COMING LIQUOR FIGHT IN NEW ZEALAND.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 92, 31 March 1911, Page 3

COMING LIQUOR FIGHT IN NEW ZEALAND.

NATIONAL PROHIBITION

AT ISSUE.

ALLIANCE PRESIDENT OPTI-

MISTIC.

Sydney, March 27. The Rev. Arthur Dewdney, chairman of the Alliance executive of New Zealand, arrived in Sydney yesterday en route to Melbourne. Mr. Dewdney is «also pastor of the Brooklyn Baptist Church, Wellington, and is on his way to attend the Baptist Conference which opens in the Victorian capital on Wednesday next. Referring to prohibition and no-license in New Zealand, Mr. Dewdney said: — Our Wellington papers recently published messages from Sydney, in which extracts from your papers were given criticising the increase in the drink bill of New Zealand, and professing not to be able to understand how it was that with no-license in such a flourishing condition the drink bill should increase at the same time.

“ That is no puzzle to us. The explanation is that New Zealand, with the rest of the Australasian States, is enjoying a season of very great prosperity; and increased prosperity means increased drinking. Last year (190.9) we had commercially a bad year, and our drink bill was 4/5 per head less. This year (1910) with the return of prosperity has come the increased consumption of liqudr. Our contention is that, but for the no-li-cense influence, the increase would have been very much greater, and we have figures which show that. The Minister for Customs gave us a return showing the aggregate amount of duty paid on spirits and beer at the several ports in New Zealand for two three-year periods viz., 1904-5-6 and 1907-8,-9. We asked for these for the purpose of conparison. Almost everywhere a considerable increase is shown; but by far the smallest increase is in those ports that serve districts where most no-license areas are to be found. Here are the figures:— Oamaru, Dunedin and Invercargill are the three ports of Otago and Southland. We have four large no- > license areas in' those districts. The net increase in duty in those three ports was qiqjy , whereas Auckland’s increase was £59,788 and Wellington’s £77,553, and other ports the figures in regard to which I will not trouble you with, all show corresponding increases. “The next general election in New Zealand takes place about November of this year, and for the first time the people will have the right of voting on national prohibition as well as local no-license. The votes will be quite separate. If carried, national prohibition will absolutely prohibit the importation, manufacture and sale of liquor. The Act passed in the last session of Parliament has been received withe great satisfaction by the no-license party. We were disappointed in not getting a reduction of the three-fifths majority, but we are organising our forces to secure a return in the next Parliament of a majority pledged to give us that reduction, and we are confident that we shall be so successful as to obtain a considerable reduction in that handicap.

“One of the features of our recent legislation is worth mentioning. When compulsory military training was introduced by. the Government, by the influence of the Alliance, all camps, barracks, forts, or other places where the defence forces are quartered, stationed, or serve, are really prohibited places. Under a penaltv of £2O, no one is allowed to bring er convey liquor into any such amp. Teetotal camps are thus assured. As a fact, several encampments have already been held under this Act, and though there was some grumbling the general testimony favoured the new conditions. I think I can say that without any hesitancy. Another important reform under the new Act is that ai publican is prohibited from selling! liquor to anyone under the age of l 21.”