THE REFERENDUM.

Colonist, Volume LXI, Issue 15044, 11 April 1919, Page 4

THE REFERENDUM.

After a campaign of unprecedented! intensity on both sides ; on the perennial liquor question, the Dominion went to the ballot yesterday on the issues created by the Licensing Amendment Act of last year, namely, Continuance ■and National Prohibition with compensation. At the time of writing the returns are still incomplete, there be- | ing between 10,000 and 15,000 absent and-j seamen's votes ix> be accounted for. The result given by the last official return is as follows:— t ■ ;. National Prohibition. ... 238,116 Continuance ... ... ... 225,921 Majority for Prohibition 12,195 T ; his return does not, of course, ih- • elude the votes of soldiers abroad, at j home and at sea^ which : numbers 34,341. The result of the referendum' hangs upon these votes, and as they will not be available in their entirety until 4>he second week in } May, and no progress anouncements will be made, the position will be in doubt until the time mentioned. In these circum-i stances there is at present no scope for discussion of the poll. The growth of I the prohibition vote since the last poll on the national issue in 1914, however, is striking. In that year the prohibition vote fell 10,225 short of a bare majority, 257,42 votes being required for Continuance, against 247,217 -for Prohibition. T