THE LABEL THAT TELLS A LIE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 19 October 1922, Page 4

THE LABEL THAT TELLS A LIE.

+- There is to be found on bottles of spirits now being -^old a red label bear T ing the following little fairy story: "Protect your revenue; 4s llfd duty paid on this bottle." On January 6th this year the New Zealand Times stated that eighteen months' to two years' supplies of spirits had been taken by the liquor traffic out of bond at the old rate of duty, namely 18s per gallon. This is less than 2s 6d per bottle duty. It will be seen, therefore, that the liquor I party's label tells a lie when it states, that practically 5s duty has been paid on the contents of the bottle. The liquor traffic is now selling the spirits that it took out of bond at the old rate of duty and upon which it had A padd only 2s 6d per bottle duty. r *~. In January this year a statement "'" was published all over New Zealand, showing that, on the basis of the New Zealand Times' report, the liquor traffic stood to gain £1,500,000 clear profit hy charging: customers the extra duty on spirits- which the liquor traffic nad not paid. That statement has never been denied! On the strength of increased duties; which they had not paid the liquortraffic raised the price of spirits 2s 64 per bottle to the consumer. In addition to this, whisky was costing 4s 7di per gallon less, in 1921 than it "did im 1920. This, economy- in price nieansj. on the: 1921 year's imports, no less; than £164,000 clear profit.. Whisky coating 3Ss, 3d, per gallon-, 5s 3d per bottle,, including; duty, when sold by the-, nipt yields, to the liquor traffic 21s per Dottle or- £7 7s. per gallon. No- wonder the liquor traffic saju a£* for& to spend hundreds of thousands in enormous advertising and. in, th© payment of canvassers in the ef&prt t<» maintain its monopoly and sscua-e &»~ ttther three years in which to plunder, ilrinkers* Strike out the Two. Top Lines.—N.Z. Alliance Publicity. (67 >