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Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2549, 9 July 1909, Page 4

A NO-LICENSE LEADER. A report published in another column makes clear the cause- which actuated the Rev. F. W. Isitt in retiring from the position of Secretary of tho New Zealand Alliance, and the facts should elicit the wholehearted sympathy of the -community. We have here the position of a man who has literally woi 1-r----ed himself out to the point of complete mental exhaustion in fighting for a great moral reform. For the moment we may set aside the rights and wrongs of the No-license movement, which are frequently the subject of keen debate. The. essential fact is that an exceptionally gifted man thirteen years ago, relinquished every interest-, every personal ambition in order that he 'might throw his whole energies into a movement which at that time was intensely unpopular. Since the date mentioned he has worked unceasingly for the end that seemed to him to bo right, never sparing himself under any circumstances. It would be unreasonable to expect that his aims, and much less his methods, would meet with universal approval, for never yet was reform gained by men whoso methods appealed to the multitude. Yet, .conceding faults that naturally existed with this wellrknown leader, no fair-minded person ean fail to admire the grit with which he fought an apparently hopeless fight, the marvellous energy that never flagged, and the absolute fearlessness of the man. Though lacking the somewhat tempestuous oratory of his brother, the Rev. L. M. Isitt, and the keen incisiveness of Mr T. E. Taylor, he was, nevertheless, a great power on the No-license platform, and he has played a most important part in spreading the propoganda of the-No-license movement. It is off the stage, however, that the Rev. Frank Isitt has been most effective, for, as is well-known to those behind the scenes, he has supplied! the chief motive power which has enabled the movement to obtain and maintain its remarkable vitality. The No-license issue is one of the most important factors that are set down for decision in this country, and with the importance of the stake it is inevitable that the conflict of interests must produce a great fight .with misunderstandings rife on both sides and hitter strife the consequence. Yet with it all there should be room for a chivalrous appreciation of the noblest of human qualities, and we shall voice a general wish when we trust that the trouble which has befallen the Rev. F. AY. Isitt will prove susceptible to the, rest cure and that before long ho will be able, in the full possession of his exceptional abilities, to again take u,p the fight for a great moral reform upon the lines ho conceives to he for the welfare <k->the community.