WELLINGTON NOTES

Hokitika Guardian, 13 April 1923, Page 1

WELLINGTON NOTES

CONTROL OF LIQUOR. j TIIK PROHIBITION VIEW. 'p- , ise [St'EtiAi. To The Guardian.] ral WELLINGTON. April 0. hi- j .Mr -I .B. Mae Ewan's suggestion tin the parties to the licensing controvert It. , _ snoiild get together and make an hoi j. est examination of the Quebec systei ii r . ol commissioner control, has draw i>!< a spirited retort from .Mr .). .Malto nr .Murray, the assistant-Sccretary of til New Zealand Alliance. Mr Murrn '! opens out hv declaring that Mr Mai 1,1 i- . . | , Ewan was wrong in stating that unde p the Quebec law spirt is could be obtain al ed only under strict regulations am it' that consequently they were rapidl, | going out of u-e as a beverage. "Tla regulations are,'’ Mr Murray says "that only one bottle can be pur chased at a time, but there is no re strietion as to how many times a da\ a person may purchase one bottle The Government is the sole importci ami vendor of wines and spirits, and in December 15/21, the sales were nine ' times what they were in May 102!.’’ 0 -Mr Murray urges as a further reproach 1 again-t the Quebec system the fact that the Commissioners in their report state they are making great pro--1 gross in suppressing "boot-legging.’’ ' This, he contends, is an admission that ' State Control is no more acceptable ' than prohibition. 1 Til E OPEN MIND. ' When seen on the matter to-day, MY 1 AbicEvan said he had no intention of embarking upon a controversy over the licensing ((iiestiou. His friends in ( anada had assured him that the Que--1 hoc system was proving a success, and 1 he had seen with his own eyes in -Montreal that it was producing good results, so far as an outsider and a 1 casual observer could judge. Tie i thought a very good ease for inquiry had been made out. and lie would lie sorry if the whole position were obscured and distorted by merely controversial tactics. Mr Murray, Mr Mae Ewan went on to say, advanced untiling to shake bis belief in the sou ml ness of the (,)uebee experiment. The assistant-secretary of lbe Alliance bad not laced the position frankly. He had admitted there were strict regulations governing the sale of spirils, but laid claimed there was a loop-lade through which they might ! he abused. If this were true, then the obvious duty of the authorities was to close the loop-lade. Again, to show that more spirits are used under the new law than under the old, Mr Murray had included in his figures ! the quantity of wine consumed. That j east suspicion upon his whole nrgu- | tuont. What was wanted was the plain truth. POLITICS AND SECTARIANISM. in the course of an interview published in the - New Zealand Times" this morning the victim of the reporter’s enterprise refers at some length to a very unfortunate leature of the Tauraliga by-election. "It was generally regretted,'’ lie says I.y way of introduction, "tlml the candidates were not allowed to light the election out between themselves, lint on the whole the contest went along fairly smoothly until the last few days,” when, it is alleged, the "sectarian serpent" raised its bead. "The fact that lies work vau done fi'-ncath the sur--1 nee I lie alii lieri 1 y says, 'in ch il j : hard to combat. The sectarian *er-| pent was used jq v.-liiuiis ways. One I | of the simplest was this: A man would i Ihe met in the street In n woman nr- j I quaiulunee who would ask what lie j thought of the election, and having j thus paved the way would in the course j of a conversation remark: But fancy Fir Joseph Ward wanting In gel into ! Parliament h> vote L'2.T.fMH) to tin j convents:-’ And impossible though the! story was. by such means was ii I soiiglil to poison the minds of the | people." It is not suggested that the Reform candidate associated himself I that it was a party move. It is j quoted simply as an instance of see- ; tnri.inhm run wild. GRAVE CHARGE'S. Here is anolliei paragraph. Irom ike ; story which seems to justify a very j vigorous protest. "Right at I lie I eleventh hour, when there was no opportunity for reply, literature was | spread over the electorate" the re- j porter was told. "In one pamphlet ill was alleged that Sir Joseph had j a ge. d to give certain large sums ol ; t money to the Catholic ( Intreh. Inn the j depths were reached by one pat porting j to tome Irom Sir Joseph 1 1 itn ~<’ 11. j * This, which obviously was issued by j ' some unsoruplnus opponent, was in- : | tended to create the impression that j < Sir Joseph himself was hy this adver- ; > lining to the electors wliat lit- intended | - to do for Catholicism (with public j ■ money , ii' he was returned to Parlia-! incut. Not only did these thing* I t reach the residences, hut it is said 1 that many of the farmers found them j t hi their milk earns oil the morning of t . i-e elect ion.’’ It only pare of this j | is true it still represents n deplorable | i state of affairs for which no decent j a politician would rate to assume re- \ spoil sibilily. I a BOOSTING WEI.I.I NgTON. il -A DULL PLACE." j a WELLINGTON,. April 11 jt The first practical step towards the I t long threatened boosting of Wellington j was taken on Monday evening, when : | a meeting of business men. convened j t by the Central Progress League, was j held to discuss the proposal and to i 1 appoint a committee to devise ways t and means. The speakers generally i admitted that civic pride and feeling ; were deplorably lacking in the capital j - and one of them declared frankly that ; t it uas an intolerably dull place. The j rrtitli probably is that Wellington has | t been so engrossed with polities and ; t business that it has left itself with no j ■

