DOES NO-LICENSE DIMINISH DRUNKENNESS?

Waipa Post, Volume I, Issue 46, 22 September 1911, Page 4

DOES NO-LICENSE DIMINISH DRUNKENNESS?

There has' been widespread comment on the fact that, while No-license is gaining ground in New Zealand, the Drink Bill of the Dominion is steadily growing. Two Parliamentary returns give the total quantities of legally imported into No-license areas. Worked out ,on the ' same basis as the Dominion drink bill, these returns show that the No-license areas consumed liquor to the value of £129,883 during the last year, leaving the value of the liquor consumed in license areas as £3,673,682. The value of liquor consumed per head of the population is thus : Dominion ... £3 13 1% License Areas 436 No-license Areas 16 3 It may be objected that, in addition to the quantity of liquor legally sent into No-license areas, there is a certain quantity sent in illicitly. But the facilities for obtaining liquor legally are so great that there is little reason for risking illegal importation. Inspector Mitchell in his 1909 report on Invercargiil says: —" Cases of drunkenness have been few, remembering the facilities that exist for legitimately obtaining liquor. In all cases, except one or two, .the source whence the liquor was obtained was traceable to places outside the Nolicense area." Probably £IO,OOO would more than cover the amount of liquor that goes illicitly into No-license areas annually; but for the sake of argument, the sum might be put as high as £30,000, and still the drink bill per head of the population in No-license areas would not exceed £l, while in the license areas it would be over £4 per head. Anyhow, where does the illicit liquor come from ? It comes from licensed areas. The jemedy is more No-license, I