The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 1887. LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1637, 16 August 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 1887. LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

A cablegram from London which appears m another column, informs us that tbe Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the Bishop of London are urging the Colonial Bishops to deal with the liquor traffic amongst tbe Natives, m their respective colonies. Now as far as our own colony is concerned the Legislature dealt with the matter many years ago. A law was passed making the selling of intoxicants to Natives an offence punishable with a heavy fine. This law was rigidly enforced, but after a time its stringent enforcement was relaxed more and more until the Act became a dead letter, and Natives now are supplied with liquor at ninety-nine licensed houses out of every hundred m the colony. In fact, a new phase of the liquor traffic question has recently developed itself, and several Natives have been punished for sly-grog selling. No doubt this will cause the authorities to take this matter m hand again, and insist on the law being observed. There is also another branch of the subject— the liquor traffic amongst the white population — which we are glad to notice is having some attention bestowed on it. Sir William Fox, when speaking m Auckland a short time ago, alluded to the enormous sum yearly spend on intoxicating liquor m the colony, New Zealand's drink bill for last year being considerably over This sum, he observed, represented a capital amount of some sufficient to pay oft the public debt of the colony 1 The Temperance party throughout the colony have taken the matter m hand, and are seekiDg to obtain for the people the power of deciding whether they will have a licensed house m their district, or m other words the power to close any licensed house where a majority of the adult population are adverse to the license being renewed. We are of opinion, however, that the item of compensation would prove a bar to the realization of their fondly cherished hopes. This matter has been frequently discussed m the House, and Sir William Fox with all his earnest and persuasive eloquence was not able to persuade a majority m the Lower Chamber that there was no implied contract between Government and the licensee of any particular hotel that so long as the house was properly conducted, his license would be annually renewed. There is m every assemblage of British subjects an inherent love of fair play, and as compulsory closing, or, m other words, refusal to renew the licensee, savored |of breach of contract, the House always voted against any such proposal unless compensation were conceded. If tbe Temperance party, therefore, are determined to carry out their views, we would suggest that they should raise a Compensation Fund from among their own members. These are sufficiently numerous now, we are glad to think, that a nominal subscription ol one shilling a month would soon enable them to say to Government, "We are prepared to pay reasonable compensation if you will give the majority m any district, any hotel they may deem to be not required." Such a course would rastly strengthen and ennoble their cause, and thousands of their fellow colonists would say to themselves, " These men are m earnest m a good cause and are willing to make a sacrifice for the common weal. It is not fair that they should bear the whole burden so I will help them," and subscriptions from all quarters would come m rapidly. Such a course would dispel a | prejudice, unfounded no doubt, but for all that very prevalent m the colony that the Temperance Party are niggardly and that the economic element enters too largely into their views.

Such a course, we are convinced, would not only strengthen their cause but swell their numbers enormously.