EARLY DAYS OF W.C.T.U. IN NEW ZEALAND.

White Ribbon, Volume 35, Issue 408, 18 July 1929, Page 6

EARLY DAYS OF W.C.T.U. IN NEW ZEALAND.

Mrs Peryman lias asked me to record my recollections of the early clays of the New Zealand W.C.T.U. My introduction to the work took place in September, 1885, nine months after my arrival from London. With my brother’s family 1 had recently removed to Invercargill from Balclutha, when an invitation to the monthly meeting was given from the pulpit of the Leet Street Methodist Church. I looked at my sister-in-law and said: “We will go to that meeting,” and we did. Mrs Hinton, of the Baptist Manse, was President, and the pulpit announcement was promptly “hacked up” by a personal call from the Secretary, Mrs C. W. Brown. This lady had for years been a diligent reader of the “Union Signal,” and, after applying to America for further information, she organised a branch (though under another name) which had been working for about twelve months before Mrs Leavitt landed in Auckland, so that all that was necessary was to hand it over to her and affiliate with the rest of the branches. The Treasurer at thit time was Mrs R. P. Magoun, Mrs D. Strang doing very fine work as Collector, Mrs Margaret Lennie being a most enthusiastic member. All these ladies have gone to their reward. Things went on well until the “Melbourne Boom,” which induced a considerable section o' the population of In\ rcargill to “try their luck” in that city. At that time Mrs I*owt 11 was Treasurer and I President, the meetings being held in my brother’s hous“, and sometimes only one other member attending. I remember saying to myself, “Women's Christian Temperance Union —what a high-sounding name for this miserable little society—wo will give it up;” and almost before the thought was formed, 1 had decided, “No! I’ll never give it up as long as on* othee woman will stand by me.” So we held on, and befort long we had the second largest membership in the country. Tlut, suppose we hail disbanded —it is sat»* to say that nolicense in the town would have been put back for many years if, indeed, it had ever been carried. All through the campaign the Union had hern securing from other no-license

areas facts at first-hand, and hammering them into tlie members month by month, until they became household words (an object lesson for prohibition workers). I think it was in 1890 I attended my first Convention, at any rate, it was the year of a Dunedin Exhibition, and about a dozen women met ill the Board Room of the Bible and Tract l>e|H>t. At that Convention a resolution was proposed, providing that no woman should become a member unless she declared her faith in Christ as her Saviour. This was rejected, the result being that Mrs Fulton, of Taieri, then New Zealand President, severed her connection with the Union. 1 think she was succeeded in office by Mrs Parke. It was in the early nineties that we learned, that every week girls landed in Invercargill absolutely without resources, and too often the streets were the only refuge. Sergeant McDonnell—good man—had done his best to save them, and thankful was he when we said, “Send them to us.” Our first girl was sent to wait upon an invalid member, some of us supplying her with pocket-money until the money for her fares was received from her mother in South Africa. The next step was to rent a cottage and put in a motherly woman as caretaker, and before long the convenient building materialised, which has now been known for years as the Home for Friendless Girls. There was then no idea of taking girls who had “gone wrong,” but they came and they were friendless girls, and very soon a bequest provided a maternity ward and another a verandah nursery. How many girls have been saved from a life of shame, and how many handicapped little children given a good start in life, and how many wanderers led to the feet of Jesus, will never be known until the last day. 1 remember the late Mrs Baird telling me, that in most cases the man who had led a girl astray was taken to court, made to pay expenses, and to provide for the child until the age of fourteen —an excellent deterrent, as a man could not afford too many children on those terms.

One of the earliest efforts was in connection with the Franchise department. We have been told we “got the Franchise too easily,”

Little do those who make that statement know the miles we walked with that petition, and how women of all ages were interested. Some of the best work in Invercargill was done bj a member of my Bible Class, a girl of sixteen, who bombarded her father with questions until she thoroughly understood the subject. Among many other signatures. t«h. secured that of an old lady of ninety. The petition was the largest which had ever been presented to the New Zealand Parliament, it contained 32,000 names. 27.000 of which were secured by the “White Ribbon” army, while the Women's Franchise League came in at the end and did good work. Much of our success was due to the splendid organisation and the winning personality of Mrs K. W. Sheppard (now Mrs LovellSmith) who, throughout, acted hr leader. It was an eventful day in September, 18 93, when the bill conferring the vote upon all women over twenty-one received the signature of the Governor, the right being doubled in value by the fact that the same session of parliament conferred the right of a vote ovt ” the liquor traffic. I remember, Mr< Brown was at our door with a cab at 9 a.m. the next morning, and we signed our claims for enrolment anjd started out to enrol other women, for the time was short—in some parts of the country women sat on the steps of the registrar's office waiting for the opening of the door. The day of small things is past, the days when our Convention was greeted with: “Here's that Hen Convention again," and now ! take >p my “White Ribbon” and greet scor* - of workers, who, during my fifteen years organizing work, became dear and valued friends. To all such may I extend loving greetings.

M. S. POWELL