LICENSING REFORM

Evening Post, Issue 145, 22 December 1928, Page 8

LICENSING REFORM

'■I/AGE ;OF-.ENTBJUSIASM :; DECLINE OF PROHIBITION (By S.,Saunders.) ..) The Prohibition Party in the licensing referendum last month.fared no better than "did theKeforfn Party in.the political contest. Taking, everything/into account it probably fared the worse t of the two." Political preferences.,are a's fickle as the, women ?s love ;disgruntled poets have- pictured. They may. change more frequently than; once every three years and • they may keep on changing. At the next General Election; of members to the ' House of Representatives, Reform or Labour or some brand new party may supplant Sir Joseph,"■ Ward and. his followers. 'Setting \asido ; the long reigns of Mr. . Seddon■•• and Mr. Massey, the avcrago tenure of office of the other thirty odd Prime" Minis-, ters the. Dominion has known' is 'a, little 'short of: eighteen months, ..Sir; Joseph Ward coming next'in Order to Mr. Sed-' 'don and;Mr.,fMassey, and. Sir; Edward Stafford, away back,in the 'fifties,;■ following closely upon his heels. , Constancy obviously is not 'a conspicuous trait of the general body of Parliamentary electors. ' The devotion of ■-,social reform, speaking,1 generally, is : ;:uiore abiding.. Ouee a:.■ Prohibitionist,:, the individual in nine cases out of ten holds fast! to liis faith. . The .fight; between, '.liquor and ;'' tio-liqubr,''. in .some thing like its; present form,' • lias'; boon: going on in this:country, for nearly .fifty" years,' ever since,: 1881 when ■ the'.Hoiii Thomas Dick, then Colonial Treasurer and Minister of Education; and Jus-. • tico, passed an Act through Parliament giving the ratepayers a voice in the issue of new licenses and the renewal of old ones. Sir Robert. Stout, who -still remains to champion the cause of Prohibition,, had submitted to the; House of Representatives four or five years; before ■'.' a much ' more .far-reaching, measure, but; the. public at ihat time were not prepared togo, to the wholo lengths of "local option" with this ardent re-; former. If Mr. Dick's Act did nothing more, it at any rate aroused /a very general interest, in ; the; licensing question and: prepared ;the; way; fbr^avsuc-: cession! of measures which finally, plac-: ed the solution■",of the: problem in tb» hands of the electors themselves.1; , AN OPPORTUKITY; LOST. | ::.'■■ A great opportunity ;came.to theopponents' of ', idiq. >' liquor '} trade /inH9l9. Avhen, under,,the provisions of theJL/icpn:' sing Amendment: ASt; of .th'o previous year, the electors were : given; an opportunity ■. to' de termin c: at 'the ■ballot-bos tluo two clear-cut issues of National Continuaneo' and National. Prohibition .with compensation. Had ;.the Prohibitionists unanimously .stood ,by 'the ' spirit'/iri which ;,the.: groat majority of them, no1 doubt,: were contending: for the.; abolition;,'of the Jiquor "■ traffic,'; theyV would ,hay©. reached their goal,at.a' cost]q£; : no: more':than two or: three millions to tho; Dominion. But Official Prohibition, holding ' those :in possession of .the/ liquor trade" as /alone' responsible ..for;, .such : ovils as it had created;'andiforV many ;0 th ers, .in sis ted : that1': the. ■■. taxpayers should not be burdened /with >tlie; cost .of .'removing these evils; ; At this; poll 21)4,189 votes •; were cast in; favour, .of National Continuance: and .253,827;:;' in favour1: of.; National' Prohibition;;; with: Compensation, 'thus '■"■'■ maintaining. ■ i .-',the . status"?.-; iii" '■-■ quo/.a" by.-?\dv> jniajbrity of. ■:■ only ',10,363' votes.; "\ Eight months •later ' the -'I' ordinary - triennial poll was 'taken, when.;" 241,251 .votes were ' cast "for "National'■-■=.',Continu-ancej 32,261 Votes for State, Purchase., .find' Control, and 270,250 votes for.'National' Prohibitionj;Noiie ,of ; the .three issues- securing the minimum of more than half ;■ of- the total/Votes :east";.the .status,in.'quo".' again .was maintained, and- has. been so maintained -ever ■ since,;' In 1922 National, Prohibition' again;re-, ceived tlie largest number of votes,';polling 300,791, while' National Continuance polled 2^2,659, arid: State Purchase 25,727. In 1925 National ..Prohibition still led with; 319,450'v0tes : ;and./National Continuance and'iStato'.Purchase and Control; folio wed: with, 299,590 votes and. 5(5,037 respectively.^. This; .'year, however,, tlie National Continuance vote increased to 374,502 and.tho State Con-, ti-ol votes to 64,270,';while;the National Prohibition' vote /fell,.back:.to :294,453.; This enormous decline; in. they support given , to: tho, National 'Prohibition /issue' is officially' attributed' ito lack; 'of funds, and1 lack of, funds- usually .indif "eating";a :decline, of .it.;■ behoves .the Prohibitionists to .look:; very closely into the" ordering, of their, house. :,.■;:, • :- 1;:;'\ There is ;no need at: this1 time of "day to", dwell upon; the attempt, made: by Mr. Coabes,; then;;Prime,Minister, during;tlie concluding.session of. last Parlia-; ■■ to .extend, ■■■■ the -.period ■• between licensing polls .from ..three: years to isix', to oxpilmge,thc State Purchase.and.Con- '■■ trol issue from; tho': ballot; paper, .and 'fe ;substitute\'a:ss::peri'cent.f;majority:; for, the proseut" bare 'majority. ; {;:lt;was.;an honest, effort,: if!'a'".so'm«jvhat injudicious one,; to' disentagle: some of ,the; incongruities of the licensing law/ Its .only tangible,result, however, was the;desc'ent 'upon thojhead of'the; Reform Govern-, meut of: the displeasue: of 'both. .Official Prohibition and ; Official „:: Continuance. How far this went towards shaping the result of the recient. General Election it,is'impossiblo';.to; say, but.it :is ;signiticant that while; four.^Ministers .'of ■the .Crown who supported the.proposal for (lie 'two-issue ballot paper,, lost, their seats, fivo members 6f< the United Party, who opposed;.'tlie;proposal now occupy seats '.iii.,;tl|6. !Now , Ministry. Tliat.Vtlio1 ;tlin;c-issiiu; ballot...'[jiipoiy!in,. : its' present > form is- held'" in; inoru.or/less: eon.tenipt,is ■no wonder since it merely: serves as ah ally, to '■ Continuance';-; Apparently the. i-eyes of tho doctors are1 at last- being ; :.opeue<T. in . a uibasure;.. to.; this fact., Betwewi.,l9l9 aiul 1925. therp was an increase .of- over 73 percent,; .in the Stato "Pui'chaso dnd Control vote, but between 1925 iind -1925.. there was-.an .adVancb. of only 14 [w cent, electors really solicitous -for lli c removal of the-defects-'of. .the li(|uor,:trade.e\'icloiitly: iiaving, realised that H. vote for State Control oii.tho. prosont ballot, pa per,; was uienilya Vote .for.CoiitiiiuanciI,' Had tlie*snpporters, of No Licmise inbvL'd ..;foi' tnc application of preferential voting to. tlie tlireo-issue-iballot paper^as Mr..11.:.13..H011and, the, loaclei' of-th'e Labour Opposition, urged it should bowlieir Mr.:.Coates's Bill was, bofor'O;.Parliament, they-might ihyi- this: time be wJell.-on the road-to tho realisation of their jgoal. ,;>/-...' '■■•■. , ■..-, ■'■'■"•';<: ':'FOE THE ;OTHEE/FELLOW.'. ' " : ;./ , A peculiar- feature': ruvbaleil.; by Hie licensing figures;this year-is the roadi-; ness willi:which a niinftifcr of iio-iiciiiise ''dist'rict'a'iiAvli'ile ;to Prohibi : tion 'for .tlmmselves, -assisted in : swell /ing tlie; majority ■I'orNntibnal Cgntinu, 'aii'cfllv. \Vbilingt,oii/ East, i6r, instance, cast. 7231 .votes against; the: restoration of liccnsuwithiii, its o'w'ii-Uordci's. and ■only 5129 for restoration. On the Na-. tional issue; ;liowever,Htcast: 5504 votes; 'for' Contiiiuahco; 1733-: vote's for: State ;Coliti'ol]~;\vhiclr::;would '/coiiiit; agaiiist; /Proliibitioii, 'iiiifl-. oiily; 5465 vbtss. fo,v 'Proliibitioii ;;;i;V\relliiigto'ii: South aiid; Wolliiigtbn Suburbs .wcfi.'1 iii uiueli thu same '.liiiso'.'■'■•, .Wclling.tbiV ;Soutl) . I'or ■ it-. suit' cast ,51X0, votes;fb,r ; restoration; and ,6104 votes ngiilnst/nistoration; ■but; for tlio Doiinnion'at |jti-g.o.:it.;:l'nsl 5(W5 votes lor. Cbii.iinuaiiKo,•..HlSl./.yotes for .State CoiiU'Ol, |:ii.iid iuviuorc tluui 01509■ for Pro.liibition. ; Wellington ■■'.Suburbs nflinhed: its owii- i nb'':ilieense .'preference.' by 7317/ voles to fiO37 .votes, but for the "otlior' .fellow'''it recorded 5323 votes' for Con-

