Hawke's Ban Herald. FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1877.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3938, 29 June 1877, Page 2

Hawke's Ban Herald. FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 1877.

The laws for regnlating the sale of intoxicating liquors have for some time been attracting a good deal of attention in Great Britain, as well as in these colonies. At different periods efforts have been made to procure by legislative enactment the imposition of restrictions which should have the effect of diminishing intoxication, but the question is beset with so many difficulties that as yet little if anything has been done in that way either here ov at home. In America, however, as most of our readers are no doubt aware, the question has been dealt with by the legislatures of several of the States, and laws have been passed, varying in the several States in degrees of stringency. In an article in the Contemporary Review, by Mr James Henderson, a very interesting description is given of the laws prevailing in those States where prohibitory measures have been adopted, and of their mode of administration, together with the results of the various experiments. The F.ederal system of Government in America, Mr Henderson considers, has probably facilitated these experiments ; but the facilities are not so large as many suppose, for although each State lias the power to i make and to administer its own domestic i laws, the Federal Government at Washington exercises the right to grant licenses [ for the sale of intoxicating liquors in every State of the Union It matters not what restrictive or prohibitory law may have been passed in a State, the officer of the Federal Government located in that State will grant a license, on payment of the prescribed fee, to any applicant who complies with the regulations. This accounts for the fact that even in those States where the prohibitory law is stringently enforced the sale of intoxicating liquors has not been entirely suppressed. It lias certainly been decided by the Supreme Court' of the United States that the possession of a Federal license does not protect the holder from a prosecution for a violation of the State law ; but the difficulties of enforcing prohibition muse be greatly increased by the existence in the State itself of representatives from the Central Government, who grant licenses to do acts forbidden by the State law. The violations of the law are restricted, principally to the large towns, but that they are numerous there may be judged of by the fact that in Portland, the capital of the State of Maine, over 300 Federal licenses were issued during the year ending the 30th of June, 1876. It would have been supposed that the Federal Government would have been glad to give its aid in the suppression of intemperance, and would have abstained from issuing licenses in those States where the sale of intoxicating liquors was prohibited ; but the fact is that the United States Government regards the question from a revenue point of view. " More than one-half of the net receipts obtained from internal taxation," Mr Henderson observes, " is derived "from the duty upon spirits, and Congress has ever showed a decided disinclination to pass measures which would be likely to interfere with or diminish these receipts." This is, no doubt, one Of the great difficulties in legislating upon the question botli here and in the mother country. Statesmen will always be averse to experiments which involve an immediate loss of revenue, however certain the ultimate gain to the community may be.