DIRECT REPLY TO ALLIANCE UNCALLED-FOR ASSERTIONS.

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14877, 27 September 1918, Page 6

DIRECT REPLY TO ALLIANCE UNCALLED-FOR ASSERTIONS.

MR. A. S. BANKART'S REPLY* TO REV. R. S. GRAY DOMINION ORGANISER, N.Z: ALLIANCE.SIB,- "' \ ' - ''. -/,. ; ' "'ln th< - Auckland Star" of the 4th Septf-mbor, 1918, y©u ad< reused ••- open lettc-r to m^ and k-q-uosted my direct answers t- cer^iu qut^tions propounded by you. "• As hairomn of ihe Auckland Provincial Council, I feel that I can spe ■ with some authority on hehalf of the Trade, and bavo ac«-or >ngty decided to comply with yourrequfst, and give you ny personal opinions upon the queries submitted by you. I setout in :otu'ion your questions, and append my respective answers there o so that any electors interested in the subject may tie able to iiittliig.--.ntly follow our different points of view Trpon this in^« r.ant prob em.:— QUESTION No. 1— "' Do you wish Parliament to ascertain the true convictions of tho people? ANSWER No. 1— Yes; and lam as sincere in my desire as doubtless you are.. . QUESTION No. 2— Do you desire that "a majority of the Electors shall decide the issue?" ANSWER No. 2-r , . - . If this term "issue" in the question is truly and honestly interpreted as meaning that issue between tho RETENTION of tho Manufacture and Sale of Alcoholic Liquor (those Electors in favour thereof having been .given, by the manner "in which the issue is submitted to them for decision, an" opportunity of expressing their conscientious views regarding the method of such retention) and the ABOLITION of the Manufacture and Sale of Alcoholic 'Liquor, my answer is "Yes." QUESTION No. 3— Do you consider that the proposal to give each Elector a Vote on one issue only, and to require a majority of the total votos cast before any issuecan succeed, an honest attempt to ascertain the wish..of the majority? A2f&WBR No. B—' -Yes, most decidedly so, as the wish and tnie convictions of the majority of the people upon the question as to whether or not alcoholic liquors shall be manufactured.' sold, and consumed in the Dominion can only be obtained by a Poll taken on A NATIONAL THREE-ISSUE BALLOTPAPER such as is suggested in the Petition circulated, to which you take exception, but wliich hns my unqualified support and approval. In my opinion, the only way Parliament can ascertain the true number of Electors who .ore PROHIBITIONISTS ON PRINCIPLE, and who seek the total abolition of the -Liquor Trade, is by submitting the question in the form of a Three Issues National Ballot-Paper as embodied in the Petition. \ ' QUESTION No. 4— : If ot:.t of 500,000 Electors 245,000 voto/1 for National Prohibition, 155,000 for National Ownership, and ISQjOOO for National Continuance, wuuld not Continuance win, although 408.000 vpte'd against and only 160,000 for it,? \ 'AK&fm, No. 4— " ,> Yes, and rightly bo, because n licensing Poll is mainly taken for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the Electors desire ,to. prohibit the Manufacture, Sale, and Consumption cf Alcoholic Liquors* in';the ,t Dominion. The Licensed JHotel Trade isa business which has for many years been carried on iritVt'foe faifl sanction of the law, and,it should continue tn be so earned on lyttTl there is a majority in tho Dominion IN FAVOUR OF AN ALTERATION OF POLICY in connection therewith. This, bs you are well a-ware, and must Candidly admit, is NO NE"W PRINCIPLE. The principle that if at any Licensing Poll " No Issue is carried by the requisite majority the existing licenses shall. • /^ continue nntil the next Licensing Poll underlies all Licensing Legisla- , ~ tion in New Zealand, and has not in the past been