H.—2B

2

from the liquor traffic ; that the effect upon the' industrial prosperity of thousands who are now impoverished by their dissipated habits would be such as to enable them to consume other dutiable goods, the law of supply and demand being such that wherever there is a surplus of capital it will find for itself some field for investment; that it is clearly the duty of the Government, when the social, moral, and civil standing of the subject are imperilled by the existence of any traffic or trade, that, apart from all considerations of the gain or profit, the interests of the subject should not be sacrificed even to the expansion or maintenance of the revenue; that the principle of protection to the subject against evils which may be and which are sources of revenue is already conceded in Acts passed on former occasions in the Legislature of Canada, such as the Dunkin Act, sanitary laws, and other laws of a similar nature. 8. In view of these facts, your Committee would most respectfully submit to your honorable House the importance of speedily removing the evil complained of, by the enactment of a prohibitory liquor law ; that is, a law prohibiting the importation, manufacture, and sale of all intoxicating liquors, except for medicinal and mechanical purposes, regulated by proper safeguards and checks. By Authority: Gsobgb Didsbuby, Government Printer, Wellington.—lB73. Price 3d.]