PROHIBITION AND MORALS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1284, 13 November 1911, Page 6

PROHIBITION AND MORALS.

no-license and unhappy Marriages. prohibition means stagnation. It has been arguod, and, we think, with somo success, that Prohibition does not promote temperance, that it retards progress and population, that it is not a moral agency; and it has been demonstrated that no improvement in the morals or social life of a community as a whole can bo traced or attributed te tho Prohibition movement. The advocacy and adoption of temperance—that is, the moderate use—is quite a different thing. Yet the Prohibitionists are fond of point, ing to isolated oases or isolated localities to find consolation for the general depravity that follows in the wake of their movement. The immorality of Maine, the death-dealing attributes of Prohibi. tion in bad liquor, tho e!y grog-seller and the shoebeen, and all tbeir concomitant evils, caused the decent people of that State to turn with loathing from the Prohibition party, who, with the sly grog-eelkr and other workers of iniqnity, sought to retain Prohibition.

In New Zealand we find that Prohibi. tion and No-Licenso have not helped for.ward the general weal. Indeed, as their influence has spread and tho area covered by their operations has widened, tho people generally have, comparatively speak, ing, become less regardful of law and order. This is largely due in the writer's opinion to tho fact that tho Prohibitionist clergy have neglected their duty as high moral, spiritual agents in order to propagate a Pharisaical and demoralising doctrine. The other factor is that Prohibition and No-License are species of tyranny and coercion; and, this being i free country, the moderate users of. alcohol have increased their consumption to show their righteous .contempt for Prohibition, and so the workers for Prohibition and no-license have really prombted the increased consumption of liquor. It is, of course, notorio\is that the consumption of alcoholic liquors hia increased in this Dominion, despite tho glorious victories, bo called, of the Prohibition movement.

Since Prohibition and No-License began to spread in New Zealand it has detrimentally affected the natural incroaio of population. For instance, comparing the birth rato (a mean of fivo years) of New Zealand with Western Australia, fro find that New Zealand suffers by comparison, although the consumption of liquor ia Western Australia is 21.16 gallons yer head, and in New Zealand it ; s oniy 10.G9. Contemporaneous with tho Prohibition and No-Liconso the birth rate has declined; but tho whilo there has been an increase in tho illegitimate births sx> Hint Prohibition and No-Licenso cannot be said to make for morals. This is further demonstrated when the marriage statistics arc considered. There is no Prohibition in Australia, and there there is less conjugal unlmppiness than in New Zealand. Figures relating to divorce show as under, tho comparison being of divorces and separations (per 100,000 married couples living) for the following years:— Australia. New Zealand. 1895 79 ■ 23 1060 61 74 1005 57 81 1906 57 S8 1907 65 101 1908 62 115 1909 72 105 The Prohibition and No-Licftnso movement began in 189 C, and tho marital relations of tho people became at onco loss happy, and the average consumption, of liquor is less in New Zealand than in Australia,

Again, it is remarkablo that, although, the people in Australia drink more than the people of Now Zealand per head of the population, and where the Prohibition and No-Lioonso movement is weak and ineffective, tho people have more money in tho savings banks—taking the average deposit—than tho people in New Zealand, Yet the Prohibitionist argues that the less people drink tho more they save. Now what is tho conclusion of this matter? It is that Prohibition and NoLicenso are not at all helpful to the moral progress and material welfare of any country. Turkey is prohibitionist and immoral. Maine uuder Prohibition increased in population by 100,000, while Now Zealand under license increased by half a million. Yet the Prohibitionists and No-Lieosso advocates would impose tho immorality of Turkey, the evaluation of Maine upon New Zealand. Wo believe the Prohibitionists in Majno received their' defeat there because- they allied themselves with tho sly grog-sellers to maintain a. nefarious trade as against the possibility of a cl«m licensing system. Aind so it is to be hoped that tho men and women of this Dominion loving temperance, which is moderation, morality, and progress, and hating Prohibition ami No-License, which are contempt of law, immorality, and stagnation, will determine to strike out tho bottom lines on both their ballot papers on election day, and in that way declare against proposals that would bring no good, socially, morally, or politically, to this country.'

A 2!l-acro dairy farm,' described an tlio "pick of the Watkato." is advertised for sale in this issuo by Messrs. Lawson and Swain, auctioneers. To .Vwamutu, To-morrow Messrs. llnrconrt and Co. will sell at their rooms, Lanrblvm Quay, a section of land situate in Dcnvoat Street, Mnud Bay. Messrs. flionp and M'Villy, land npents, Taumarunui, advertise a property of "26 acres for sale. On Friday nest, Ndvomber 17, Messrs. Abraham and Williams will hold a horso fair at Marlinlwroufjli. Mossre. Abraham and Williams will hold a. stock sale at Johnspnvillo on Wednesday, November 15, at 2'cm.!