Not Going Dry

NZ Truth, Issue 890, 16 December 1922, Page 1

Not Going Dry

■Hot Goisg Dry <; K|. Thank: Heaven , the 7imllng Pussy■jlobt,. the raucous Price and-: tftefrNfello-vr Kpellowerß are out ol the picture format X least another ' three'years; for fh'e lv, country has 'declared VftH'no ■uncertain voice- that there shall be no immediate f Interference with the; liquor, trade .aiid | that the liber ty iV ot the.subject shall (■ rot be violated at the wish of »an :- jix.tocratic minority..- It lis : satisfactory , to note that the vote upon this quesItion, which triennially disturbs politics proper, shows that m a- heavy poll the Prohibitionists have . gone back m numbers whilst the advocates.of Continuance and State.Control have increased their majority so lj appreciably that it,is safe to hazard the belief that Prohibition is dead m New^ Zealand for 'all time. .-.. . :,...: :y■.,..'..,. .7..,:..,/ ... ...:■.. So confident", were the!No-License Party of victory. that% m Wellington they had even gone to th^e extent of ! leasing the Towrt HalL for 'tlie Sunday following the election, with the'object pf holding a Grand Thankijiglving Service over the corpse of the liquortrade. . Instead of that, tl^ey. fpun^ th^seivw faced'on the appointed 'cta&^lth*,^ 1,, majority 'of 16,000 votes against their eoheme of confiscation. They Had naver a better opportunity of-victory, than they had this year and with a fair Kid and no favor they were;uncomr; pi omisingly'beaten. |! The timers opportune for remli ding I, the Trade that it fairly "had the wind I up" before.the figures went up, and'not |, unreasonably so. The lesson to oe |': learnt is not to sit back on its hunk kers and smile at the three ,3 ears' I adjournment that the country has pro- | nounced, but to get busy now and put I Its house m thorough, order w.'th a f, view to having, this hardy triennial i: weed rooted out of our; garden for \ 'keeps." There are abuses enough m ! connection with the administration of : Uie sale of liquor to more than Justify '. Ojl'b warning. > '. • ' I. „ :: ':! :: \ v .Probably we cannot look for a great deal from individual effort, but the \ Trade would do well to bear m mind thiU a large proportion of -the vote cast for Continuance v and a still larger proportion of that cast for State Cont.; troi was due to the fact that the I''House of « Representatives —whoever 7 tf»aybe'the leader —is committed to a "..revision of the licensing legislation at y%m early date m the coming year. .The I pi emises of that revision r have been I published m the report of the Licens- }■; Ing Committee set up during the-last >' recess to advise upon the matter. That f. neport, contains many admlrab'» sugl gestlons for reform and doubtless I .trany others will be forthcoming when I' Uie new measure comes up for coni- mderation. Not the least of theM will \. U the proposal to increase the interI i*\ at which the liquor vote is takon' 1: from throe years to possibly aix, This : U a reform that will meet >vith general "■• approval except from the renin of •' ertremo fanattos, and would give a security of tenure that would permit of tho conduct of. hotel premier upon terms that would nothvake It compulsory for tho . licensee to make a winning post of every sixpence by dovious means. Wf are not concerned at the moment with the fact that liquor is \being rein Hod at utterly exorbitant pile en. that tho Increased Customs duty haj> been more than passed on by tho so?.'i-rs to "tl.e buyers, that flat prices, prevail for thinks of all slzcs-rfrom the "pony"^o the pint—that tho measured nip Is i&xtravagantly expensive and that tho Percentage of profit on tho turn over cf liquor constitutes ■ profiteering of the gravest character. Those aro matters which we confidently anticipate Kill be remedied by the new legislation H' not at the initiative of (he individual. However, there Is a \vrlt:r.g on tho wall. The Increase m the State Control vote is significant, especially m .the ""light of the fact that It was mo.st nprnrent In distrluts whero the Moderate L v aguo had the opportunity of doing uroful propaganda "*vorlt» and-tho vote, at ono time almost nogHglb'.*, has frown to proportions that suggest that Ibe issue hns bocomo one of practical politics. Possibly many consciences

I were sailed, by votes "cast m this ' 'direction,.' but tlie issue will grow m j Importance with. the.years and is now ! something- more than a mere possi[bHity> ■ .The Trade has been given a fresh lease of -life by a discriminating public, but its- sins are by no means forgiven it, nor will they be until ample justification ia forthcoming.