THE DANGER OF PROHIBITION.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17631, 7 December 1922, Page 11

THE DANGER OF PROHIBITION.

■ EFFECT ON PUBLIC FINANCES. ; nAVE WARNING BY WELL-KNOWN BANKING I G AUTHORITY. OBSERVATIONS IN CANADA. UffERVIEW WITH MR HAROLD BEAUCHAMP. ■\ (From a Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, December 4. :. , jbr a "New Zealand Times" reporter to-night Mr Harold i^ 0 " the W ell-known authority, said:— % fii v» been strongly urged to make a pronouncement as to I i- likely to be the effjet on the public finances in tits event of I r Prohibition being carried in this Dominion. In iny opinion an be no doubt whatever that in the event of this country to* dry it w* ll exceedingly difficult, in fact almost impos- * i to raise revenue from any other source without inflicting undue | ... n pon tie great bulk of the taxpayers to replace the revenue | by the duty on alcoholic liquor. At the moment all - sa of 'the community are taxed to the hilt. Owing to the perili<- tjaei through which we are passing thousands are struggling to | rt«ir heads above water. To place any additional btu-den upon I* m would therefore he most calamitous. "Having recently visited Canada I have had an opportunity of Daring the prosperity of the province of Quebec, where the sale if Honor is controlled by the State, with the depressed conditions of jtovinces of tnat Dominion where the sale of liquor is proLuaj ■in Quebec the profit to the Government from this source • tot less than £2,000,000 per annum, which is estimated to be suffl['dat to extinguish the public debt of that province in less than fif«ia years. These figures speak for themselves." 4645