Figure and the Year Book for 1944

White Ribbon, Volume 18, Issue 3, 1 April 1946, Page 8

Figure and the Year Book for 1944

Read at Convention by Mrs. Grigg

I’vc had a job given to me to prepare a short paper giving a Comparison of New Zealand’s Expenditure on Liquor with that on some other productions, the figures to be taken from the latest Year Book. So, armed with pen and pencil, notebook and specs, 1 settled down in the reading and reference room of the public library with the latest copy, 1044, of the Year Book. I dallied with figures, all in millions, on the value of our butter, our cheese, our lamb and our wool. I listed timber mii»:ng products, value of boots made and of clothing, and then was pulled up with a jerk when 1 sought out expenditure on “Liquor.” ‘ Liquor,” no such word in the Year Book! I had memories of a drink hill of something from £9 to £l2 millions, hut where was that among the statistics in the book? Not there! The value of the actual product of -the breweries—the millions of gallons of beer, ale, stout, etc., worth, or rather, costing so much to make is shown, but that is small compared with what the public finally pays for it. Nowhere is there any indication of the actual animal expenditure on “Liquor” I tried to find out something about the value of the wine made at the Government vineries at Te Kawhata —there was no mention of that, though, from another return, I find that the amount produced has increased in six years, 1935 to 1941, from 12,600 gallons to 18,000 gallons.

but how much is paid for that is not given, nor is there anv mention of the alcohol, “proof spirit,” which is distilled and used to fortify the wine and to sell to other manufacturers to fortify their wines! I can now understand where the licensed trade gets its figures from when it presents a drink hill less than half the actual one. They take this cost price of the product of the breweries. Since 1 am to keep to the Year Book, I will do the same. Here are some :

Breweries Just over £5,000,000 Boots and Shoes Just over £3,000,000 Clothing Nearly £7,000,000 Education Just over £5,000,000 Now, in order to realise within a little what an expenditure of £5,000,000 means, let us see, in some fuller detail, v hat that money buys in, say, education. 1. It pays for our elementary education, that is, our ordinary public schools; all the teachers’ salaries; all the upkeep, with cleaners and caretakers; all the hooks, ink, chalk, maps, apparatus of all kinds, and all the hundreds of etceteras! This is the largest item of our £5,000,000; it costs over £3.000,000 of it. 2. Then it pavs for our secondary and technical schools. These do not take as much you might think for many of them are endowed, and also scholars often pay fees towards costs. 3. The same applies to training colleges and tile higher education. 4. It pays for our schools for the deaf; for our education of the blind; for schools and classes for mentally backward. 5. It pays for all the child welfare work under which we support and hoard out friendless children. 6. It pays for our country library service as well as—7. The vocational guidance departmental work as well as various otlur tilings. \nd New Zealand spends as much on making its beer for a year as it spends on all these together in the same year. Again, we could buy all the lioots and shoes made in 1944 for all our civilian population and for all our hundreds and thousands of soldiers in the Pacific, in Italy and in other parts, all their leggings and leather goods, for £2,000.001) than the country spends on beer! It seems incredible! M. C. EDM El).