AN EMBARGO THAT SHOULD BE REMOVED.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 1003, 27 May 1909, Page 20

AN EMBARGO THAT SHOULD BE REMOVED.

Various speakers detailed the history of the embargo, which dated back 30 years, when the place was peopled solely by Maoris, who owned three million acres. The Government, at the request of Wahanui, a leading chief, prohibited the sale of liquor in the Rohepotae and the disposal of native lands. The Government, however, reserved the preemptive right to purchase the lands. The Maoris were now in a small minority, and possessed only three-quarters of a million acres. Settlement was essentially European, and Maoris and Europeans, including leading members of the Prohibition party, were stated to be alike of opinion that the present conditions of affairs was unsatisfactory, and that the present law, which throws the onus of proving that the liquor brought in has not been sold, upon the accused, was a travesty of much-vaunted British freedom and fair play. The speakers thought the time had arrived when residents of the King Country should be placed on an equal footing with those of other parts of the Dominion. A resolution was carried expressing the opinion “that the present licensing law as applied in the King Country is unsatisfactory and irksome, and that the time has arrived when the present restrictions, as far as liquor is concerned, be removed, and the district placed on the same footing as regards local option as the people of other parts of the Dominion.” The residents of Te Kuiti are of opinion that several reputable citizens have been wrongly convicted of sly-grog selling of late through being unable to prove a negative, and feeling is running very high there just now.

A bill prohibiting all import and sale of intoxicants in any shape or form, even in cakes, sweets, or chocolate, has been introduced in the Icelandic Parliament. The bill further ordains that ships arriving in Iceland shall have their stock of spirits and other alcoholic beverages under seal whilst in Icelandic waters, and that those seals may only be released by the authorities when the ship leaves. For manufacturing and medicinal purposes, alcohol will be imported and sold by the Government in denaturalised state. It is said that the bill has every prospect of becoming law, as a vote of the people, which preceded its introduction, is in favour of-abso-lute prohibition of any kind of alcohol.