PUBLIC-HOUSE REFORM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11149, 23 August 1899, Page 7

PUBLIC-HOUSE REFORM.

TO THE EDITOR, -• In facing the -moral aspect of tern.ranee reform Mr. Lawry directs our atten-d-to «'hat is really tho important one, for P.®. scheme or principle of reform can bo Urn to ho ethically desirable or necessary, A to he ethical in its working, then it must S oractioable, otherwise would thero bo little j^p 0 [or tho progress of righteousness upon '^(fare' all agreed that under the present ratine system the sale of strong drink nnot he adequately controlled. In view of S, while some believe that reform of the rein' stem is impossible, others of us are p, opinion that in eliminating private profit from the trado, in converting a private into nublio monopoly, the evils attendant upon 'twould he eradicated. By such elimination, m likewise by tho disposal of tho profits -pelves, the public authority controlling lie trad® need have no financial interest in it ' hatever. Such a scheme is based, of course, the presumption that tho evil to be got °.i 0 f fos no', in the drink itself, but in the "huso of it. Prohibitionists, on tho other hand urge 110 reform, but a coercive mcal re ' and it may be argued that under cor- ,-' extreme circumstances, in working for righteousness among men, coercion is justifiable. Yet it cannot ho too strongly emijjjgjd that coercion in whatever circumStance employed is useless, unless it be drastic. Now, is it possible to introduce a prohibition which would bo drastic? Bosidos, puld this bo the bettor way morally? It could scarcely be so, inasmuch as it is a coercive measure. In every reform we have to deal with human nature as it is, and while prohibition might be advocated as not unjustly infringing <iie liberty of total abstainers and 'thoso who are victims of intemperance, ffhat of the vast number of thoso who use without abusing intoxicating drink, and still desire to do so? To arrive at a just estimate 3 [ this question, wo must maintain the truth, viz., that the evil does not lie in the drink itseif. but in its abuse. If Scripture authority is to ho called in, one need only think of tho marriage feast at Cana of Galilee, of Paul's injunction to Timothy, of the circumstances under which the words were spoken: "Behold a man gluttonous and a wino bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." When, 1900 rears ago, the fulness of time had come, » oroiiibition against every form of evil could have easily been enacted then, but it was not jo; evil was left in the world, and to a great eit'ent still remains. Rut an Example, an Incentive a Power unto righteousness was given, whereby every form of evil might bo overcome, and it is not otherwise now. This, !o my mind, is very suggestive of the lines, working along which alone wo may hopo for success in any righteous work. It is not by lecturing tho weakling that wo teach him to he strong—no man dare thus judge his brother; neither is it by removing tho source of his sin— that lies not in our province, but beyond it, although wo may be loth to admit it, but it is by taking our stand by his side, placing our own hand upon his very weakness itself, and helping him to struggle and be strong. The community is already responsible for a traffic whoso maladministration brings ruin to many a life and desolation to many a home, whose discussion causes endless controversy among friends, and clouds many an issue in our Legislature, and brings odium to such men as, according to legal enactment, are lawfully engaged in it; the Prohibitionists, on the one hand, call for what generally they are not likely ever to obtain; the Trade on the other, fight as for thoir very life; between the two stand the great body of tho people listless, feeling that something should be done, hut knowing not what to do. Surely tho way out of the difficulty is for the people to faco their responsibility directly. If this drink traffic is to remain a monopoly, let its burden be borno right upon tie shoulders of the people, and let us no longer strive to cscapo our responsibility in regard to this traffic by vesting it in private hands, which, through virtue of thoir anomalous position, are ever tempted to break the law.—l am, etc., James Milne. Auckland, August 17, 1699,