The Hastings Standard. TUESDAY, NOV. 6, 1906 CRUSADE AGAINST DRINK.

Hastings Standard, Volume X, Issue 5346, 6 November 1906, Page 2

The Hastings Standard. TUESDAY, NOV. 6, 1906 CRUSADE AGAINST DRINK.

During the past seventy years, there has been a crusade against strong drink in the United Kingdom, and although for a long time the result was not noticeable, a beneficial change has at last been made and the crusade is becoming fruitful. The decrease in the consumption of alcohol is shown in the last report of the Commissioners of Inland revenue. This is stated not to be due to bad traile, but to the loss of drinking habits which the people had contracted. From 1899 there has been a substantial yearly decrease in the quantity of beer consumed in the United-Kingdom, notwithstanding the increased population. The quantity of be;r in gallons consumed and the estimated consumption in gallons per head is shown by the following figure?:—

Gallons. Per head. 1899-1900... 86,578.156 32.28 1900-1 ... 35,993,246 31.48 1901-2 ... 35,389,160 30.66 1902-3 ... 35.369,719 30.34 1908-1 ... 34,738,637 29.51 1904-5 ... 33,810,124 28.44 1905-6 ... 33,504,110 27.90 There has been a steady decline in the number of brewers' licenses issued during the past ten years, the licenses issued to persons brewing beer for sale numbering 5142 in 1905-6 as compared with 8785 in 1895-6. In the same period the number of licenses to persons brewing beer for their own consumption fell from 16,108 to 9322. There also has been a marked decrease ir the consumption of spirits since 1902-3. In that year 34,765,135 gallons, representing 1 .83 of a gallon per head of homemade spirits, were retained for home consumption, while in 1905-6 the total was 32,486,958 gallons, or .75 per head. The total ot foreign spirits fell in the same time from 8,550,613 to 6,734,991 gallons, and the consumption per head from .20 to .15. Taking all descriptions of spirits, the consumption per head has fallen from 1.05 gallons in 1902-3 to .90 gallons in 190;"-0. When it is compared that the number of licensss issued has decreased from 286,056 to 225,401 during the pMt five years, it must be clear that the quantity of liquor consumed is in proportion to the number of licensed houses. It is reasonable to expect that New Zealand consummation of liquor has shown a comparative decrease during the past few years. The prohibitionists will, of course, be told that the decline is due without any attempt to enforce their doctrine or to create prohibitionists by Act of Parliament, bat they can qucte the fact that the number of licenses has been reduced throughout the colony, and drinking has decreased accordingly-