Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price 1d. FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1886. The New Zealand Temperance Alliance.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XIX, Issue 1803, 5 March 1886, Page 2

Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price Id. FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1886. The New Zealand Temperance Alliance.

A conference of temperance delegates has been held in Wellington, the outcome of which is the formation of " A New Zealand Alliance for the suppression of the liquor traffic.” The “ platform ”of the alliance contains the following as, its chief " planks " : That it is neither right nor politic (or the State to give legal protection and sanction to any traffic or system that tends to increase crime, to waste the national resources, and to corrupt the social habits and destroy the health and lives of the people. That no consideration of private gain or of public revenue oan justify the upholding of a system which is so utterly (wrong in principle, suicidal in policy, and disastrous in results, as is the traffio iu intoxicating liquors ; that the Legislative suppression and prohibition of the liquor traffic would be highly conduce y to the development of a progressive oivilffalion ; that rising above class, sectarian and party consideration, all good citizens should combine to procure an enactment prohibiting the sale of intoxicating beverages, as affording the most efficient means of ridding the cominanity of the appalling evils of intemperance. This “ manifesto ” also contains what is termed " the policy of the Alliance,” which is stated as follows :—(l) This Alliance has been instituted for the suppression and prohibition of tho liquor traffio. It seeks to unite in this effort those who are not abstainers as well as those who are, there being many, who, though they themselves are roo--1« drinkers of alcoholic liquors, deplore the waste and misery tkeit lesal i a ° d 8al « i ( 2 ') Tho immediate aim of the .Jhauoe is to secure for the people the legal power to veto tho liquor traffic ; (3) This Alliance believes that when the people possess this power, with sufficient facility for its exercise, they will free the colony from the heaviest burden that is laid upon its financial resources, and from the principal cause of its disease, destitution and ciime ; (4) To attain this icsult tbe members of the Alliance (are expected to use all the influence they possess to secure tbe election to parliament, and to all other positions of power, of such candidates as are favorable to the fried pies ef the Alliance.

It will at once be understood from the foregoing decl.raibn of policy that the Alliance is a political organisation, the object of which, is to use all possible means to suppress the liquor traffic by force of law. The first aim of tbe Alliance is stated to be “ to secure for the people the immediate direct power to veto the liquor traffic." We suppose that the new Act desired to be passed would provide for a plebiscite being, taken in the several parliamentary electorates throughout the colony on the question, Shall the retail sale of intoxicating liquors be per« mitted in this electoral district,” and if a majority of the votes were in the negative, (hen in that particular district no liquor could in future be sold. Now if such a law is passed, it would not be of general application and could only take effetft iu particular places wheie the temperance party were in a majority. These places would be very few i meed, and thus the attempt to get the liquor traffio suppressed throughout the colony as a whole, would be almost altogether A failure, &et fte 9Mb ol Wellington City

be taken as an example. There are three separate electorates there, viz , Thorndon To Aro and Cook. Most certainly no vote ol the majority in a plebiscite could be obtainea in Thorndon and Te Aro to altogether suppress the liquor traffic. It is, however, just barely possible that tbe temperance party might at some future time carry a suppression vote in the Cook Electorate. The result would be that if the liquor traffic wore suppressed in the Cook Electoral District and still carried on in the Te Aro and Thorndon Electoral Districts, people living in the Cook district who wanted to obtain liquor, would just require to walk to some of the Te Aro Hotels to obtain it. That plan would be good for the Te Aro publicans, who would drive a much brisker trade than ever. Probably, with the absence of all public houses, the people of the Cook district would not drink so much as before, as they would not always care to go to Te Aro for their liquor. But on the other band, some “sly grog shops ” would spring up in the Cook district, and so in the ultimate result there would not be any great diminution in the amount of drinking. In the case of most of the country districts, we hardly think that the vote of a plebiscite would be in favor of suppressing the liquor traffic. Suppose a plebiscite were taken in South Wairarapa, it is hardly possible to conceive that tbe majority of those voting Would deliver their fiat, that in Featherston, Martinborongh, Carterton, and a few otbet localities, there should be no possibility of getting a pint of beer or a glass of brandy to purchase over a hotel bar. It would be just the same when the vote was taken in Wairarapa North. But admitting, for tbe sake of argument, that Wairarapa South declared in favor of suppression, and Wairarapa North, the other way, then some of the Carterton and Greytown folks would get small stocks of liquor from Masterton lor home consumption, and confirmed topets would wend their way to the more northerly “ Hub of the Universe ’’—Masterton—when they desired to “go upon tbe burst.” There would then be “grog galore “in Masterton, and halcyon days lor the publicans of that embryo city. Perhaps, however, the Alliance men mean to try the plebiscite in smaller electoral districts, such as Wards or Boroughs and ridings of Counties. In that cases if Featherston were to declare for “ suppression ” and Greytown for “ grog,” then those who failed to get drink iu the former town would obtain a supply in tbe latter. Bat, taking the whole [ol the Wairarapa townships put together, we don’t believe that the result of a plebiscite in a single one of them would be to suppress totally tbe sale of liquors. We fail, therefore, to under, stand how the New Zealand Temperance Alliance will be able to suppress the liquor traffic by the means proposed. If the Alliance people really desire to make an effort to suppress totally the sale of intoxicating drink, the course to pursue is obvious. Let them get a Bill into Parliament applying to the whole colony, enacting “ that cu and after a certain date it shall not be lawful for any person to sell by retail any beer, wines, spirits or other intoxicating liquors in any part of New Zealand.” Of course such a Bill would be rejected in Parliament, but theu the effort to pass it would have been made, and its supporters could mako a fresh attempt in every succeeding session of Parliament. Perhaps in the course of the next fifty years the minds of the colonists and their representatives in Parliament would be educated up to the point of passing such a Bill. But then other difficulties would have to bo dealt with. Even if the retail sale of intoxicating liquors were stopped, that would not te enough. The Alliance would next require to abolish all the breweries in the colony, and get another law passed absolutely prohibiting the of all beer, wines, spirits, and other descriptions of intoxicating liquors from Great Britain and other places. The plain English of the matter is, that the liquor traffic will never be totally suppressed until the manufacture of liquor in tbe colony, and its importation from abroad, as well as its retail sale in hotels are all absolutely forbidden by Act of Parliament. It will thus be seen that the members of the New Zealand Temperance Alliance have a work of enormous difficulty before them, the carrying out of which they have hardly yet even touched.

Let us not be in any way misunderstood. We are heartily in favor of the temperance causa, and hail with the utmost pleasure and satisfaction the great progress which it has made of late years in this colony. But our main reliance is on "moral suasion" as being the best means of promoting temperance and adding to the ranks of its adherents. We do not believe that much good can he effected by Acts of Parliament or prohibitive Legislation. It is quite certain that at the present time the total suppression of the liquor traffic iu this colony is a thing impossible of realisation. We believe the traffic can be judiciously regulated and the manner of conducting it much altered for the better. Then under the existing local option system the ratepayers in any district justly possess the right to say that no new licenses shall be granted in their district. There are far too many public houses in the colony already, and if the ratepayers in each licensing district choose to exert their powers, they can prevent the existing number being increased. Moreover. the licensing committees possess the power to compel hotel keepers to improve and enlarge their houses, and thus keep them up to the advancing requirements of the district in which they are situated. If the existing hotels are improved and only respectable men allowed to huld licenses, while the increase of licensed houses is zealously guarded against, we fancy that little more can be done at present As to the efforts of the New Zealand Temperance Alliance, in the direction of the total suppression of the drink traffic, we do not expect much in the shape of; practical results for a good masy years to come.