be done before the emigrants started, if there were some one at Home who could *ur ni'h the light kind of information t) those just leaving, and give th »m

matter for reading on board. News might also be sent to the British press, marking any advance made in Prohibition in New Zealand.

The evening session was devoted to tile consideration of literature, and the fir>t subject to be dealt with was the “Vanguard.” A well-deserved tribute was paid to the capable and efficient Editor, and various suggestions made for the improvement of the paper, in the opinion of some, it would be better t > have more original articles, contributed by the manv able men to be found in the ranks of the N.Z. Prohibition party, and to compress within narrower limits the clippings dealing with Prohibition i i other lands. There should be more local notes, such .is were already sent in from Auckland and Canterbury, more correspondence of an interesting nature, and stories of N.Z. life. In style it would be an improvement if long articles were broken up into shott sections with striking headlines, and important ♦ruth> and principles might be worked into articles of general interest. Another suggestion was to have a column for Band of Hope work, and corres ponce nee and competitions for children. To improve the circulation, each delegate was asked to secure one new subscriber, and a canvass of those in tue room resulted in some eight or ten being added to the list. Ihe matter ot a Dominion campaign paper was discussed, and the necessity for it was urged. Cheap it must be, but full of facts, a fighting paper to appeal to the rising generation, and its distribution to be as wide as possible by house to nouse visiting. For little or nothing <ould be done through the ordinary press, which was either unttiendly to Prohibition or took up a neutral attitude.

One of the most difficult tasks that the Congress had to perform was to decide upon its legislative policy. A long time was devoted to the discussion of thi>, perhaps the most important business brought before the Congress. K.xcellent addresses were, given by Mr A. S. Adams and by Mr A. R. Atkinson on the reforms needed in Licensing and in Klectoral legislation respectively, but in reference to both it was felt that it would be wise to press the Government, in view of the tremendous strain caused by the proseru European crisis. Accordingly the burning questions that usually provoke long and earnest dis-

cussion were practically held in abeyance. One point, however, as being of special importance while a permanent camp exists for the training of the Territorials, was made the subject of a resolution, aiming at the reduction of hours during which intoxicating liquor can be sold. —lnteresting points were raised in connection with electoral methods, such as the necessity for a longer interval between the closing of the rolls and the date of the election, and the adoption of the principle of polling booth areas, which, as worked in New South Wales, tends to lessen the possibility of impersonation.

Under the heading Organisation, Mr Daniells described some of the difficulties that meet an Organiser in country districts, and the methods of overcoming them ; and Mr L. M. isitt spoke strongly on the necessity for urn easing work in organising the city electorates. W hat we had to do, to recover lost ground, was to get 50,000 more votes. Among the sections of the community the most promising for securing this result were the young people and the women, especially the latter. He made a powerful appeal for educating the women, many of whom wire grossly ignorant of the harm dono to child life by alcohol. This work should prove effective, for women as a class do not drink, and therefore have no personal interest in maintaining the liquor traffic, while their love for children, and the fact that all their interests and hopes centre in the home, are a tremendous lever for gaining their sympathy and support. To this end it was resolved that the Executive of the Alliance, and that of the W.C.T.U., should confer as to the best methods of educating the women of the Dominion on the alcohol question.

The closing session of the Congress was taken up with the discussion of the Budget and the election of President, and with various unfinished business, or special resolutions. Mr Wesley Sprngg had definitely announced his decison not to stand for re-clcction as President, but there was hardly a member of the Congress but hoped he might bo prevailed on to reconsider his decision. When these hopes proved vain, several prominent gentlemen were niminated by ballot, according to the method adopted a*, an earlier sitting of the Congress, and eventually the choice fell on Rev.

•R. S Gray. An appreciative resolution of gratitude was unanimously passed for the retiring President, and after the customary votes of thank* the Cotigress closed. Looking back ovei the proceedings one is glad to note the unanimity with which it was agreed that work for a Licensing Poll must begin immediately after the last poll, not three months before the next one, and -hat the time had tome for active work m a pledge-signing campaign. May the inspiration tiiat springs from such a gathering of earnest workers and the enthusiasm that it evokes be passed on to the thousands of men and women in our Dominion who are pledged to the Temperance cause, and may three years of steady, faithful service be finally crowned with success in the po l] of 1917 l