Hawke's Bay Herald. MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1896. THE PROHIBITION REFERENDUM.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 10478, 7 December 1896, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1896. THE PROHIBITION REFERENDUM.

I Foil the second time in the history of [ Anglo-Saxon Parliaments the Beferendum has been tried. The first one waa In South Australia, on the question of religious teaohing in aohools. The sooond was the licensing poll on Friday. It was not called a Referendum, but it wbb the thing itself. The result was a great surprise to most paople. In not a single dlstriot in the colony was the voting within measurable approaoh. of Prohibition, and so far as we oan find, in no place was even a reduotion of lioeoses carried. We are not stating this as a matter for congratulation, Though we cannot go the whole way with our Prohibition^ friends we believe that in a great number of electorates there are too many hotels, and the carrying of a reduction yol# irj gome

■districts would havo had a B »! not i 5 of lioensea « r ;T ce * c , Qt of » reduction been carried f « redoot i° n triotsaoma ' lft even a few diaho " B mo r «W»eM°* hotels would have or man •* * a *U<ralar in selecting tenants been e> " 8 ' alia M^nsees would have we , mare careful to see that the barß t , & 'closed at the proper hours, and tM drunkenneas was permitted on a tShet? premises.

But whatever our ofcn cpfn!6ns may be, we must accept the decision of the eleotors, and read the object .lesson aright. We wish our Prohibitionist friendg would do ao aleo in the interests of the cause they have at heart. But, we say it in Borrow, we have no hope that nenrotio extremists like the Bey. Mr Hosklng and the Rbv. Mr Miller wilt do ao. Mr Miller aotlvely espoused Mr Darnell's cause, and worked against Mr M'Lean, almply because the former was ready to promise to' Votß tor an out-and-out Prohibition Bill, while the latter was preparod to be guided by the voice of the people as declared at the polls. Now a law to be effective must havo the support of the people. Prohibition, If it be in accord with the mass [of publio opinion, oan be enforoed. If it is not so in acoord it simply leadß to wholesale aly grog-selling and the vendIng of poisonous liquors, and the result is infinitely worse than under a system of license. The people of New Zealand have shown at the polls that they are as yet opposed to Prohibition. But our temperance friends have no cause for disoottfagement. The voting has shown that, though In a minority, they yet have a Very large number of the adults of the colony with them, and as the younger generation grows np this will Bssnredly be accentuated. We believo that it is better to "master slowly" than to legislate hastily. Let them continue In the good work, undisoouraged, and they will continue to gain ground as they have gained in the past. But we ask them to confine their efforts to educating ths people in favor of the reform whioh ia their ultimate goal, and not to fry to foroe down the throats of the people laws whioh they do not wish, and whioh in conse> quence they would not obey.