TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT IN VICTORIA.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 67, 12 December 1907, Page 4

TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT IN VICTORIA.

INTERVIEW WITH. MR, JOHN VALE. Melbourne, November 28. This morning a I'epresentalivo of this journal called'on Mr. John Vale, who was for 22 years tlio secretary of the Victorian Alliance, and during the last three years has been organising secretary of the Rechnbite Order. His ...work- has included .the . editorship and management'of the-"Rechabite," which is the most widely circulated temperance journal in Victoria.

"Tho Independent Order of Reelialntes," said Mr. Valo, "occupies a different position in Victoria front that which it occupies in many other places, that is to say, it is tho strongest and most aggressive temperance organisation. In most branches temperance work is systematically pushed, so that the Order is a great deal moro than a Friendly Society. It lias in Victoria 2CI adult tents, with n total membership of 19,000, and 175 junior tents, with n total membership of 7000. Tho Victorian Alliance relies to, a very largo extent upon the Rocliabitc tents in the various couutry placcs, in most of which there is no other kind of temperance organisation. The Order 'is arranging to conduct a Total Abstinence PledgeSigning Crusade during next year an a special development of aggressive temperauce work. TEMPERANCE TEACHING IN SCHOOLS.

"One of tho features' of toinperance work of which we are entitled to bo proud in Victoria," continued Mr. Vale, "is tho systematic temperance teaching in the State/ schools. There aro free wall-sheets issued by the Education Department, and in addition tctnperaricc. lespons arc ' published in the school .papers'. Tho Department's inspectors aro required. to examine the pupils in temperance, and addition thero aro two examinations, the prize in ono case being offered' by the Health Society, and in tho other by. the Kcchabites. An American paper recently paid us tho compliment of saying that 'Victoria in Now Zealand leads the world in temperanco teaching in public schools. 1 I do not' think that we deserve so much proiso as that either in repard to temperance legislation or geographical position. As a matter of. fact, in regard to tomperanco legislation Victoria lias nothing to toach New Zealand. Some. years ago the Victorian Alliance prepared a' complcto Local Option Bill. It provided for tho simple issue of licenses or no licenses, omitting reduction issue; 'to be determined in each electorate by a simple majority of men and women voting. This was never passed, and meanwhile public attention wns being called to Now Zealand's progress, and. it seemed to us tn be,, good policy,- to connect our demand with a' system in operation in another British Stato; and so we mode. our. battle-cry, 'Local Option on New Zealand lines,' at tho same time making; it clear'that wo did not agree with the'-three-fifths handicap required to Aarry no liccnsc. .After sevoral years of active agitation the measure of last year was passed, which was altogether'on the'lines of compromise. A large section of the temperanco reformers thought that far too much was conceded, but now that tho Bill has become law thero is a general agreement to use it for all it is worth. - I.OCAL OPTION. "Tho logislation so far as Local Option is coucorned is on tho lines of tho New South Wales Act, with this difference, that tho local option provisions will not come into operation until 10 years have elapse.d, and even after that period Compensation for' the noil-renown 1 of licenses is to be continued. Of. course, it is possible that wo may obtain not only a reduction in- tliij' waiting time, lint also an improvement in tho law before mat period expires.. ' ' •:

"During tlio:operation of .what is known as the -Licensing Act .of ISflfl'. (tho greater part of which was adopted in-1885),-the number of victuallers' licensos in the State-, was. reduced oy '822. At the beginning of the period there was one license for each 200 of tho population; at the end of the period one license for each' 300. Of these, liowever, only 217 weilt out as the result of local option polls for reduction. From a variety of causes wo never had a fair opportunity of using tho reduction provisions to tlio fullest ostont. • . INDUCTION OF LICENSES..

