THE SWISS AND THEIR BRANDY BILL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 3552, 16 February 1886, Page 3

THE SWISS AND THEIR BRANDY BILL.

(North British Daily Mail, Dec. 22nd.) Switzerland has had a pretty bitter experience of the effect of an unrestricted liquor traffic. In 1874 the new Federal Constitution took away from the cantons their right of local option, and from that time there has been a remarkable increase m public-houses, m the consumption of liquor, and m intemperance. Throughout the Confederation tho public-houses have become so numerous that thero is now one for every thirty adult males ! The amount of brandy, wine, beer, and cider annually consumed is 317,000,000 pints ; and as the population ia under three millions, this gives 109 pints a year for every man, woman and child. Of brandy alone the consumption is 16 pints per head. And . then we have over and above all this the consumption of absinthe and kirachwasser. To Buch an extent has drinking increased, that m the Canton de Berne there are whole villages where the children are fed with potato brandy instead of milk ! It is calculated that every Swiss working man spends ten pounds a year upon drink. We can hardly be surprised, after these statements, when we are told that of the COO suicides lust year nearly all were owing to drink, and that of every hundred men rejected from military service nearly a half are for the same cause. Switzerland has had ton years of something liko iVee trade m liquor ; and so disastrous have been the results, that the Federal Chambers have taken action to oheck the evil. The Bill which, they lately passed, and which was 1 confirmed, according to the Constitution, by a general vote of the people, restores > to the cantons their power to reduce the number of public-houses, and imposes a ' prohibitive tax on the manufacture, sale, ' and importation of spirituous liquors. At first the proposed legislation seemed un- ' likely to be generally, acceptable, for it was taking from the cantons the moneys ! raised by their taxation of the traffic ; but ' this was got over by an arrangement which divides among the cantons the amount ' that may be realised by the new taxation. As the vote was really between free trade m liquor or a restricted traffic, it ia interesting to mark the numbers. For restriction there were 15 cantona with 214,693 votes ; for no restriction, 7 cantons with 135,951 votes. The majority m favof of the new law was thus 8 cantons and 78,742 votes. The temperance party have scored a decided victory, but not quite along the whole line. Absinthe has been left out of the bill as 1 a taxable article ; and since brandy and | .vine are now to be greatly increased m price the consumption of absinthe is certain to be speedily and largely raised. ] This exemption, it is said, was to con- : ciliate the peoplo of Neuchatel, whero the manufacture of absinthe is the staple i industry. Tho operation of the new law will be watohed. with interest. Its sup- '

, porters are confident that as similar legis- - lation has reduced the consumption of t " schnaps " m Sweden from 64 litres to 8 1 per head, it will accomplish a like bene--1 6cial result m Switzerland.