COMMENT IN LONDON NEWSPAPER

Southland Times, Issue 25538, 5 December 1944, Page 3

COMMENT IN LONDON NEWSPAPER

Invercargill’s Licensing Experiment “Invercargill's licensing reforms have attracted the attention of many newspapers outside the Dominion and several authorities have used the experiment to develop arguments on aspects of licensing laws,” states Signalman D. Stone, who is on service in Britain, in a letter received recently in Invercargill. Brief mention of the restoration in Invercargill was made in a recent issue of The British Australian and New Zealander, printed in London. An article by one of its columnists discussed the division of hotels into private, public and saloon bars. The columnist was quoting a letter from a writer who deplored this division into private and public bars. “Here is evidence to make you admit that Australians and New Zealanders are not so different from their English cousins after all; anyhow, in the coherence into groups for drinking,” said the writer. “For 38 years Invercargill (N.Z.) has been dry. Now, once again, it is going to have hotels; and the citizens are determined that they shall be hotels of the most up-to-date sort. But what do we find? These new hotels are divided into public bar, private bar and lounge.” The columnist had this comment to make on the writer’s letter: “ . . . First I want to admit that though I know many New Zealanders and am all for them, I really don’t know New Zealand. In my mind there is an impression that New Zealand in its social outlook is distinctly English, so I don’t 'find the news of the dramatic Invercargill decision surprising.” “Most Invercargill citizens would disagree that there is much, if any, social distinction between the private and public bars,” states Signalman Stone.