Page 13 Advertisements Column 4

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 69, 15 December 1919, Page 13

PUBLICS NOTICES. STATE PURCHASE OF THE LIQUOR TRADE. PEESONAL LETTERS FROM BRITAIN. CARLISLE CITIZENS PRAISE STATE CONTROL

Mr. D. M. Findlay, President of th? N.Z. Moderate League, has received tho following striking letters ftum some of the most, prominent citiztns of Carlisle, in which they give unstinted praise to the experiment in State Purchase and Control of the Liquor Trade which has been in operation in their district sinco July, 1916. FROM THE CHIEF CONSTABLE (No. 1.) D. M. Findlay, Esq., President of tho Moderate League, Wellington, Now Zealand.' Chief Constable's Office, September 5, 1919.' Dear Sir—ln reply to your inquiry I havo pleasure in stating that I ani in complete agreement wich the wßrk of The Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic) as . far as their operations in Carlifilo and district are concerned, and consider they have done a?i enormous amount of good in reducing drunkenness in the area under their direct control. Under no circumstances wild I' revert to pre-war conditions and hours, and am quite satisfied from personal observation that there is ro necessity for public-houses to open before midday, or remain open after 10 p.m. I am a strong advocate of ample supplies of pure beer of average strength, which will, I feel sure, satisfy the average working man. Yours faithfully, E. H. Sl J ENCE, . Chief Constable. FROM THE MAYOR OF CARLISLE. (No. 2.) (September 5, 1919. D. M. Findlay, Esq., President, Moderate League, Wellington, N.Z. Dear Sit,—An /inquiry lias reached mo which I understand comes from you with reference to the results, of the operations of the Liquor Control Board herb in Carlisle, and I understand that you are interested to havo some expression of opinion thereon. As to the facts of tho ca?e, I cannot do better than refer you to the Official Reports of tho Board which are regularly issued. A perusal of these will give you the fullest information, including that which is of especial interest regarding the reduction in the number of Licensed Houses, the, elimination of private interest in the sale of alcoholio liquors, the careful supervision under which tho salo of alcoholics is conducted, and the vast improvement that has taken place in the premises where drinking noiv takes place, and the consequent reduction in tho number of convictions for drunkenness. Personally I am of opinion that alcohol as a 'beverage is nothing but an evil tiling, £he more drastic, the restrictions tho better, and my ideal is prohibition. I recogniso, howover, that whatever might linvo been the case as a temporary measure shortly after tho outbreak of War, Prohibition is not at the present time, at any, rate, a practical Issue, and 1 think that, as matters aro, the experiment tho Control Board have njade constitutes a big step in advanca, and is a move towards the proper solution of a most difficult problem. ■ ■ There can bo no doubt whatever that the result of the work of the Board in Carlisle is responsible for an immenso improvement in the condition of things hero. So large a reduction of licenses as has actually taken place would havo taken many years to accomplish under tho old regime, if indeed it would ever havo been.brought about. The old-fash-ioned public-houses which existed here in such numbers lent themselves to indulgence in excessive drinking, and I havo 110 hesitation in saying that the present state of things is vastly better what was the case previously: though at tho samo timo we are still a long way from having reached an ideal state ! of things. Incidentally, I regret very much that tho regulation as to Sunday closing has been relaxed. Thero was no necessity for tills change. _ Under tlw regulation tho peace and quiot uf the Sunday njas , most marked; but tho change, as was to bo expected, lias not conduced to good order, whatever may be said to the contrary.

all true Temperance supporters vote foeSTATE PURCHASE : , 'AND CONTROL TEMPERANCE WITH LIBERTY,

ANOTHER "LIQUOR" EXPOSURE. AVERAGE PRICE TEA is 2s. 6d. lb., SUGAR, 3i<l. lb.; TOBACCO, 123.1b. THE LIQUOE TRADE SAYS: TEA WILL BE INCREASED BY 4s. M. lb.; SUGAE, 7<l. lb.; TOBACCO, 6s. lb. To malco up loss of Liquor Revenue <01,500,000 (N.Z. Year Book makes it less, than *£900,000) TEST IT YOURSELF. (Amounts from Year Book, p. 362): < Tea—8,793,0371b. at 4s. Ud. lb i i!l,905,000 Sugar—l,BGß,osGMvt. at 7d. lb «£4,4C8,90S Tobacco—3,lol,7ol)lb. at 6s. lb .£931,400 ■£7,005,300 THAT'S HOW THEY WOULD CALCULATE COMPENSATION IF STATE PURCHASE WERE CARRIED. WIPE THEM OUT.' ' / PROHIBITION WILL RELEASE £9,000,000 » 'A YEAR FOR DECENT TRADES.