tiuuancu, IS.KJ). fur' dtaLi,'::_OuiiU-uJ, tuid , only 5001 V for Prohibition.-' JiivevfargUl is tlio: Only No".'ljicuii'^rilist.rlcf': tlitif demanded oilipluUieuliy.' theI.■reSiora.tioii. 'ot.:[ lieojisc'1- by/so sulj.si.'iiitiiil: ai iiKijority :aa .04W) to 4!'57 ; mid iii'i-hii\vliil<-, it is/iX'.vdy to given.liaiiil in tliis'iliroxiinii {<< oiliiT /et'iitiT.s of.|io[)iiliiiidu.. ;ik iv (ICiiiipiititrr.ted by 'rui'iinliiig MOO yotte foi'-Gontinii-ane'e: 1022 for, Bliitc .Control, aml^;«s ; forV l'rolubit.ion . Pi'Obiibly ; flic '. fij,un;tis qiiolod ■:iij':6'''a'ff«elci(l. to some'c.ntout ..br tho cli yii go- of bouiKlnr.ios, but "as,thoy stand: .they suggest ajohirruiing fatinosphoro: of rccipi;oi;ity;l)ctwcpi(/.tlm cpiv>,f stituencid"- '■.'■".-.' ':/■■:. CV' :/:'!:;'l-:':^:'l/,