FUTURE LEGISLATION RE THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VIII, Issue 409, 26 May 1898, Page 16

FUTURE LEGISLATION RE THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC

The New Zealand Parliament must meet before the end of June, if only to pass an Imprest Supply Bill before the expiry of the month indicated, without which, under our statutary law, no moneys can be legally paid to meet the expenses necessary in the administration of the Government. During the existence of the present Parliament no special effort has been made to interfere with the Liquor Law as it now obtains, but there are signs in the air that special attempts will be practically apparent during the coming session to amend the existing law, and special effort will in all probability be forthcoming, with the view of making the law more in conformity with public opinion, and more in accordance with the true interests of the people. The clap-trap theories that all the evils which afflict the human race arises from \ the use of alcoholics obtains no real hold upon thinking men of the present day, and there is now in New Zealand a consensus of opinion that the prohibition party, with their small minority of “ noise makers,” have had more than a fair show of talk, and in a far greater degree more than their just modicum of legislative support, and that the time has now arrived when a trade, which is conducted under national enactment and subject to all the harassing provisions of municipal - and other local administrative provisions, should obtain some fair consideration at the hands of ministers and from the power of Parliament. The Right Hon. the Premier and his co-ministers must ere this have fully realised that the Government can expect nd support from the “ pump party ” in the present House, and that if he expects to retain office he / must look for the necessary support to enable him to do so from the people in this colony who returned men to the House at the last election who were not bond slaves to the confiscators on the one hand, or bound hand and foot to the Trade on the other hand. There can be no possible doubt as to the defective nature of the present Alcoholic Liquors Sales Control Act, butthose defects are mainly, in fact almost entirely, traceable to the action of Sir Robert Stout and the disciples of the Rev. Isitt who held seats in the parliament when the Act was passed. Many of the political confiscators have now passed out of legislative public life, and it is safe to say that the place that knew them once as legislators will know them no more, and in taking this as a guage of public opinion, the question arises as to whether or not the Government are sufficiently discriminating to discern the signs of the times, and will take the opportunity of meting out fair justice to those persons who have as a whole given the party in power a true but independent support. Surely the Premier and his Ministry must now see that, in the past, large and valuable properties have been at the mercy of fanaticism. The right honorable gentleman must be fully cognisant of the fact that men have been ruined and the savings of a lifetime have gone by one fell swoop at practically the dictum of a handful of zealots, who, perhaps, were mistaken in a zeal which in its effect meant ruin to men and poverty and devastation to families. Men in this colony have put thousands of pounds into trade enterprise, and in many instances the expenditure has been cen-

tred in one spot, and yet one single violation of an unjust and arbitary law, which—as the result of fanaticism —it is impossible to keep intact, renders the whole property highly liable to be lost in one solitary administrative act. We do not think a law so unjust in its nature and provision as the one under consideration exists in any other colony, and we sincerely trust that those persons financially interested will take immediate steps to secure an early consideration by Parliament of their substantial grievances. And we further express the hope that the practical Premier will sweep from his mind the clap-trap nonsence of the present injuries done by strong drink, and will act upon the lines laid down by Mr Ferguson, an Australian legislator, as contained in the following extract from an Australian paper sup-

porting the Trade:—‘‘lt is useless for people to say that all the evil is caused by drink. There was no drink in Heaven, and yet the devil was kicked out. There was no drink in the Garden of Eden, and yet they ate the apple. There is no record of any drink before the Flood, and yet they became so bad that the whole world had to be drowned The only ones saved were Noah and his family, and the first thing that Noah did when he came out of the Ark was to get drunk.. How could you expect a nation of teetotallers after that ? He had been forty days and lorty nights looking at water, and he wanted a change.”