LIQUOR IN THE COOK ISLANDS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1682, 25 May 1904, Page 65

LIQUOR IN THE COOK ISLANDS.

A deputation of five, representing the Ministers’ Association of Wellington and the New Zealand Alliance, interviewed the Hon. 0. H. Mills last Wednesday in reference to the proposal to allow liquor to be taken into Niue Island, in the Cook Group. The Rev F. W. Isitt, who headed the deputation, expressed the view that too much attention was being paid to the wishes of a few white people instead of to the expressed wishes of a very large number of native people, who had petitioned against the importation of liquor into Niue. Lt had been said that Rarotonga should have a license for the sake of the accommodation which ■would thus he afforded to travellers, but this view was deprecated by the deputation, who considered that it would be much better that the .community as a whole should subsidise a house straight out than that it should he possible to minister to the perhaps reasonable appetite of a few by tempting the many. They did not suppose for a moment that the natives would he prevented from obtaining liquor if, under any conditions. it were brought into the island.

The law prohibiting the sale of liqoUu to Maoris was not enforced in New Zealand ; and if such was the ease here, where there were police officers, there, was very _li ttle probability that the" sale of drink to natives would be stopped by the native, police in the islands. A petition that no. liquor should be allowed in Niue had been signed by 1200, natives; there was a population of 4500 natives in Niue, and not thirty whites. The other members of the deputation —the Rev H. Blamires, Air W. F. loggers, the Rev J. Cocker and Air H. Sanson —endorsed what had been said by Mr Isitt. . -

The Hon. 0. H. Mills, in replying, said that he and the other members of the Government were most anxious to do the best for the islands, and to enforce the law. He had communicated with Colonel Gudgeon (the British, Resident) and Mr Maxwell (the Resident Agent at Niue), and in their opinion, ' and in the opinion of an estimable clergyman, one of the missionaries, it would he impossible to prohibit liquor altogether. Colonel Gudgeon was of opinion that it would take a little army of policemen to prevent the manufacture of the liquor in the back gullies and places of that kind, and had isuggesfced that the best plan would be to allow liquor to be imported only fun cl e-.* Government surveillance. The liquor would then come through the Customs, and be delivered to anyone in small quantities at regular intervals. The difficulty was to form an opinion here as to what was best to be clone, instead of listening to the opinions of those who were in charge at the islands. Colonel/ Gudgeon had been there for many years, and Mr Maxwell for about -three years. The missionary he had referred to, Mr Lawrence, had stated that he heartily endorsed the proposal that a good house fo<r the entertainment of visitors should be established, and! had given his opinion that the Government should be the only importer and retailer of liquor in the islands. The Minister went on to say that it seemed to himself impossible, that 1 the Government should prohibit the importation of liquor into any of the islands. Whether such a. policy could be carried out in the future it was not for him to say. The question raised by the deputation had been referred from Cabinet to the Hon. Mr Carroll, the Hon. Air Pitt and himl- - so that they might consider •the whole matter, and see whether it would be wise to* make an alteration of the law. He would let the deputation know the result of these inquiries. The islands were so scattered that it wotuld*be difficult to‘prevent- smuggling. It was found difficult to prevent this in New Zealand where we had stringent• laws and a force of police. •