"THE FAILURE OF NO-LICENSE."

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 224, 15 June 1908, Page 8

"THE FAILURE OF NO-LICENSE."

Sir,—"Observer's" letter in to-day's Dominion deserves a reply, not on account, of tlio strength ol; its arguments, but because their weakness serves admirably to" illustrate tlio desperate straits to which the party he is reduced by the overwhelming evidence of the success of No-License wherever it has been tried in New. Zealand. A man who thinks tliat Prohibition is proved to be a failure in practice by tho fact that more beer was imported from England to the United States in 1907 than in 1906 is indoed well qualified to poso as a superior person and lecture the majority of his fellowcolonists as "those who don't think and those who won't think," because they vote NoLicense. The same logic proves No-License to bo a failure in New Zealand, because the consumption of liquor was larger in 1907 by 3s. Bd. per head than in 1906. It suits your correspondent's purpose to refer to "a largo proportion of the South Island under NoLicense and some of the North Island and many thousands of people living in these parts." But it is beyond his purpose to point out that as about 92 per cent, of our population aro still under license, - these general comparisons are absolutely futile. "Tho question is," says "Observer," "does No-Licenso promote temperance? In other words—Does it diminish liquor consumption?" I should, rather say that tho proper test to bo applied to this reform, as to every other, is, "Does it promote human happiness?''' Tho evidonco on this point of tho official statistics is absolutely conclusive to anybody who will face the question fairly. When tho convictions in Balclutha for all offences springing from or likely to be affected by drink are reduced from 251 in the last ten years of license to 81 in. the first ten years of No-License, when in" Mataura there is a similar fall in two years from 202 to 67, when in tho first year of No-License "Observer"' has. 26 convictions for drunkenness against 156 in the last year of license, and when Ashburton is able in the first year to reduce the number of its prohibition orders from 26 to 0, the question as to tho effectiveness of No-Licenso is surely settled at once, for all reasonable minds. "Observer" insists upon evidonco that tho consumption of liquor has decreased in the No-License districts. But I, at any rate, shall not attempt to satisfy him by statistical proof. If in face of the figures; already quoted it is conceivable.that there is really more liquor consumed under No-License than before, then both parties ought to be well pleased—the liquor party because they aro selling nioro liquor, and, therefore, making more profits than ever; the No-Liccn'so party because the normal fruits of the traffic, by which alone they have condemned it—drurikonness, crimo, degradation, .domestic misery —havo been reduced to an. astonishing extent. Tho man who maintains that niore liquor is sold under No-License is really accusing the liquor party of lunacy for endeavouring to reverse tho policy, but he surelv convicts only himself.—l am, etc., . . A. R. ATKINSON. June 13.