NO LICENSE NEWS BULLETIN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3784, 4 February 1908, Page 4

NO LICENSE NEWS BULLETIN.

To the Editor. Sir,— Now that the policy of no license counts as its advocates, a clear majority of all the voters who polled at the last election, it is felt by all in connection with the movement that the time has arrived when the press of this Dominion should be regularly supplied with authentic facts in regard to what is happening in the movement for the abolition of the legal temptation to drink that is now assuming such scope over the greater part of the civilised world. As relating to a present-day reform of immense public interest, it must be conceded tnat the class of news herewith has greater claims upon your space than much that is at present published. I have therefore been instructed to prepare and send out to all the newspapers in the Dominion every little while, say about once a fortnight, a concentrated summary of the world’s news to hand during that period. Opinions and theories will find no room in this bulletin. Neither will hard sayings be indulged in. The contents will be matters of fact with full authority behind them. Statements by men whose position gives their words importance may occasionally be quoted. The immense progress lately made by no license and prohibition in the United States, Canada,Finland and Norway, where they have such multitudes of working examples, and the splendid testimony of the Inspector of Police at Invercargill, places our cause to-day in a hardfact, horse-sense, practical position it has never before occupied in New Zealand, and enables us to commend no license to the people, backed by unanswerable evidence, as not only saving the boys, but as making business better and bad debts fewer. This is a proposition that is worth while.

INVERCARGILL DEBT SUMMONSES.

The summonses for debt, it will be admitted on all hands, form a very sensitive' test ot the financial well being of a people. This being so, our reporter visited the Invercargill Court, and was furnished with full details for the last three years. As might be expected, the first quarter’s figures show but little improvement over the previous average. After this, however, there is a decided drop. Comparing the five quarters immediately preceding no license with five quarters since (excluding the first quarter), the figures are as follows: Amount sued for before no license since ; number of persons sued before 1782, since 1324; distress warrants before 97, since 67. This is a reduction of Probably not 50 per cent of the amount sued for is usually recovered. On this assumption there is here shown on this one line alone, a clear saving to the townspeople of What this drop means in debts that are more promptly paid, and what a decrease of one-third in the summonses for debt in the short period of 18 months, really foretells for the future of sound business in the town, we leave our readers to judge. POLICE COURT COMPARISONS. United Press Association wires have told all and sundry in New Zealand that Oamaru Police Court returns decreased in the' 18 months since no license to 142 as compared to 440 in the same period prior to the reform taking effect. These wires have not explained, however, that 30 out of the 34 cases of drunkenness were either persons arrested immediately on their return from licensed area in a drunken condition, or persons who brought liquor in with them and commenced a debauch. Ten other cases were a group of young men who went to a picnic at Timaru, and having got drunk, were charged and convicted of “misbehaviour in a railway train.” Other ten cases were equally not chargeable in fairness against the “dry” area. (All this on the authority of the local Sergeant of Police.) Hence the real comparison is:— Before no-license 440, since no license 92. The Southland Times of Invercargill published on January 10th last, a statement of Court cases, giving all details, which showed a decrease from 577 in the 18 months prior to no license, to 464 in the 18 months since. Of these 464 no fewer than 145 were shown by the detailed list supplied by the Police Inspector to have been cases of drunkenness that arose in adjoining license area. These also cannot rightly be charged against Invercargill no license. The real comparison then is as follows : Before no license 577, and since 319* In Dunedin an era of strict regulation was promised that was to be “ better than no license.” From the Court returns just published comparing 1907 and 1906, we find that the following, which are all closely identified with liquor use and consequent excess, all show increase: Assault cases increased 21, breaking and entering 14, mischief 20, drunkenness 84, breaches of peace eight, vagrancy 13, prohibition orders 36. A total increase on these lines alone of 196. This throws a vivid light on the comparative success of no license and “strict enforcement” as a crime reducer. NO LICENSE AND PROSPERITY. From the Associated Prohibition

Press of Chicago, we cull the following : “ People argue that you will kill the town if you kill the saloons. By referring to the United States census, you will find something like this : In California there is not a city or town, with the exception of Los Angelos, that has maintained the licensed saloon for any number of years, that has increased in population and wealth to exceed 23 per cent. On the other hand, there is not a city or town in the State of California that has had prohibition, that has not increased in wealth and population from 63 to 250 per cent. This is borne out by the experience of Balclutha. During the 13 years they have had no license, viz., 1894 to 1907, the gross valuation of the borough has increased from ,£53,000 to £ 123,000, or equal to a gain of 133 per cent. RAPID SPREAD OF PROHIBITION. The Chicago Record Herald (quoted by the Evening Star correspondent) in a late review of nolicense progress, writes as follows; —“ln 1870 only about three million people were living in prohibilion territory; in 1880, about seven million ; in 1890, over eleven million ; in 1900, about eighteen million; and in the last seven years that number has increased by twenty-two million, making a total of forty million in “dry” territory in' 1907. So that the Record Herald states : “One half the population in the United States is now living in territory governed by prohibition laws.” In the Georgia legislature, State prohibition was carried by about 4 to 1. Now, however, the Alabama legislature has gone even one better than this for they adopted prohibition by 70 to 4 in the House, and 32 to 2 in the Senate—or 102 to 6 altogether. Compiled and sent out by G. B Nicholls, Duneui^.