SPECIAL INTERVIEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10404, 31 March 1897, Page 3

SPECIAL INTERVIEWS.

THE PROHIBITION MOVEMENT.

5-fIE REV. E. WALKER'S VIEWS. Taking advantage of the presence in Auckland of the Rev, E. Walker (orga-

nising secretary of the New Zealanc

Alliance), a representative of the Herald I waited on the gentleman named, with the \ object of eliciting his views upon the prohibition movement in this colony. Mr. Walker, who may be considered the active head of the prohibition party in New Zealand, ie paying his annual visit to this part of the colony. THE LESSON OF THE POLLS. "Are there any matters connected with the recent local option polls which you Qonaider of special significance?" queried air reporter. "Two at least," replied Mr. Walker. 'First, the certainty afforded by the raormous prohibition vote that the prohilition of the traffic in alcoholic beverages n this country cannot be long delayed. At ihe last poll 258,000 people voted and 18,000, or a fuII third of them, voted for prohi>ition. Probably ten years ago not 10,000 jould have so voted. If only 32,000 who roted against prohibition had voted for it, ;he prohibitionists would have been a najority of those who voted. A movement jroiriiif; at this rate is acquiring a momentum which will be presently irresistible. Secondly, the very remarkable manner in jhicb the most out-of-the-way districts supposed to be also the most backward) lame forward into line with the more adianced districts. The whole colony is now OOViDg forward with equal pace." FORWARD, OR BACKWARD?

" But it has been claimed by the modeate party thab tho prohibition movement h retrogressing, That is evidently not your opinion." !1 No. Wβ are much amused by it. It !; accounted for thus: In 1894 the law Kiiouraged the moderates to defeat the poll ty not voting. But this time they had to nte, and they voted as for their very lives. \Te now know their full voting strength, aid (in appearance) the full expression of it his relatively dwarfed the prohibition vote. But, on the other hanrl, the prohibition vote ucreaeed from 48,000 in 1894 to 98,000 in !896. In every district in the colony there ivas an increase in the vote for prohibition. In Marsden, Clutha, Hjiwera, and Bruce the majority ot those who polled voted for prohibition, while in six other districtsAuckland, Waiapu, Pahiatua, Taranaki, Patea, and Wellington suburbs—the existing number of licenses continues only by She vote of a minority." " Why are the temperance party generally not contesting the election of licensing committees V " Personally, I do not like to see any amall degree of preventive evil go unprevented, and many others share this feeling. On the other hand, the prohibitionists very naturally say,' The poople have voted for licenses; let those who believe in them see what they can do to regulate them. Their experience may be useful.' When prohibitionists have striven to enforce the law for the people who profess to believe in regulation, those people have never given them either their moral or financial support. Alter so many painful and costly aperiences, it is hardly fair to ask those who do not believe in the traffic to regulate it for those who do believe in it. Tho people who have voted for the traffic must be held responsible for all the mischief it does. The refusal of an extension of hours and of licenses for public sports are the only things for which prohibitionists would now think of going on to licensing com mittees. The former ought to be fixed by law uniformly for the colony, and the latter ought to be abolished altogether. Practically, there is no further discretionary power now left to a committee." "Do you recognise any such improved disposition of licensees to strictly observe the law as to at all weaken the claim for. prohibition ?" "Not the slightest," emphatically returned Mr. Walker. " Indeed the impression has been produced that since the last poll their lawlessness has assumed peculiar boldness, and certainly the number of horrible drink deaths has been notable." '- " A CORRUPT RESTRAINT. "Does closing at 10 instead of 11 o'clock make any material difference ?" " Undoubtedly every little restriction is an advantage, but then everybody knows that there are precious few licensees who cease selling liquor at closing time, if a man sells a little liquor without having a license detectives are soon on his track j but everyone knows that the man who has the veste'J interest of a license to shield him may ' wink the other eye' at the notion of detectives or police troubling him on Sundays or after license hours, It is the sheerest nonsense to say they could not be as successfully active in the one direction as the other if there were not a corrupt restraint of some kind somewhere. The force is often not to blame, they cannot help themselves." "Have you anything to say about clubs?" "Simply that they should not be places for tho sale of liquor, and that as long as they are they should be subject to the same restriction and popular vote as the sale of liquor at licensed houses." "Is it the intention of the prohibition party to advocate any temperance reforms in the coming session of Parliament?" " Most certainly. We shall do this every session until we obtain for the people full and unrestricted power, if they so see fit, to prohibit the traffic in intoxicating beverages both locally and nationally."_ " Do you really think that national prohibition is likely to be carried before long ?" " I do not see why at the present rate of growth the prohibitionists of the colony should not be a majority of all the voters three years hence. Wo shall not then have long to wait for a law framed wholly in the interest of the peoplo instead of the liquor monopoly, nor for a national vole which will make short work of the business. The national option provisions of the Government Bill which have now twice passed the Lower House will meet tho case, with the majority to decide the isnue as far as national prohibition is concerned." " Are there any defects in the legislation under which the recent poll was taken which you will be seeking to remedy?' " The provision? for local prohibition are practically perfect, except that clubs are not included under the popular vote, that the majority should determine the issue, and the voting paper be simplified by excluding the reduction issue. The iesue now manifestly lies between licence and no licence. Discretionary power to reduce could be restored to committees, and failing prohibition, the people elect reductionist committees if they want them." Continuing, Mr. Walker said the proviBions for taking the poll have proved seriously defective, and must be amended. In hundreds of cases scrutineers could not be appointed under the existing law; many who did not know their duties were appointed deputios and poll clerks; uniform voting papers should be issued for the whole colony; and all provisions of the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act which could be made applicable should apply to the local option poll. "An election should be a judicial function, as distinct from one in which there can be any such control as can by any possibility be(rightly or wrongly) construed into the exercise ot authority in the interest of any party in the State. Toeecure this, the judges of the Supreme Court should appoint all returning officers and control the appointment of their subordinates. Obviously, too, there would b,e greater satisfaction in the administration of the law if Stipendiary Magistrates ' and Justices of the Peace were appointed by the Judges of the Supreme Court. To prevent personation, voters' rights should be issued, as in Victoria and New South Wales. The personator would then expose himself to the penalties for forgery."

ALLEGED IRREGULARITIES AT THE POLLS. " I fee that a deputation recently waited on the Minister of Justice complaining of irregularities connected with the polling-" "Yes. If there were not ignorance and irregularities displayed in the counting, there wore certainly remarkable results. For example, the policy of the temperance party was to vote for both prohibition and reduction by striking out the top line, and this was generally followed. But we have heard of instances in which it was afr fifsb disputed that anyone could vote for the two issues, and was affirmed that such voting -papers must either be declared informal • or counted for one of the issues only. Id any case, here are the final

results of the counting in some places :— Jlakofcuku (Waipawa), prohibition 73, reduction 2; Waikaka Valley (Clutha), prohibition 68, reduction I ; Licingston {Waitaki), prohibition 63, reduction 1; and similar returns were reported from many other places, In llarsden and Kaiapoi we bad the extraordinary coincidence of the number of people who voted on local option being declared exactly the same as the number who voted for Parliamentary candidates. Here, in Auckland city, notwithstanding the temperance policy to strike out the top line only, (the eatne voter polling for both prohibition and redaction where this policy was followed) we find it officially declared that 6269 votes for continuance, 5317 for reduction, and 4783 votes for prohibition represented a total of 13,034 voters, which suggests that a very pmall proportion of those who voted for prohibition did so by striking out the top line only."