THE NO-LICENSE FARCE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 556, 10 July 1909, Page 10

THE NO-LICENSE FARCE.

Sir,"l read in. The Dominion that 103, 1 , licensed hotels, ;w.eto. closed.Jast Wednesday;. - :j- I wish.it was possible to say how many dirty *17 gWfgenes mil exist throo months from 1 . now 1 Jh.place of tboso hotels; i. If other" NiP" 1 License districts are any criterion, one could ( safely stale,, his life there will be a* least hotel going cut now. — . What is the result?.' Taker rMasterton, for instance Every person,in Masterton to-day may logally buy a cartload liquor if he likea. _ Ho may possess it,' or drink it, or ; v-,"brew it, in his., own .backyard,': and;all' quite ' legallyu What is gained then? Ah, that's ' ~ . . it,. the!i gam ,is great.-- -Everyone -uof'V those i persons will now get,four times as much ra-■-, beer, and. two or-'three timeS. as much spirits 1 ' • vi.:the, samo-.monoy.-as be .. hasvbeon* /accus- ' ,i. .-.vjtomeft.'p to goi >;wliile: tho .liquor-- trade* was t licensed. _ Ibis iji cortam, quarters is called . promoting temperance," and note that . r i;• - wwn !you want tto promote 'temperapco > the 11 : -first to'clo'is:.to reduce the price of- beer to oce-quarter; of what it was Ip Waihi .beer was demandedvfropi. hotelkeepers' at 3d * per,pint, and-tho.,publicans,.desiring .temper- : ' ance, refused, 'Tho retort was prompt- " All right,' we cart get it cheaper than r that." , They voted No-Liconse, and got it, this ■ in certain quarters is yelled forth as eyjdenco y of an increase m tho tcmpqrance sentiment, , Look at Invorcargill In 1907, after two ; years of No-licenso, the duty paid on beer * . -i': . alone was £163 .more than iwas/pnidm tho 'j last .year of. License,^but Invercargill is ex- •) ■ For.-. tho quarter, ending last ] month-.(Juno 30)£435 ss. was paid in duty j on representing about 25,000 gal- 'j i t ions, slowing.au' iricrcaso, on.the vsamo quar- i tor Ijist , year of 6351 gallons. How many •] . thousand gallons of:other beer and how many < i i, ; tbousapd gallons. pf .spirits were consumed * Heaven, only knows. ' ' ' j

: . is.the , state, pf; things brought about ,i ,by abolishing • properly licensed' ....hotols. ,f. As for ~- the people ruined thereby thoy havq no rights. Their ruination will giro immense satisfaction to the ecclesiastical crowd who run the country on this / ; m:. .^..-.question.. ■< There will ..be sprayer' mebtings and' thanksgiving for the way in which Thavo i;; shown; temperanco will bo ■promoted/ ' and theso ruined people can :consolo thcmsolves ~-. ,) with that; '-Your",correspondent, "Jason.'' may' ' - - Wo^ : ''How long inll this bo tolerated ?v v.-.The license ■of - an:hotelkeeper is valued • at'i Li.-.".: the. highest -. and; taxed . accordingly.' If'." ho dies >.tho 1 Koocly#ill oV his 3iccjiso -is- agani'. . valued at thehighost, and duty paid ; accord- 1 • ; >ngly, and- if that .same license is taken .away a month later it is wcrth nothing, and not , ,odo .farthing ja given, for. ifc... The-thing*is ' simply robbery-vOr, tako the caso-of tlje hotelkeeper,-of which we have many lllustra-' ■"..tions jnst t now.-. He: is- forced on© year to 1 spend oven as large as /£IO,OOO on an hotel I ,-. .Tho:next year.the license, is takou -away, I • i and tho wholo expense mado valuelpss Is ■.:.. k that ]ust? Yet tho Government'c*;ro not what l •, V:.. injustice -is done so Jong, as their position : i v".v.. is not '-endangered.'.'.-: Of course/ the 'farce will I ~, go 0n.., Practically all. wdmon are fooled and i ~'deceiyod -by :the., misrepresentations.' Onco it ■■■I-comes it will never or seldom bo got back : by : 1 vote. There-are,tho. fanatics who oloso their eyes and will not mo Tho town might bo vj-rotten with lienor,-.and; thoy could see rone -1 ■ ; . There aro: certain: honost/ nnd mostly very ' ,-I.': -, innocent, stay-at-homo ■ poople, ; whonsco le&a I ■ ...drunkanls on .tho - streots . (they're, in -sly■ -1;- groggeries, : privato: houses,', stables, ■: pliintn-" r.y A ;-'-''.;.tions l .«to.) r and--who ) '-'thoreforo,Vrtally. think :.: .. . ,No-Ijiconso-. is : tho.-bettor. ' There are many '"-'. others 5 finding-themselves getting their liquor just as easily as before, at less than half , ' the.cost, nncl.-for that reason are inclincd'-to' favour.-it, are tho sly-grog sliopkeepors, who aie for it to a man. .Tho farco will go on until it will begin to cat. / its.way but, ; whcn.the sensible po'rtionvbf ;the : ; ,1, peoplo will rise, shako off the l inlluenco of tho liumbugs, and. demand a change. Then tho ./ rtrouble will commence..-.The .Dominion will . bo in tho tontaclcs of tho greatest corse that : . can bo concoivodi , The control-and supervision wo arp now so glibly fooling away-will tako, years; and-.years "-of tribulation to re- , In. I ask is there a fanatic • -■ from, the . North . Cape,: to «thb-Bluff who ■ mil' -S'eveft';Btt&apt'^';j^ . aboufr.on^ tho liquor consumption by one pint. - tins' ; is, ariswere.d, ! you "watch how ; vthis : ques- 1 ; tion. is left-severely: alono. I havo no sympathy-, for htltelkeepors.." :IM had-, my way ' .would straighten somo^of'them up-cbrisitf*' orably.—l am, etc., . - ' TEETOTALLER. July 6, 1909 I I I I 1 ! I I I