time fur civic and social development. Society,, tor the mo-c part, lives beyond the coniine- oi the city, and the hoi polioi lacks the lone! vision, d ho nicotine indicated many .schemes and considered some of them. Christchurch had two Carnival A\ eeks. it complaincd. Dunedin a Winter Show, and Auckland a perpetual boost. One lending spirit suggested carnivals in .January ami July, similar to those held in Christchurch in November and Autrust, with racing n- the principal attraction, and another a bold bid for a share ot the good things that fell to Auckland during the Christmas-New Year Week. Ultimately a committee was appointed to find a solution of the knotty problem. AN IMPROVED OUTLOOK. The annual report of the ’Wellington Chamber of Commerce, which is just on the point of issue, contains one or two cheering paragraphs which will bear repetition. '“One can with certainty say,” the opening paragraph runs, ‘‘that New Zealand has passed out of the period of depression which

1 it experienced is 1920-21. and In now on there should he progressi improvement leading to prospero times again." Then follows the arg ment for this optimistic, view. “T year 1922." the report continue "opened with New Zealand still mid the spell of a general depression, d i to excessive importations and It i prices for exports, but gradually dti l ’ I ing the year the position improve T and it can safely he forecasted no that this year will bring New Zealat ' out: of this period of depression. 1 Only the confirmed pessimist will d 1 i sire to discount the tone colour of th ■' encouraging picture, hut even the at tl-.or of the report has to admit thi j the Dominion’s speedy return to pro I perity is dependent upon the mail j tonance of the improved prices for it j produce. A further assn ranee, < J course, would he a large increase t I the volume of the Dominion's oxpon I able products, and tin's is tin alternr live to which the economists are eon stoutly directing the attention of Hi country. REDUCED TAXATION. The Chamber of Commerce Inis a not: oil the burden of taxation which pay a deserved compliment to the Taxa Lion Committee set up hy Air Masse; last year and at the same time award: credit to the Prime Minister himsel for having given effect to the spirit of its representations. "The repotof the Commission,’’ it says, "is a very interesting document indeed and expresses sound practical proposals. Although all the recommendations were not eventually adopted, still, concessions were made and hu si ness melt were gratified to know that at least a stall Intel been made to lighten the burdensome taxation they have been called upon to bear. With postage reductions and other concessions, also improved prices for Dominion produce, and the prospect of greater Prosperity, the outlook for the business man is very much brighter than last year." Alost of this jubilation is justified by the facts, hut there is a feeling abroad that the economics which were t<> precede more substantial reductions of taxation arc not being prosecuted with till the zeal that wa* promised before the turn of the tiuaneial tide, ft is feared that with returning prosperity many pious resolutions made during the critical times of the "slump" have been relegated to a more convenient season. PARTY TACfICS. Representatives of the-Labour Parly here are amused rather than annoyed l>\ Air Howard Elliot's efforts to prove an unholy alliance between Labour and l.iberali-m for the discomfit lire of Reform. They admit that on general grounds a great many members of their parly prefer Liberalism to Reform. and that in the event of there lrcing no candidate of their own in the field a majority of tlie'-.t vote with the Liberals. But if this is an ofTinee, they say, the same charge might he urged against Mr Elliot’s own friends, the Reformers, who again and again have voted for Labour when it was the only alternative to Liberalism. As for ill/ - Tauraliga by-election. Labour abstained from putting up a candidate for three very good and ullieient ion-

! sons. Ii ]nul no organisation to speak j ol' in the constitnonc.v, it had no i money to spend on the contest and it j had n i desire to help Reform. It was I for the local executive to say whether !or not similar conditions existed in Oamaiil. bit' in any r asp i here would | t.. the rote- idem non* that Mr Maej.l,. rj son and Mr l.ee. havin'; lonolil two ) rounds in the contest, should lioht the j "decider" without any interference j from allot her candidate.