Say I have the following code:

Code:
on ^*:text:*:#:{
 echo $chan $1-
}


What is the best and most efficient way to preserve spaces in $1-? What I mean is if I don't use the on TEXT event, and someone says something with 6 spaces in it, I'll recieve and see those 6 spaces. With the code above, I see only one space. How do I preserve spacing?