questioned or .actively attacked by your party. Taking the figures as quoted by you. which, . I venture to assert, are as extreme as possible, and are not justified in view of the.vote at the lastliicensina; Poll, taken during war time, when upon the National cfnestion 257,442 voted in favour of "Continuance" as against 247,217 -who:voted in favour of "Prohibition " IT ' • MUST BE OBVIOUS THAT THE MAJORITY would be in favour of the RETENTION: OF THE MANUFACTURE, SALE, AND CONSUMPTION -of Alcoholic Liquors in the -■;*-. Dominion, • although, they would be divided in opinion as to the method of such manufacture and sale—seeing that with 100,000 votes cast in favour of ■"Continuance"- and 155.000 votes cast in favour of "National Ownership," there would be a TOTAL VOTE OF 255 000 OAST IN FAVOUR OF THE DETENTION OF LIQUOR as against 245,000 votes east IN FAVOUR OF PROHIBITION', or the Total _ Abolition of Liquor, or, In other words,, A CLEAR MAJORITY OF 10,000 IN FAVOUR OF THE RETENTION of Liquor as against the Abolition thereof. " 1 must confesa I cannot understand yo\ir solicitude about THIS THREE ISSUES NATIONAL BALLOT-PAPER, as if your party's prognostications are corrpct.-tfc'at, the MAJORITY of the Electors in tho Dominion are IN FAVOUR of the TOTAt ABOLITION of Liqijpr, then the National Prohibition Issue upon the Ballot-Pape-r will be carried, and the two other issues thereon having reference to the RETENTION if Liquor-will b.c. .of no ayail. .Why, then;, worry yourself needlessly over their inclusion on the Ballot-paper? QUESTION No. 5— Do you not know that_ where three or more issues are involved tue only fair method of ascertaining,the convictions of the voters is by some form of preferential voting? 'ANSWER No. 5— ' • - - No; tW convictions of the Electors can be FAIRLY OBTAINED BY THF METHOD ADVOCATED IN THE PETITION without preferential voting. If txnon the'Ballot-Paner tlm-ein referred to 51 ELECTORS' . ..■:■; OUT OF EVERY 100 were IN FAVOUR OF PROHIBITION, the ques- : tion would be settled at the Poll. If, however, upon the othor two fcwvjs THE MAJORITY of the Voters were DIVIDED IN THEIR CONVICTIONS although UNITED IN* THE BASIC PRINCIPLE-of the "RETENTION OF LIQUOR," it would bo for Parliament to- s<*% som« method of enabling this maiority to com© together arid SO PREVENT the PROHIBITION OF LIQUOR BEING FORCED upon the people by a MINORITY of-their number. \ ■. ■."■■•■ QUESTION No. .O-, . . : Are you prepared to advocate and adopt this, and, in order that the' very . large section of tie Electors who believe in • Prohibition without any compensation,, either in money or in tim<\ may have an opportunity of expressing their, convictions, are you willing to have that as a fourth issue on theßallot-Paper? : . ■/--'-- ... ANSWER.No. 6— ",-.■...* No, because I do_ not'deem it necessary for the reasons «bove <riven and because, further. I believe that any system, of preferential votino- would only lead to-.eonfusion in; the minds of the. Electors. lam fortified in ; . ;, . vlllS;-9.Pinioj^.Dy.:tQp...e5Dsyien«!. : of Nrw 'Zealand Electors and by tho ; toto^^SSS^■>¥rWP^ste isfet'^-:: THE VOTING UNDER ":- ■ r' V-:-"'ffiff aG?' WO^J a^best^only A^^NRATISFACTORY COM- ■'""■■'" '■> ' tht -bl ' wou3d; not tend a stable-arid permanent solution of ){: \lx?^^~^^ regarding: Prohibition, I wouM noint "'m trf tfe™^i^??9^J ßlTß)Nfi-T^TTI>ON TRK ballot-pmS DOES NOT TNCLUDE the payment of :7'\PRBVTO-EFST;Y : SUOTTTWV TO THE PFOPTPWhv^S •i f' be°n ;■■; ;pARLTA^ T ;:ind. • wfiieh in iv ,iudinr.ent 4ore 9S P h<£ V A$ l '^^J, 8 x' to acloi>t tTl^ «i«-r«e /generally throughout the VomkdoS. °' f0"0W -m the of the-people ..■,.-■■ Yoiyvs faithfully. ' ]:-r- . ALFRED S. BANKART.