NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3313, 4 September 1911, Page 3

NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

OPEN-ASR GATHERING.

ADDRESS BY REV. H. L. BLAMIRES

_Am open-air meeting under the auspices of fib© No-license League was held a.t the Sievwaight Memorial on Saruudav evening. The Rev J. A. Liochore presided, and introduced till© speaker, saying that once again they were getting near the time when they would be asked to ! pass their votes om the liquor question, and it was the intention 1 of the no-license supporters to "hold such, open-air meetings from time, to- time.

'The Rev. H. L. Blamires. of Napier, wile was greeted by a. fairly large crowd, said that he was delighted to have the opportunity of speaking to the people of this rapidly rising town. He had visited Gisborne some years ago, when the town was made up of a comparative. lew scattered houses, and ho was delighted with the prosperity he. saw on. every hand. There- were, howover, one or twio evidences that were not tokens of prosperity. The hotel bars remained, and when he was coming ashore from the steamer that morning lie bad noticed a solid looking' new building: near the beach, and when he asked what- it was he was told that it vvas the gaol. He remarked at- that time that it was a pity mo-license had not been carried in Gisborne three or six years ago, and he was of opinion that in that case no gaol would have been required. The speaker went on to say that in. his opinion one of the greatest hindrances to progress was the legalised liquor traffic, and it was their aim to remove it. This year the neople had .a, greater opportunity than they ever had before to deal with the liquor question, and they could vote for either 1 no-license on national prohibition o/rbo th. The speaker them referred i.m t-urm to the barmaid question - , bottle licenses, 10 o’clock closing, and the statutory ago at which it was legal to supply liquor, saying that the legislators were growing in. wisdom, and they bad blocked the thousands of young men in tins country from legally procuring the liquor which so- often brought about their downfall. In the fight before them they had against them all the vested interest, and on. that aicceunt Hi a struggle was going to be. a- bitter one. He a'so- spoke on the evils of the “shouting” system by which, he- said, people, poured down their throats what it would have been better to have- poured down a gutter. Referring to “dry” districts, he said that- they had the testimony of the country’s judges that there was a great diminution, of crime in- the no-license districts. Mr. Blamires then went on to compare the criminal statistics of license and nolicense districts, and quoted the figures of the various “dry” districts as compared with those of centres where license still obtained. Regarding the relation: of labor to the liquor trade, he was glad that such a mam as Professor Mills was advocating that the working man should vote for mo-license and -rohibition in the interest of the Dominion as a whe-'e. There was a time when the working-man cried out about the no-license fanatic, but that view bad been changed to-dav. and many of the greatest labor leaders were strong prohibitionists. The -speaker then dealt with the economic aspect of the liquor traffic, and '•’•noted the figures of Sir Thomas Whittaker at some length. Tho ■annual drink bill of Breat Britain was, lie stated, equivalent to one-third of the total land value of the countries comprising the British Isles, ar.-d two and a half times as much was spent- mm mur-or annua.v' - as was spent on the army and navy. Furthermore, lie stater* 'tire neonle of Great Britain- suen-t twice as much on- liquor as they did on bread, and thirteen times as much as on education.

In answer go a ouestion, the sneaker said he had been in many of the i:nlicense districts, which he enumerated, and he -was satisfied that very little drunkenness was to be found there. He concluded bis address by saving that .’there could not be the slightest doubt that there had been-a great diminution in the amount of liquor consumed in these areas.