PROHIBITION CONVENTION TORONTO. ONT.. 1901 Office of the Dominion Alliance 62 Oonfederation Life Buildingr. Toronto, June, 1900. The Annual Provincial Convention of the Dominion Alliance will be held at Toronto, in the HOKTICrLTrBAI. PAVIIilOKT beginning on TUESDA V, JULY 9th, at lO a.m., and will prob- ably close on the evening of the same day, or the following forenoon. REDUCED BATES, i^INGLE FARE.— Special reduced rates will be given by all railway lines. Each delegate will purchase on starting a single fare ticket to Toronto. He will also procure from the ticket agent a standard certi6cate filled up, showing that he has purchased said ticket. This certificate he will present to the Secretary of the convention, who will sign it. It will then entitle him to a return ticket free of cost. Every delegate is nrsed to attend* The standard' certificate must be secured before starting, otherwi.se the free return cannot be secured. Those having to travel over roads operated by different companies should procure a certificate for each. The free return will be conditional upon our having three hundred delegates purchasing full fare tickets to the convention. Otherwise the railway companies will charge one-third of a single fare for return tickets. It is confidently anticipated, however, that there will be present many more than the number necessary to secure the free return. REPRESENTATION — The plan of representation to this convention is as follows : — Every church and society is entitled to two representatives, and each church and society having more than fifty members, is entitled to an additional delegate for each additional fifty. The following organizations are entitled to representation on the basis named : County, City and Electoral District Prohibition Alliances, Leagues or Central Comm'ttees, Branches of the W.C.T.U., Divisions of the Sons of Temperance, Lodges of the I.O.G.T., Councils of the R. T. of T., Branches of the League of the Cross, Prohibition Clubs, any prohibition or temperance organizations. Church Congregations, Young Men's Christian Associations, Salvation Army Corps, Societies of Christian Endeavor, Epworth Leagues, Branches of St. Andrew's Brotherhood, Baptist Young People's Unions, and other young people's associations in connection wiili church work ; Ontario members of the Council of the Dominion Alliance, elected from representative ecclesi- astical, temperance and prohibition bodies, members of the Execntive Committee of t'.ie Ontario Branch of the Dominion AHiance, Ontario Members of Parliament and members of the Provincial Legislature in favor of prohibition, will also be members of the convention. DELEGATES AND VISITORS.— It is specially requested that every organization appointing delegates will send a list of the names and addresses of such delegates to the Secretary of the Alliance at the earliest opportunity. The post card form enclosed, or any other, may be used for this purpose. Every delegate should also be notified, and informed of railway rates, and other matters set out in this circular. The commodious gallery of the Pavilion will be reserved for the accommodation of persons coming to the convention who are not dele- gates, and all such may secure reduced rates oil the plan above set out. The Secretary will cheerfully and promptly furnish additional copies of this "Call," credential forms, or any further information in his possession to any friend applying for the same. On behalf of the Executive Committee, F. S. SPENCE, W. A. McKAY, Secretary. President. THE PRESENT DUTY- 1 901 To every Friend of Temperance in Ontario t Your personal attention is earnestly requested to the present posi- tion of the great movement to remedy the terrible evils of intemperance. The Executive Committee of the Ontario Branch of the Alliance cordially endorses the "Plan of Action" that has been adopted by the Dominion Council, and in addition earnestly urges you to carefully consider the following important facts : — WHERE WE STAND. Our Province is definitely and strongly opposed to the liquor traffic. This has been made clear in two Plebiscites, in which, by very large votes and overwhelming majorities, the electors have declared themselves in favor of total prohibition. It is our duty to demand the embodiment of this strong, sound, Christian sentiment in effective legislation, and it is utterly wrong to consent to any con- tinuance of the liquor evil, which it is in our power to prevent. During the prohibitory agitation of recent years, comparatively little attention has been given to the License Law of Ontario, which in many respects is out of date, inconsistent, and defective. The liquor laws of nearly every other province in the Dominion arc in some features far in advance of the Ontario law. The Ontario Government is definitely pledged to the promotion of legislation prohibiting the liquor traffic to the limit of the power of the Legislature, as soon as that power is ascertained. It is expected that deci.sions by the court of final jurisdiction, in relation to the Manitoba and Prince Edward Island prohibitory laws, will .settle this question in the near future. IMMEDIATE I/I^GISIVATION. It is our imperative duty to refuse to accept as a settlement of the liquor question anything short of total prohibition. It is at the same time our right to expect the Legislature, pending the settlement of the question of juri.sdiction, to exercise at once its unquestioned power of restriction, by such revision and improvement of the License Law as is manifestly reasonable, and much of which is absolutely necessary to remove unjust discrimination in favor of the liquor traffic as against the general public, and to make effective the plain intention of the law. Among the amendments which ought to be made are the following : {a) A majority of the electors in a polling subdivision ought to have the right by a signed petition to prevent the renewal of a license in their locality at the end of a license year. (6) The sale of liquor to minors ought to be absolutely prohibited. The law now allows sale to little children on orders from parents, guardians or employers. (c) Persons to whom liquor has been sold unlawfully ought not to be punished if they give straightforward evidence in prosecutions against the law-breakers. Their present liability to punishment interferes badly with law enforcement. (d) A municipal council ought not to have power to prevent the taking of a vote on the question of local prohibition. A twenty-five per cent, petition of the electors should compel the taking of a vote. (e) There ought to be a change in the law which now makes a tavern license that has been issued unlawfully, as valid and effective as if legally granted. (/) Inspectors and magistrates ought not to have unlimited power to keep on continually imposing only first offence penalties upon offenders who have been many times convicted of law breaking, (g) Provision ought to be made to prevent the continued renewal of licenses to persons who have been repeatedly convicted of violating the law. Church congregations, societies and temperance workers are earnestly requested to carefully consider this question, and to forward at once to the Alliance Secretary, an indorsement of the foregoing proposals, or any further recommendations which their observation or experience may suggest. EI/^CTORAI, ACTION. In view of the certainty that a provincial election will be held within twelve months from the present time, it is specially desirable that friends of temperance in every constituency take early action to secure the nomination and election of representatives who can be rehed upon to stand by the temperance cause and fairly represent the public opinion of the province. • • ' ' f ^i ' ■ To secure useful results, judicious organization is absolutely necessary. Much may be accomplished by the immediate appointment of a special Prohibition Committee in every church congregation, young people's society and temperance organization, with energetic workers as chairman and secretary. The names and addresses of these workers should be sent at once to the Secretary of the Alliance. These com- mittees can then consult separately and jointly as to what is the wisest action to take in their respective electoral districts. They may call district conventions if such a course is deemed advisable. You are specially urgred to take steps to have such committees formed in your neighbchood. AN IMPORTANT M^BTINO. The con.sideration of these matters of immediate legrisia- tion and political action will be the principal business of the convention to be held in Toronto in July. The action of that con- vention and the loyalty and activity of our friends during the year will be of the utmost importance in relation to the future of the temperance movement in Ontario. Every organization entitled to representation should, therefore, make a special point of sending delegates to this convention. Every delegate appointed should make it a special duty to be present. Every friend who receives this "Call" is earnestly urged to use his or her influence to make the meeting a great success. Officers of all societies are requested to bring the matter before their respective organizations. Pastors are requested to lay it before their congregations. Newspaper editors are requested to give it as much publicity as possible. • ' •, ^ 7 , .■.•;••' ..; i; 'I ' •■,;,-„■ i ';■■■'■ ' ^}j mMj: day* 1^ u- '/'(irl'U "xiKVi rtJfir^ j'i