The Review of Wev/ews. 



was linked with that of Mr. Judkins as a social re- 

 former j)LThap.i more than any other, gave a tribute 

 of admiration on the following Sunday. It is not 

 too much to .say that the tributes paid were impres- 

 sive, and that the subject was worthy of them all. 



THE REFORMER. 



Mr. Judkins began his social reform work while 

 in New Zealand, where he became Organi.sing Sec- 

 retary of the Temperance Alliance, and took a 

 prominent part in organising the third great poll of 

 rhe people on the licjuor question. Of these polls 

 there have been seven, with an increasing body of 

 opinion for prohibition. The record is interesting. 

 It is as follows : (i) 48,993, (2) 98,312, (3) 120,542, 

 (4) 151,524, (5) 198.768. (6) 223,466, (7) 259.995. 

 At the last vote a clear majority of 54,282 voted for 

 the national extinction of the traffic, but the law 

 requires a three-fifths majority. 



But his great w^ork was done in Victoria, whither 

 he returned after another breakdown in health. He 

 soon became jwpular as a platform speaker in and 

 around Melbourne. He had the gift of saying 

 things in a striking way, a faculty for apt illustra- 

 tion, a calm clear method of rea.soning out a case, 

 a plentiful supply of himiour, a remarkable power 

 of repartee, a voice singularlv [ileasant and far- 

 reaching, and, behind all, a heart that so evidently 

 was touched by the sight of wrong-doing and its 

 awful consequences. Others could speak well, but 

 he could speak better. Such was the hero, and the 

 rlcK-k struck the hour for his appearing. 



RAMPART LAWLESSNESS. 



In 1906 vice had become utterly shameless in its 

 absolute defiance of the law and conscience of the 

 communitv. Never had gambling been so rife. A 

 totalisator, kept bv John Wren at Collingwood. was 

 a perfect citadel held by a lawless gang. It had 

 barbed wire protection against invasion. Its spies 

 and pickets guarded the entrance and gave warning 

 against any suspected foe. Thousands of people 

 made it their gambling centre. It was a terrible 

 blot upon the city. It led large numbers into the 

 bad habit. John Wri n became a hero to these 

 people. 'l"he place was ultimately captured by the 

 jX)lice, and held bv them for a time, but afterw-ards 

 the iwlice were got out, and the old wretched busi- 

 ness resumed its sway. In the city itself great 

 gambling clubs were regularly carried on, and the 

 agents used were largely convicted criminals. It 

 was onlv with great difficulty that evidence could be 

 obtained of their doings, so rigid was the system. 

 Men suspected of giving information were followed, 

 threatened and assaulted. .\ reign of terror exi.sted. 

 When one looks back it .seems almost incredible that 

 things could have been what they were. 



The lifiuor traffic was in a similar stati' of lawU^ss 

 ness. Sunday trading was rife. Ry hundreds men 

 could lie seen entering and leaving hotels tluring 

 ]irohibited hours. Convictions for drunkenness. 



accidents through drink, and violence from the same 

 cause were common. The papers reeked with the 

 doings of drink. 



Along with the.se evils was the prevalence of prize 

 fights of a brutalising nature. The descriptions of 

 these given in the public press were most revolting. 

 They were mere expressions of the savagery that 

 lurks in human nature, and that begets savagery in 

 those who look on. Men were beaten into insensi- 

 bilitv. 



Unregistered pony racing was another of the 

 curses inflicted by the gambling promoters. It was 

 a means by which blacklegs and sharpers could prey 

 upon each other, and as the "Age" put it, ■' pUm 

 der any unsuspecting citizen who might mistake 

 ponv races for legitimate sport." From Ta.smania 

 another peril came through Tattersall's, a gambling 

 institution which had been expelled from every other 

 countrv, but w'hich had corrupted Tasmania's poli- 

 ticians by money gifts. Medical institutes were also 

 carrying on a business that was utterly shameful in 

 its nature and effects. 



A THRILLING CAMPAIGN. 



The whole story of the great campaign against 

 these evils cannot be told here, nor can space be 

 found for the part plaved therein by men like the 

 Revs. A. R. Edgar. J. ' Nicholson, T. S. B. Wood- 

 full. H. Worrall, the Hon. S. Mauger, G. Swin- 

 liurne. J. Balfour, W. Hutchinson and others. But 

 Mr. Judkins was the man whose voice roused the 

 people generally. He spoke so as to compel atten- 

 tion. Soon his meetings were thronged. The largest 

 halls in all the suburbs were too .small. Sometimes 

 eight hundred people could be .seen outside, while 

 every inch of available space within was occupied, 

 ■j'he o]){x»ition came. Its supporters could yell, 

 tlirow eggs, set up organised attempts to silence 

 him. Hut, above all, the clear ringing voice would 

 rise In triumph, the point would go home, the story 

 would carrv its message, the appeal to the noblcr 

 nature prevailed. After these stormy assemblies 

 mobs of the ba.ser sort followed him along the 

 streets seeking an opportunity for further insult and, 

 .sometimes, violence. Hut he had a bod\ guard of 

 \alinnt men who never failed to gather round him. 

 Memliers of the police, too, who knew too well the 

 truth of his charges, were his faithful allies on 

 tliese (M-casions. 



The ruffianlv element sometimes got the assistance 

 of that ass, the law. Thus Mr. Judkins was once 

 asked to give a Gospel address at the Gaiety Theatre 

 on a Simdav aftermxni, at one of a series of services 

 arrnnged by the Y.M.C.A., in order to reach the 

 masses. Several men who were known to be noted 

 followers of Wren disturbed the meeting by throw- 

 ing rotten eggs. The mer, were secured by the 

 police and convicted, but the inevitable apjieal fol- 

 lowed, when a judge uf»held the appeal, on the 

 ground that the meetings could not be defined as 

 '■ Di\lne .service." 



