THE NO-LICENSE ISSUE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14357, 29 October 1908, Page 8

THE NO-LICENSE ISSUE.

Sir,—ln your issue of Friday "last "A Female lileot'or" expresses disappointment that t.he No-license party has not. accepted Mr Thomson's challenge. Nov,-, what dc<« Mr Thomson's challenge amount to? lie asks the jio-licsnsc leaders to accept his figures as the basis of their calculations, to bring ifchair own auditors, and to prove him wrcing. Now, if the No-license party had adopted this method with regard to drunkenness in Dunedin, what would have been the result? The people would have been misled and the true records o' druiilremiKSo in Dnnodin would never have beesi, know.n. Air (}. li. Nir.holls, by going to the proper source for his information, put Mr Thomson right. Has "A Female Elector'' forgotten this? I thir t 'c Air Thomson has not, although he never writes about it now. Now, seeing that Air Thomson got to fair wrong about Dtmedin, it seems to mo very likely that he is still further wioi'.g about America. The only way to test Air Thomson's figures would bo to send a deputation to America, and this would cost money, and could not bo done before tiio election; and Air Thomson knows this. When Air Thomson left New Zealand far America wo never expected that he would bring back a report that would be favourable to no-license. Then, again, there are the slaleincmis he made about Dr Hodge, llr Thomson nnH have been wrong, or lw would not l:e afraid to inert M.r P. B. Eraser in del;.",to; indeed, in tho face of all that we have seem of Air Thomson and his lnethoLo it sjems unlikely ithal. the electors will place much confidence eitherin life figures or his statements. The Liquor party its spending a lot of money to try to prove that no-license is a failure ill America, and yet it is so much afraid that iK-!iixMi«> will prove a success under British law 'that it is doing its utmost to prevent it getting a trial in Dunedin. Why should not. no-license get a trial in Dunedin? If it. is a success, good and well; Pf it. fails, then we oa.n go back to license. That iia the only tiling that will settle the question.—l am, etc., Give It a Teial. Lovcll's Flat, October 26.