THE LICENSING POLL

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 3, 29 September 1943, Page 4

THE LICENSING POLL

No doubt as people find time to study at leisure the result of last Saturday’s national licensing poll there will be much speculation as to the significance of the voting figures. Nearly 155,000 fewer votes were cast this year than at the 1938 poll. For the first tune since 1922 the vote for continuance represented a decrease as com-, pared with the figure of the previous, poll. On the other hand prohibition ■ lost the ground gained between 1935 and 1938, and received a smaller total vote than on any occasion in the last 30 yeai s. In contrast, the support for State control was the strongest yet recorded, advancing from 96,131 in 1938 to 102,939, notwithstanding the reduced aggregate of votes cast. This latter result, considered superficially, would appear to mdictate a growing public feeling in support of State control, as such. There has, however, been little evidence in the community of a trend of this kind. But there has been abundant evidence of dissatisfaction with the existing licensing laws. An. increasing number of citizens have come to look upon these laws as being both obsolete and ineffective —•obsolete in that they narrowly and in some respects stupidly and intolerantly interfere with the liberty and convenience of the mass ot decent, law-abiding people; ineffective in that they have in a laige measure failed to produce their intended effect, namely, the disciplining of intemperate and irresponsible sections of the community, Public dissatisfaction with this state of affairs has been particularly marked in the past 12 months—but the licensing poll ballot paper prodded no true outlet for it, such as would have been offered by a fourth issue—licensing reform. This lack of an outlet, considered in conjunction with the sudden leap- in the vote for State control, may well be regarded as the most suggestive and significant feature of tlje poll. It suggests very strongly-that a. large number ot people voted State control as the only means at their disposal of indicating that, on the one hand, they were opposed to prohibition,)and on the other hand convinced of the need for an overhaul of. the existing licensing legislation. The real trend of. public opinion seems clearly to be toward a thorough review of licensed trading on the broadest lines of common sense and modern tolerance, in order that abuses may be checked, yet reasonable liberty, and certain safeguarding principles of justice (violated by the emergency regulations in force today) restored.