WHERE PROHIBITION SUCCEEDS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1246, 30 September 1911, Page 8

WHERE PROHIBITION SUCCEEDS.

» . THE GLORY OF NO-LICENSE IDEALS. It is claimed by the speaking-leaders ,of the Prohibition party that if prohibitory laws are thoroughly enforced they will bo successful. The Rev. Professor Salmornd, D.D., of Dunedin, has told us in one of his enlightening articles that Prohibition is certain of succcss in gaol; and so in order to prevent men and women from using alcoholic beverages at all they must bo locked up, or agree by a' bare majority to lock cach other up, and so placo themselves out of temptation's way. This method of enforcing prohibitory laws succeeds among' savage and unenlightened races; but among white civilised peoples all history demonstrates tho common failure of sumptuary enactments And wherever tho violation of 6uch prohibitory laws is not, per se, a violation .of the mqral law, these laws are incapable of enforcement, and human' nature takes a sweet and BecTet pleasure in defying tlicm. Prohibition succeeds . where tho capacity to vond or purchase is entirely removed, but never among a freo aad self-respecting people.

Again, Prohibition will succeed and does succeed in inebriate asylums and homes fo# the forceful restraining of those who are incapable of keeping their passions and desires within reasonable limits. The insane in our mental hospitals are oompollcd to bo sobor. Tho inebriate in tho reformatory homo is forced to undergo a courso of discipline to help him to be a sobor and temperato citizen; and to qualify him to conquer his abuse of alcoholic beverages, ho is submitted to a, dietary courso that tho self-respecting person with tho capacity to uso, without abusing, alcoholic beverages would soorn to undergo. So also in our asylums for tho insane, and in our inebriate homos, Prohibition will succeed. But as wo aro a sane and temperato people wo aro not going to convert this fair country into a huge asylum or inebriate home, although that is what tho Prohibitionists ■ would like us to do in order that they might bo able to proclaim to tie world tho success of their so-called moral reform.

Thero is, however, ono country in Europe where Prohibition does succeed. If you find a community of people whose religion; and their devotion thereto proscribes tho use of wine or alcoholic beverages of any sort, thero you will find the proliibitcrry law respected by tho force of religious conviction. It is questionable, however, if tho religious Prohibitionist is any better a man morally on that account. Tho people of Turkey aro Prohibitionists by religious conviction, and they persecute tho Christians in their country who are users of nine and alcoholic beverages, because theso Christians are violators of ono of tho cardinal vir-tues—so-called —of Mahoirimedanisni. The Turks, not only by a three-fifths majority, but by the power of tho sword and tho faggot, would oornpel tho weak winedrinking Christians to ho total abstainers and Mahommcdans. Tho "unspeakable" Turk is a Prohibitionist by religion, <und it surely cannot bo tho intention of the religious Prohibitionist in Now Zealand to attach this cult of tho Moslemite to his belief and enforce its adoption by tho electors of this Dominion at the ballot-box. It is to bo hoped that sano men and men, desiring to maintain their freedom and their self-respeot, will by thoir votes declare that they will have nothing to do with tho enslaving and degrading policy of either tho political or the religious Prohibitionist.*