FOR ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 149, 24 June 1916, Page 4

FOR ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY

On Saturday last a deputation of professional and business men wnited upon the Prime Minister to urge that the closing of hotel bars at 6 o'clock should be enforced for, the period of the war. The fight of that deputation to speak on behalf of the professional or commercial community was denied by a meeting held yesterday at the instance of the Moderate League. The meeting recorded its strong opposition to the proposals of the deputation, and decided to submit what presumably it regards as the real views .of the business men of Wellington to the Prime Minister. The wording of the resolution adopted by the meeting is worthy of note, as indicating a due sense of the difficulties of Jlie position and considerable skill in evading them. The first affirmation in the resolution is : "That this meeting of commercial and professional men of Wellington is strongly opposed to the request made by a recent deputation to .the Prime Minister for a referendum on 6 o'clock closing," 'So far as we are aware this was not what last Saturday's deputation desired. One member certainly interjected a suggestion of the land, but this was not the main object of the deputation, nor even, we believe, one of its incidental or alternative objects. What the deputation asked for was the early closing of the bars, and not a referendum on the subject. This was just as it should have been. The need for the curtailment of the hours of sale is sufficiently urgent and sufficiently obvious for Parliament to deal with the matter a-s an emergency war measure without delegation to the people, and without delay. Yesterday's meeting wis, nevertheless, wise to emphasise its objection to the referendum, even though in the contextit was merely setting up a man- of straw I fo_ the purpose of knocking him down. This procedure was tactically sound for two reasons. In the first place, thero are many who, like ourselves, though favouring early closing, are opposed to 'a. referendum, because it involves an abdication by Parliament of its legiti- | mate • responsibility. The second reason why the Moderate League and its sympathisers are wise to object to a refereiiI dura is that an appeal to the people on this issue would result in as smashing a defeat for the views they represent las was ever recorded against anybody or anything at any poll in New Zealand. - ; The rest of the resolution adopted by yesterday's meeting was also eminently tactful. Though definitely opposed to the referendum, it was delightfully circumspect with regard to the main issue. The meeting merely declared that it "looks with grave doubt upon the experiment of curtailing the hours of licensed bouses," and urged the Government "to firmly resist all pressure to hurry the passing of legislation on a matter that should only be approached with the greatest caution after thorough investigation." How admirably moderate, circumspect, and .even judicial this attitude is, and at the same time how supremely futile I Moderation of this kind mil cheerfully postpone till the war is over the consideration of the means of winning it. Mr. Armstrong, who practically monopolised' the speaki ing at a meeting which was supposed Ito represent the business men of Wellington, was not quite so non-committal' in his arguments. His speech was a clever bit of special pleading and judiI cious evasion. It dwelt chiefly upon the military aspect of early closing, because that is the weakest branch of the case for early closing. The strongest argument for early closing is based upon the need' for checking a huge economical waste at a time when all the resources of the State should be concentrated upon the winning of the war. Though the purely military side of the case is less powerful, we do not desire to suggest that it is not strong enough to stand up against Mr. Armstrong's artillery. Speaking from a purely military ( standpoint, Colonel Mackay testified on the eve of the poll in New South Wales to "an unmistakable improvement in the conduct and efficiency of the troops" as the result of 8 o'clock closing, and declared that all responsible officers unanimously favoured closing at 6 o'clock. As for the experience of Great Britain, we commend to the attention of everybody whose mind is still open the second report of the Central Control Board, which appeared with a telling chart in The Times of Bth May. In the London area the result of the drastic reduction in the hours of sale imposed by the Board was to reduce the convictions from 5701 in December, 1913, to 3105, and the general decline in England was from 40 to 50 per cent. The evidence as -to the in-crea-e'd efficiency of labour in the areas affected is overwhelming. The Army Council testifies "that the orders of the Board have had a beneficial effect on the discipline, training, and efficiency of soldiers, and have helped in the recovery of sick and wounded," and statements received- through the Board of Trade from the large ports show that "there has been a diminution of drunkenness among sailors, firemen, and dock labourers, and ships have in consequence got away with less delay than before." The Times heads its editorial, comments on the report: "A Successful War Measure." The success of eariy closing in England is indeed beyond the possibility of challenge by a-ny_ candid mind.