THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LIQUOR ACT.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VI, Issue 311, 9 July 1896, Page 9

THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE LIQUOR ACT.

We have always contended that it was not in manv _o .....on i-. alcoholic liquors consumed in this responsible for the evils attendant upon jurious use, and we have no doubt but many of the fatal accidents which have resulted from intoxication, or the suicides which have taken place under the influence of delirium tremens or some other “ phase of alcoholic insanity,” can find its cause in the vile compounds which the unfortunates in the respective cases have imbibed, and not from having consumed good an! pure alcohol. For these reasons we hail with satisfaction the appointment of experts whose duty it is to visit hotels with power to take samples lof >■ whatever liquor is exposed for sale, and we declare it to be a matter for equal gratification to realise that the present law has made provision for the imposition of a heavy penalty when a conviction is obtained against a publican who exposes or has in his possession poisonous compounds, instead of pure unadulterated liquors. We are quite willing to admit that in our large centres those engaged in the Trade are more “ faithful to trust” than those who ven^JP 9 '' liquors a few years ago, and we have just been informed by a gentleman occupying a high position that, in the Borough of Invercargill, the liquors vended are so good as not only to give universal satisfaction, but also to obviate the disasters which have resulted from the use of baneful liquors in many parts of the colony. For these reasons it is almost unnecessary now for the inspector to devote much of his time and attention to the first-class hotels in our large centres. .Another reason why this is so can be obtained from the fact that Trade competition at the present time is so keen in the ho’el business in our towns as to render it imperative to keep good liquor. We are given to understand that in each of our four cities it costs a large sum of money —which the country has to pay —for the purchase of samples for analysis. In fact, we have been credibly informed that, in one of the cities, the cost of obtaining these samptfm amounted in one month to over £lOO. If this is so, the public conclude we are paying too much for our whistle. Speaking of the character of our hotels to which we have alluded in this article, we are led to briefly consider the serious charge made against the management and control of the hotels in Wanganui. We have ourselves been many times in Wanganui, and have taken particular notice of the character of the hotels in that nice little town, and we certainly came to the conclusion that the hotels then were admirably conducted, and were a credit to the “ trade” of the colony. It was, therefore, a surprise to us to learn from the report of a prohibition convention, held recently in Wellington, that a Mr Carson (the proprietor or manager of a local paper) declared that there were not more than three hotels in the whole of Wanganui that are properly conducted. We tru’t the whole of the trade will combine to wipe out this “ outrage,” and if Mr Carson again routes' s the Wanganui seat for the General Assembly, the hotel-keepers of Wanganui will take effective steps to be represented in Parliament by one not capable of ""di an outrageous statement. It is probable that issue of bur p»pei'?jß| the new Government Licensing Bill will be fore the House for consideration, and we shall watch the course of legislation and inform our readers of its progress.