AN INOPPORTUNE DEMAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXI, Issue 15456, 7 November 1910, Page 6

AN INOPPORTUNE DEMAND.

No doubt it is in discharge of his election pledge that Mr A. Malcolm is moving in the House of Representatives to have the licensing issues decided by a bare majority, but probably the prohibitionists among his constituents would rather he had been content with the concessions offered to their party by the Prime Minister's Bill. "Fiftyfive forty-five " was the majority a greed upon in the famous "compact," and though tho '' compact'' was subsequently repudiated by the prohibitionists it was not the retention, of a small margin against them at tho poll that led to their rejection of the arrangement. Most of their leaders were prepared to accept tho compromise between the tliree-fit'ths majority and tho bare majority, but they objected then, as they are objecting now, to the provision that a vote for local no-license should also count for national prohibition, and on this point the parties disagreed, and the "compact"' was abandoned. Sir Jotseph Ward revived its main features in his Bill, but speaking in tho House last week ho Btated that the votes for local no-license and national prohibition would be separated, and it was generally expected that this Announcement would make the measure acceptable to Ilia rank and file of the prohibition party as .veil as to its leaders. But apparently Mr Malcolm thinks the time opportune for tho revival of the majority controversy in observance of a pledge that cannot have .been given with a full knowledge of tho circumstances. It scorns to us that his judgment is sadly at fault and that his constituents would bo well advised in urging him to accept the compromise and give his cordial support to the Minister in his attempt to pass tho Bill this session. Tho prospects of the measure will not be vory rosy in any case, and they will be quite hopeless if there are divisions in the ranks of the prohibition party.