"11l regard to reduction of. licenses and compensafcioii.'ourioxpenence.s may be grouped into 'three-periods. (1): Tlio Stato was-prosperous, -and : reduction iwith compensation -.was 'opposed 'jhst-ns- bitterly .by the liquortrade as no licenao without comiiensation.could hatvc been, •and. the local option fights ■ wgre,as vjtecn- as .the .New. Zealand contests... ... i; : - v , : i "(2). There was a "long period of depression, in ' ti'Kidh a ! lal-'gc' pvoptfrtio'n of 1 .the' 'hotels' wore notpaying, and brewers ' and owners were to acquire • ralnotion by local option with compensation,' so 'that thoy' could- gain more by the death of the traffic than by its 'life.- however, they were blocked, in their suicidal efforts,-, although some polls wero ..talan on petition in which brewers, owners, and licensees managed to get ,thp. best of the deal. In one instance a public-houso .had been hawked round by the Bank into whose posses•sioii it had come, for .£BOO. that being tlio price of the whole' priperty. Under local option it was closed; 1 the Bank received >£1421 in compensation, . and retained its property. The licensee- had purchased the- goodwill of the business from. the official assignee (the previous licensee, .having been insolvent), for uie siun .o/ MO', and williiu nine months when the • hotel/ was. to . be. closed he put in .a .claim" of ,£2GIG 2s. , Od. . compen.sat'ioli. ! "'"The half-crown,-" added Mr. , Vale, "indicated his conscientiousness; its omis- • sion' would havo been unjust to himself, and the addition of. 17s.' 6(1. to make' even money 'would have.been unjust to the State! He actually received JCI9S is. Od. fori having to give up a' business ..which had mado the previous licensee insolvent. and : which lie himseif purchased for J330.. Taking all t/io houses which were' closed by. local option, the .average amount paid, in compensation per house was .£9BO. They 'frere mostly of tlip small and inferior class; in many easei> simply small, wooden buildings. "(3). The third period was when prosperity returned, and the liquor trade! was doing better, and temperance workers, tired of the weary waiting for complete local option, commenced using the 'law for reduction again. Meanwhile Federation had taken away the source of- replenishing the compensation' fund, which was, after the first source in the way of extra license fees had been exhausted, the specia l tax on liquor. Federation deprived the ■State of tho right to impose this tax, and as :sooh : iis T wo cimmenced taking polls the compensation'fund became bankrupt, and'the law broke down: During the present time in which '•local- option for .reduction is suspended,' the worlc of reduction is being carried oil by a Licenses Induction Board, This is composed of three members, appointed by tho. Government and paid at the rate of ,£Boo'per annum each. In districts where there are more licensas than the statutory nnmber (which is one for each 250 of tho population i)p to the first' 1000, and one for each full 500 beyond); the board 'may induce down to that number, but not below it. Compensation is still to be paid, the money being derived from the compensation fund, nil licensees, in addition to their licenso fees, having to pay ,1 [>or cent, on the amount of liquor thoy. purchase during 'the year. Last year, which was tho first year of the experiment, this amount totalled over <£43,000. The board will bo ablo to close hotels to the extent that. tho money availablo will allow. So far no compensation award lias been made... In fixing the compensation the board has. to bo, guided by the Income Tax returns made prior to the,adoption of the. Act, so that there is'no -opportunity of inflating the returns. Itoughly, two-thirds of. our publicans paid income'tax, and the only guidance that the board will have so far as tiiio is concerned, is the assumption that the others did not have an income reaching the taxable amount. The income tax exemption at this period was ,£2OO. STEADY PROGRESS. "On the whole," lie concluded, "we may be thankful for the steady progress . being made in the temperance habits of tie people. The drink bill fluctuates to a larje extent with prosperity or depression as elsewhere, but the permanent tendency is downward. Taking each' decade 'by itself, there is roughly a reduction of .El per head in the drink expenditure. In 18E5, which was not. a highly prosperous year, the cost per head of intoxicating liquor was £5 3s. sd. Last year, which was a far bolter year from the standpoint of prosperity, the cost per head was -f.l 9s. lOd.; at tho 1885 rate we would have spent, over ,£2,000,000 more on drink. In 1890 tho charges of drunkenness in Victoria wero 18,501; in 1905 they, were-14vt58; in the first, case that is 16.51 per* thousand, and in tho second case 11.92. If we can onlv continue in this nllio tlio final result will be eminently' satisfactory;"