WHAT DO YOU WANT?

White Ribbon, Volume 30, Issue 346, 18 May 1924, Page 1

WHAT DO YOU WANT?

'l'ln* Secretary of the N.Z. Alliance, Hi* Kev. J. Dawson, left our Prime Minister, Mr Massey, in no doubt as to what the Alliance wants. Clearly, plainly, concisely were the requests of th* Prohibition workers stated. We

know what we want, and we will get it, if the whole strength of the inhibition party fall in behind their leaders. The deputation to the Prime Minister consisted of every member of the Annual Convention. Hon. J. B. Gow,

M.L.C., introduced the deputation. The President of the Alliance, Mr Royds,

spoke very briefly as to the urgency of the need for Prohibition, and then

asked Mr Dawson to present our claims

Firstly, Mr Dawson pointed out that never had we a fair, straight-ou. vote, wet or dry. Always there bud been a handicap; e ther we had to get a three-fifths majority, or we had to

eive compensation, or a third issue was introduced. We asked for a ballot

paper with only two issues upon it, so that the people of this Dominion could vote for Continuance or Prohibition.

«th no handicap at all. Then we ask ed for a clean roll, and to secure this

for what is called precinct voting

If for instance, a voter lived at Ngaio, his name would be* put on the Ngaio section of the Wellington Suburbs Roll, and he would either have to vote at

Ngaio or get an absent voter’s permit, which would be returnable to Ngaio. No voter whose name was on the

Ngaio section could, as now. vote at any polling booth in the Wellington Sub-

urbs electorate. A Roll printed in

sections like this would be much easier to purge than the unwieldy conglomeration of names and places which the present roll consists of. Another request was that licenses should not be redistributed. There are a number of licenses on the West Coast and other places where population has departed, and rye ask that these licenses should not be distributed in residential t suburbs and such like places which arc thickly populated. An alteration was asked in the law so that a Customs oftb i would have no power to license i crewery depot, as had lately been done a Matamata; also that the law should be as far as Matainata is ccncerne-d. The deputation also asked that there should be no increr.se in the facilities for drinking, either in hotel bars or in chibs, and that the promise made to the chiefs to keep the King Country dry should by strictly adhered to. Mr Massey said there probably would be legislation during the coming session upon licensing matters. He could not tell the deputation much, but he agreed with them that a clean roll was very desirable. Mr Dawson had asked that the polls should not be separated, but personally he believed it would be better to take the licensing poll upon a different da. to the Electoral Poll. In all these matters the W.C.T IJ. is in .cordial agreement with the N.Z. Alliance. We ask all our members to watch the legislation introduced, to not** how their member vot ?s upon these questions, and if he votes for a wet policy, see that he never gets their vote again. We must watch the voting re

cord of our members, for it is vitally important that we return men or women to the House who will give us a square deal upon the liquor question. It is even more imperative that when we carry Prohibition we return members *o Parliament pledged to see the law strictly enforced.