LIQUOR AND THE LEGISLATURE

White Ribbon, Volume 22, Issue 9, 1 November 1950, Page 7

LIQUOR AND THE LEGISLATURE

“It is not for kings, O, Lemuel; it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes, strong drink. Lest they drink and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.’’ This sound advice, given many years ago to King Lemuel by bis mother, has been ignored by the legislators of our country and we have recently been witnesses of a sorry spectacle. At the commencement of the new Parliament, a vote was taken as usual by members of both Houses, to decide whether liquor should be sold at Bellamy’s in the precincts of the House. What wa* ihe result? Out of 52 Legislative Councillors, many of them new appointees, 52 voted for the sale of drink. One regretted the absence of the Hon. J. A. Hanan, who has never failed to record his vote against the sale, and I know he would have done so on this occasion. Of 77 members of the House of Representatives, 66 voted for the sale of drink, and 11 against. Of !29 legislators, there were only eleven who did not want the products of the Trade. It is a depressing thought that our legislators feel such need of the artificial stimulus so aptly described by Shakespeare, in “Othello.” He makes Cassio say, “O, thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil”; and “O, that men would put an enemy into their mouths to steal away their brains! that we should with joy, pleasance, revel and applause, transform ourselves into beasts.” If there ever was a time when clear heads and clear thinking were sorely needed, surely it is in our day and our generation. We thank God for the eleven members of the House of Representatives, who have shown that thev realise this neeessitv. V. GRIGG.