The White Ribbon. “For God, and Home, and Humanity” WELLINGTON, APRIL 1, 1947. LICENSING COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS WHY WE OBJECT

White Ribbon, Volume 19, Issue 3, 1 April 1947, Page 4

The White Ribbon. “For God, and Home, and Humanity” WELLINGTON, APRIL 1, 1947. LICENSING COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS WHY WE OBJECT

Mrs. Hiett States Our Position Address given during Convention. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union is opi>osed to the Liquor Traffic because it is non-Christian, it is contrar> to all tliat makes tor a Christian nation. As disciples of the Master Who went about doing good, rescuing the talien, healing all manner of diseases, protecting the weak, and guiding the unwary from the pitfalls of sin, we must take up arms against this enemy of Christ. We are living not only for the present, we are living for the future. Kvcry little life is our concern; therefore we oppose the liquor traffic for what it does to children. One case, which could be repeated many times, is that of three neglected children whose father and mother were constant drinkers. The magistrate,in sentencing them 'aid, "You both drank your money away, and let your children grow up in an extremely neglected condition, and in such * a fashion as no father or mother with any decent instinct, or any love for their children would do.” One child had two abscesses on her head and one on her neck. Another had sores all over his Ik*«lv, The baby had died of neglect. These children and all such are our concern, and yet the Koval Commission

recommends to our Members of Parliament retrograde changes, although acknowledging that drink "has dangerous possibilities." The changes recommended will make drinking easier, more widespread, through which more children will be hurt. Hie repoit itself appears to be a wholesale condemnation ot the liquor trallic, and yet amazing conclusions contained in its recommendations are quite incomprehensible. Iherc are suggestions with which we agree, viz. restrictions on liquor advertising, greater authority 101 Licensing Committees, and especially lor temperance education in the schools, but how the Commission ill the lace oi its own findings recommends making drink still more dangerous to the community is difficult to understand.

As an organization oi women who stand for the moral and spiritual welfare of every man, woman and child, and who realise that every life is our concern, we strongly oppose many of the changes in the licensing system recommended by the Koval Commission.

The recommendation to increase the hours of sale by a i>criod from 8 to 10 p.m. on five nights oi the week means that our streets will be unsafe for young girls and women because of the drunken men turned out of the bars. It means that more little children will be neglected. Since six o’clock closing, our streets have been comparatively free from the objectionable conduct of drunken men. Is it not an absurd suggestion dial longer drinking hours could lead to less drinking?

We opiKjse the sale of liquor in restaurants, R.S.A. clubs and other dubs (even in no-license areas), ami in dance halls. The Commission seems desirous oi making drinking respectable. Friendly bars, nicer accommodation, and various other plans for encouraging young jteople to drink, are suggested.

Drink in restaurants would be most objectionable to a large number of diners and would increase the facilities lor drinking among young people who do not enter public bars. Beer in R.S.A. and other clubs constitutes a dangerous bait to keep drink before youth in the places where they congregate, and drink at dances, at present illegal, is particularly objectionable. It has fieen a problem for the police for years. They know the degradation it brings about. We therefore emphatically protest against

wider scope being given for the consumption oi beverage alcohol in restaurants, ciubs and dance halls; and n such were introduced it would be against the express wish ot our people, which would be intolerable in a democratic country.

The Commission recommends redistribution of licenses. We believe this would be retrograde step, tending to increase facilities for drinking, and would bring this dangerous business into surburban areas which have long been iree lrom the drink menace. Redundant licenses, such as those in existence in old mining towns, should be cancelled and no new licenses should be given to residential areas unless the people living in those areas apply for them. Then the Commission proposes to extend the time between licensing polls to nine years. We are totally opposed to this. The triennial poll helps to prevent excessive violations of the law, owing to the possibility of prohibition being carried. The liquor trade is too dangerous. to go unchecked for so long a period. It would give scope for greater violations of the law than are even now taking place. The Commission, apparently satisfied that the beer now made is satisfactory, yet suggests that its strength should be increased by 1%. We oppose this, as men get drunk on beer as it is. Increasing the strength is only a concession to trade demands, and only means increasing drunkenness.

The recommendations for public ownership of breweries, and for the furtherance of Trust Control will achieve no practical reform. Alcohol is a jkhsoii with dangerous i>ossibilities, and whether sold by State or publican has the same evil results.

Trust Control has not decreased drinking in Invercargill, and has nothing to recommend it in the way of modifying or eliminating drunkenness. We definitely oppose these recommendations In 1884, a solemn pact was made with the Maori chiefs that liquor should never be sold in the King Country. We solemnly protest against the' breaking of that solemn pact. Having regard to the disastrous physical and moral effects of litfiior among the Native iaces, we urge that the petition of the Maori Elders should be honoured, viz. "(1) it is a sacred historic covenant that ha> proved of great value to our people. (2) It is a great and sorely-needed pro-

tcction to us to-day. (3) We are trustees for the future and must hold this great protection for our children.”

These ciders stated over and over again that drink is the greatest enemy to the Maori race. We therefore claim that the N.Z. Government is under a solemn obligation to honour the pact. T. T. Wetere, official representative of the King Country Maoris says: “There are very few in any real Maoris of the King Country who want to break the pact.” This statement was signed by 937 c of the adult population of the King Country, and yet the Commission recommends a vote being taken by pakehas and Maoris in the King Country as to whether or not drink should be on sale. If such a vote were allowed it would be the pakelia vote which would bring in the drink. We arc concerned that these findings of the Commission, if put into action, would be the most retrograde step in living memory, and would wholly favour the Trade, ojiening the door wider for the committing of all that is detrimental to the public welfare.

Then the world food crisis is a tremendous question. Not only now, for the food crisis is not an unusual situation ; it is unusually severe because of all the devastation of war. Two-thirds of the world’s people are chronically undernourished. As the world’s food problem is not easily solved, it would certainly seem that even the most pro-liquor advocate, if he had any thought for his neighbour, would have to concede that no food should go into any unnecessary product, at any period. Millions die every years, apart from war, through undernourishment. If the members of the Royal Commission had g: m cne thought to the world food problem, could they have sent forth these uncalled-for suggestions or recommendations?

The W.C.T.U. is committed to the abolition of the liquor traffic. We are fully aware of the hold and of the power it has over a majority of the people of our land, upon many members of Parliament. We are banded together in the name of the Lord of Hosts to resist all endeavours to entrench the liquor more firmly in New Zealand, and we give our hands, our heads, our hearts to this holy crusade to rid our homes and cur land of this devastating power of evil. We should be encouraged in our determination by knowing that one-third of the U.S.vU voters arc for prohibition. That means that more than 20,000,000 vote for prohibition, and the numbers are increasing. Every new member we gain is a direct blow to the liquor traffic, so let us go all out for new members, and defeat the powers of evil, whether Royal Commission recommendations, advertisements, or propaganda in favour of drink. We are "Standing by a purpose true Heeding God’s command” in this glorious enterprise to make New Zealand dry; in our building up of a Christian nation. Our motto still stands, “For God, Home and Humanity.”