THE LICENSING POLL

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 81, 29 December 1928, Page 8

THE LICENSING POLL

Sir, —The secretary of the New Zealand Alliance, suffering from the wounds of an indignant democracy, lias spluttered fabrications against what he calls •’the liquor trade" and gives a sample of what he terms ‘‘a particularly choice example of false mid misleadng propaganda that is circulated by the liquor trade.” Air. Murray has discovered a mare’s nest! That is his habit. Let us look info this mare’s nest. The New Zealand Alliance is so embittered evidently by defeat that it is ready to blame its opponents for a message sent out to all the world by the New Zealand Press Association, mid quite apparently mutilated in transit. Here is the message which is the basis of Mr. Murray s allegation: — „ Under date, Wellington, New Zealand, November 14. an Associated Press message declares that I rohibition was defeated by a majority of 100,006. and the Government forces, under J. G. Coates, I rune Minister, suffered a severe setback in the triennial Parliamentary election to-day. Prohibition was on tn? ballot in the form of a referendum as to whether it should be continued or whether a licensing system should be adopted. The vote was overwhelmingly against continuance of prohibiNow the first sentence in the Press Association message contains two statements of fact, and on November 14 these statements were true, although the majority -has since been increased to nearly 150,000. The second sentence has had two words transposed m transmission —namely, “continued, mid “adopted”. Transpose these, words as the message appears, and the positmn is truly mid- clearly stated. The “cableman probablv amended the third sentence by adding the words “continuance of. in an attempt to give reasonableness to the sense of the preceding sentence,' as presented to him. having regard to_ the first fact in the message that Prohibition was defeated by 100.000 votes. It is all’very S "l P am sorry that Mr. Murray has discovered this mare’s nest, and told the world about'it as the official of the New Zealand Alliance, for it is certain to deepen the conviction of many thousands of people that when the New Zealand Allisays the sending out of a simple cable‘message referred to is u a particularly choice example of false and misleading •propaganda circulated by the liquor trade?* they will know that the liquor trade could.have had nothing to do witli it, and that the alliance’s allegations are but She inventions, aud fulminations of an obfuscated mentality.—l am, eta, : JAI DEE. Wellington, December 26.