LOCAL OPTION IN VICTORIA.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1950, 21 September 1888, Page 2

LOCAL OPTION IN VICTORIA.

We extraot the following from a leading article on the abovo subject which appeared m ihe Melbourne "Age," of a recent date : — lf the I'cnnsed victuallers thought they had killed*L cil Option and pat the friends of temperance to the rout by the weapons the Supreme Ooor' pot ioto their bauds, the large and. enthusiastic meetlDgtj of (ho Alliance at the Mel* bourne Town Hall ought to work their disenchantment. The tone of the pro* ceedtngs indicated that neither the zaal nor the resources of the party had been extinguished by the temporary rebuff h had met witb. Mr Deakin, who ou»ht to know something of the mind of Parliament, said it would make short work with the teohnioal objections of the lawyers when next It legislated upon the sabjeot, which would be as soon as Government had an opportunity to invite it to do so ; and there were very significant hints given that Parliament might take courage from the example act by the House of Oommono, and, abolish oompenaatlon altogether. This would be a marked advance on the last movement ; and no doubt the Local Optlonists would be able to show very good reasons In support of It, one of them being that there can be go vestqd forest In. a. trafH.a whioh exlgtq only upon an annual Hcenße. If Parliament stop short of the extreme measure, It might, with unquestionable justice, make thu liquor traffic supply the fund oat of which compensation is taken. A. tax on beer, for instance, to be devoted to the purpose, would be quite m keeping with the fitness, of things, because it would fall only on those who drank the perilous Bluff, and, what I* more, would be easily and cheaply colleoted by Govern* ment. Though the publicans were able to dofeat the Local Op'ioniatß at most of the polls, still over a hundred houses will be closed at the end of tho year, and according to the existing' law' their owners must be compensated for the loss of their trade, and the compensation ought to come out of the pookbts of thosa wbo will profit largely by the extinction of so many competitors m the buolneag. If the Alliance want tq get an increased, yote jn ths cou.ntiiy, why should tbey not include woman's suffrage among the planks of their platform 1 Mr Vale spoke with tributary warmth of the debt wh.ioh the cause of Local Option owed to i\\Q other sex, who. indeed, have all the natural qualification^ for making successful agitators • and the drink question Is one wMch appeals to them m a peculiar mannsr It wou\d be oertainly difficult to name any other upon which tbey would havo a better claim to make their voice 'heard m the Legislature j and it is not only unwise, but it is unfair, that they who are tho principal sufferer^ from the popular sale of intosiaants. should be made to suffer m silence. We ate quite serious m throwing out the suggestion that one of the things whioh the next Par* liament ought to be called upon to consider and concede is the Enfranchisement of Women r lho women of Victoria enjoy all theprivjlegeg and dißohnrgeallthe responsibilities of^ citizens. They oontribgte to the formation gf public opinion indireotly, and they are quite as capable oE taking an interest m publio [matters as the men ; and if it ia thoir manifest destiny to be on a political equality with mon m the process of the suns, it is a waste of effort to keop them m subjection becau.B9 they are not etrong enough to assert thsir freedom just yet. The best thinkers of the day are m favor of giving them the suffrage, and the reason why they have not had it loug ago is that, tha best thinkers are the minority m every community, and ara therefore doomed to be thwarted m erery cue by the prejudices of tho majority, who do not think at all. If the women could indues tha friends of temperanoe to believe It is their interest to adopt their oause, the battle would be more than half won for them.