The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1908-09-26 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING.  Under the auspices of the South Trammere Gospel Total Abstinence Society, an enthusiastic demonstration. in support of the Licensing Bill was held in the Music Hall, Old Chester-road, on Saturday evening.  I The Rer. G. D. Oakley (vicar of St. Mary's Church) presided, and said he was glad to do what little he could to promote this measure in order that it might become the law of the land. They looked around I in Birkenhead and saw and heard of a 'great deal of poverty and distress, and then , they thought of the millions which were being spent year by year in the country in strong drink. If 167 minions of money spent every year in drink were spent in food and clothing and furniture, hoe much brighter and happier the people would be (hear, hear). In St. Mary's parish there was rile public-house to every 167 persons, including total abstainers and children. When he looked behind all the misery and poverty, he saw only too plainly what the cause was. It was excessive drinking largely induced by the terrible facilities which existed on every hand. If they could succeed in lessening these facilities I they would in the long run lessen the drinkin f the country (applause). l'hce Uglrevals o .C. C. Goodlet proposed the following resolution :—" That this meeting ex- I presses its hearty approval of the general ' principles of the Licensing Bill, and trusts that the Government will allow nothing to prevent the passing of this great temperance measure into law during the autumn' session of Parliament, and that copies of , the resolution be sent to the Prime Minister (the Right Hon. H. H. Asquith). the Home Secretary (the Right Hon. H. J. Gladstone), the Right Hon. A. J. Balfour. the Right Hon. Earl Crewe, the Right Hon. Lord Lansdowne. and Mr. H. Vivian. M.P." The speaker said he believed in endeavouring to have the Bill passed into law, because he believed it was the right and the duty of a free people to promote measures which made for the moral and social wellbeing of the people (applause). This measure would certainly tend towards this end. I The Act of 1904 was morally wrong. and I should never have been passed into law (hear, hear). It was therefore their bounden duty to have that wrong remedied, and seeing there was before them a measure which would greatly redress the wrong of that Act, they as men who desired to benefit the country should seize with both hands the opportunity to rectify that error.: The publicans and brewers imagined that because during a long process of years they had been gradually acquiring licenses, that those licenses were no longer the property of the State. This idea had been generating in their minds because the expectation had been made stronger when the licenses had been annually renewed. They had counted on the conscience of the British public never awakening to this great evil in their midst. When the people were determined to have moral reform nothing could legally stand in the way (applause). All these bills in the public-house windows, and the letters to the same effect in certain papers, were the sheerest humbug, and no sensible man would be deceived by them (applause). The Rev. Luke Beaumont seconded, and in the coarse of his remarks said he under. stood there were bins in the public-house windows pointing out the bad effect the passing of the Bill would have on the employment question. If the working men of the country swallowed these brewers' pills it might become a serious matter. There was another side to the question. If they added 2.300 to the ranks of. the unemployed it would, of course, be serious, but there were 7,000 vacancies caused every year in the drink trade through death, so that the unemployed could easily find work (ap; please). Those who were in "the trade were committing a sort of suicide, and it would be an excellent thing to rescue them. The despair of the brewers was certainly the attitude of the Labour party on this question (applause). Twenty years ago the leaders of that party argued with some force and convinced thousands of working men that temperance reform would be injurious to their own interests. What a marvellous change there was now. There was Mr. Victor Grayson attacking the Bill, but he was almost alone in his opinion of the measure. All the other Labour members were supporting it, because they believed I that it was economically sound. and that it would add considerably to the ranks of those already employed. It was bad for trade when working men spent their two Millions a week on intoxicants. and if even I half of that amount could be spent in better ways there would be a most encouraging revival of trade (applause), Councillor G. C. Rees, in an able address,! referred to the coming November election I in the town, and said that whether a candidate was a Conservative, a Liberal, or a Socialist, if he was in favour of the Bill it ' was their duty to support him, because all the forces against the Bill would be in opposition to him. They were determined not to be defeated next November in Birkenhead. and it behoved them to SPE' what the attitude of the candidate was to this measure. They had to show the House of Lords that if they rejected this Bill the country would be on their chests (laughter and applause). Referring to the great demonstration to be held in London to oppose the Bill, the speaker said it was nothing more than a demonstration of the brewers who offered the earn of 103. 6d. and railway fares to those who would support them. It was gratifying to know that not one single statesman had promised to be present at that demonstration (applause). Mr. Matthew Dobson (Blackburn), who is an agent of the Temperance League. holding a Gospel Mission at Rock Ferry, gave a long and comprehensive address dealing with numerous points of the Bill. " The trade" was always ready to throw the weight of its influence in favour of the men and the. party that bolstered up their interests. He protested against such praetices and denounced this state of things. It was a disgrace to the community (applause). The meeting was concluded with the playing of the National Anthem by the Tranmere Gleam Silver Band.  Tratuaere Popular Tea, le Bd. per lb.— Glass's Stores. Church-road. saw  Means. Pzusirr awn Sows, Land Agents, 1, Mortvetreet, Town Hall, Birkenhead. have well-conditioned lioness, variously situated it Birkenhead and Tranmere. now ready- for immediate occupation at very n...derate r.u.•