THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. THURSDAY, JULY 22, 1909 THE LIQUOR QUESTION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 175, 22 July 1909, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. THURSDAY, JULY 22, 1909 THE LIQUOR QUESTION.

EACH recurring Court Day at Te Kuiti brings to light food for deep and serious reflection as to the manner in which the iniquitous restrictions which apply to the district, in the matter of liquor, t are used to harass those residents who do not abstain from the use of liquor in every form. All reasonable people recognise that the legislation passed to enforce the restrictions was intended to safeguard the interests of reputable people, while providing for the punishment of those who flouted authority, or endeavoured to make money by illicit traffic in grog. A cursory glance at the cases brought before the Court will serve to indicate that the Act is being analysed for the purpo»e of endeavouring to entrap reputable residents on technicalities, and to cause as much inconvenience and expense as possible to psople who have no more idea of breaking the law than those who instigate the prosecutions. To those who give the subject reasonable and fair consideration, whatever their pre tent opinion regarding liquor may be, such a state of affairs must present a most sinister aspect, and the conditions which give rise to such a position, cannot have the fundamental basis of liberty, justice, and the public good. It is admitted by all that the liquor restrictions on the district form one of the relics of the past. That the embargo ever served the purpose of preventing liquor coming into the district cannot be seriously entertained by the wildest imagination, but even allowing that it was useful for a time, its youthful merit has'long since been discounted by its growing evil. There is no question of license or nolicense attached to the issue. The present situation is bad, irksome, and wrong in principle, therefore it should be altered. That such alteration should be in any given direction is not material to the case, further than the highly important point that the voice of the people chiefly affected should be given the same power as obtains in other districts. Local option has been adopted as the medium for giving effect to the declared will of the people, and until some other method i? adopted, local option, with exactly the same issues ai are applied to other districts, should be granted to the King Country. The only reasonable objection which can be advanced against such a course is that seeing the district has been restricted for so many years, the situation might fairly be met by means of special legislation. For King Country residents to admit such a proposition would be an extremely dangerous matter, and might in effect defeat the object which is being striven for, in the shape of equal treatment with the rest of the Dominion. 'On the face of things it is clearly the duty of all persons and bodies to acquire a thorough knowledge of the position before advocating the continuance of a system which is admittedly opposed to the best interests of the inhabitants, and which strikes a blow at the constitutional right of the people.* The monotonous regularity with which the various temperance societies throughout the Dominion continue to make themselves ridiculous by urging the continuance of the restrictions in the interests of the Maori race, is a very clear indication of the general ignorance of outsiders with regard to our conditions. It is, moreover, a striking testimony to the manner in which unthinking people will sacrifice a community on the altar of their own private prejudice. For principle becomes prejudice when it is ignorantly applied by indiscreet partisans, who fail to realise that any cause, however great, has its limitations, and that to win a peoples sympathy, education and example will succeed where coercion will fail miserably. To narrow the matter down to a simple issue let us say that an evil exists in the shape of the restrictions. It is to the interest of the district, and of the Dominion, to devise a remedy. Let us then, instead of attempting to perpetuate the evil, endeavour to devise reasonable and just means to effect a remedy. To this as to the great Native question the best thoughts of the thinking public can profitably be turnel, irrespective of creed or colour.