THE MAJORITY QUESTION.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1948, 3 January 1914, Page 8

THE MAJORITY QUESTION.

LICENSING . ISSUES HERE & ELSEWHERE iyf^;'- : iBV MODERATE.]-'"! -. ; ■ A wave of popular commotion concerning tho licensing question seems sweeping round tho civilised world at the present "time.The intensity of feeling which the question of licensing evokes seems to be as overpowering to some individuals as tho imbibing of alcohol in greater or less 'quantities by others invariably displays..,' Whether Self-governing communities' should continue a licensing system or adopt a course , that will ; abolish that system without substituting some other legale iscd method of purveyance ' is a, disturbing question to venture upon , any body politic, and it is one that cannot be "settled out of hand; so to speak', because of the animosities of one party, tho antipathies of another, and the perversity of human nature generally. Amid these discordant elements standstill great moderate party, which, if there is any in words, is the true • temperance party, for it stands between the Prohibitionists, with, their coercive policy, and tho party directly interested in.'tho liquor trade. This tempcranco .or moderate party .has an abhorenco . of compulsory ■ aud stauds for the liberty of -tho individual to bo free to be tomoorato or a teetotaller, at will;, but while it stands for these'principles it has-as'great an aversion to the vice of drunkenness as the strongest Prohibitionist, and would seek its abolition by every means possible short- of tho ■ denial to tho whole community ..to. live temperately in regard to the iHse'-.'of. alcoholic, beverages. That, wo claim, is'"the position of the moderate''or• tempcranco party in this country. It'is not, however, tho position of the Prohibition party, for it will be satisfied with nothing short of "complete suppression and annihilation.. J> It may say it is "satisfied" with a "threc-lift-lis" majority to-day, but to-morrow I it claims'a. "nine-elevenths." and the day alter it will demand a "bare majority." ■ ■ Tlioii-.'iho triennial turmoil, social, political, and commercial, will proceed; '.unceasingly. In Ontario, as ..tho'-- cablegramstho . other day !' announced, ■ tho-'- Prohibitionists we're successful - in: -"drying-up" fiveeighths of. the,..whole of that province. That is not tho first/time this has been accomplished'...!)!' Ontario, for in 1897 t-hree-fourths^'of : the entire, province went -. ''dry,-vet twenty-throe towns having ..populations , 0r...5000 each and Upwards retained- .^licensing'system far more.liberal'in 'jts incidence than that which- obta.iris jiiV this • Dominion. fhero eae iieense fo ovcry 550 rf the popula-1 tion-up ' tovlOOO may bo' granted, and j olio - to; evcry-v. 400." upwards... ..If, suth. ■ a 1

system operated.in Xeir Zealand, towns liko.. Dimetliii would have four hotels i'i'or'every ono now licensed. "What has ntado Ontario so variable, so unsettled, in'its' licensing system.hae heon the swinging .of the pendulum I'roru dicenbi»g to prohibition and from prohibition ■■to .licensing by tho power Of a "bare majority," 's«r that periods-of- tho 0116 havo hot lasted longer than five or six years over the other. It does not follow' that becauso'.five-eighths" of the territory of Ontario is under prohibition by the recent- polling that live-eighths of tho population are so placed, for as wo bare seen tho cities and towns do not, go .''dry." That'prohibition is fairly well enforced, however, is shown by the fact that during 0110 no-license period licensing inspectors' laid • 9457"'informations' for sly grog-selling and obtained SGG3 convictions. "Bare-majority" rulo on this question does not malso either for reform, safety, or stability. ; Again.,--another ro'raarkablo change, took placo in tho lib-licenso system of Ohio. As this was constitutionally a prohibition Stato since 1851, 110 licenses could bo granted. The contempt for the law was so widespread that an Act was passed in 1886 allowing anyone to seSl alcoholic liquor on paying a. tax of £50. per annum. ' Thousands started into this business, and so numerous wcro tho saloons in Ohio that the newspaper cablegrams aniiouncad the other day that a Liquor License Law requiring tho number of licenses. to be reduced 'to one for every-300 of the people bad been passed, aim that as a consequence 3300 saloons would bo closed. Yet so liberal a licensing law as tlmt in Ohio would." give to Wellington, with' 80,000 people, 160 hotels instead of 47 licensed •' premises as at present. Such has been the csperienco of Ohio that, after 62 years of No-License and its variants, that State has adopted, a generous system of licensing. But the liquor agitation is not confined to any ono State, or province in either America .or •Canada; 111 Congress at 'Washington the other day the .champions of national prohibition packed, the. galleries, and created, a'scene'.of unparalleled intensity so that the debate, had to b<? adjourned. In Norway and Sweden Bills prohibiting the importation of spivit-n, but not their manufacture, are being, introduced into tho' Legislatures of both countries. New' South Wales lias been in the throes of a general election and a (imbibition campaign, and "reduction" has., been carried ill several r.mrsely-neopled electorates, and in. others where two or- very few hotWs'at ..present -exist. Here, too, publicfats renrohati' l ths> svr.teni thai; allows the local ontion poll to synchronise with every Parliamentary election because the obtrusion of this question confuses tho election issues and prevents a truo and adequate representation of the people being reached. In Victoria thev have a Licenses Board, which has close's 700 hotels in seven years, not "capriciously and unevenly." as local option operated over 200 hotels in the 20 years preceding, but- with honesty and judgment, and with 'satisfac: tioii to the l trade aiid 'the, moderate party, .for the . basis of . the board's oncrations is that "those"' that remain shall contribute compensation to those that'go ont." 'With this .system there is no social' unrest, no.:bad blood, engendered, and comparatively .-little com-; mercijil'; loss "or disorganisation. ". In Western "Australia- the has just embodied, the "three-fifths" priisciplo of dctermini'iKC its local option, and for Scotland, of all places,' a new licensin" system has just been passed by tho House of Conihibns., The Scottish Temperance Act is worth considering in ; view of Mr. -Massey's .proposed roiuctvm of the majority rennirwl to enfrv. Prohibition in this Dominion'. The Scottish; Temperance Act rloos not coiiio. into ft iteration until .Tniifl l, 1920; It. provides for reduction, but as we have' eliminated > that ,issue..«•<!_ need, only .consider .the NV-. of-.,the pErtvisiomvof the Scottish, Act. Under Act- No-Lieense may. W-- .fcav'iied- in : Scotland';- "if at lotsst ...55 persons in - the 100- vote-,, aud if _. at least 33 of those liersons are iii favour of XoLicWe." ■ Woriced-out, this- is equal to f>3- 7-11: per cc-iYt. <if ■ tfiose'who vcitß' being necessary to carry NorLkenso. Mr. ■Mhssev -proposes to reduce, the vale in New Zealand ; to 00 p4r cent-. A contrast is worth whilo being instituted:

Mr. Massey's proposal practically cuts down-the majority requited to.cartj'iNo-Lic«ns.e.by;pne4ialf.\-aixdUiaving regard to the issues- iuvolve<L; it (locs iiot seoni adequate, that- so small a majority should be permitted by law to dominate tho rights .of-the many, and sacrifice tlio interests of even a'few.' Nay* more, the financial stability. of tho Dominion'is threatened. Prohibitionists admit a loss of revenue of '£881.000; Sir, Masse.v a loss of £900,000. Neither tho Prohibitionists nor i.lio Prime Minister have suggested any scheme of fresh taxation to repair this loss. They /who would menace the credit of this country by an action, which, is questionable if in tho direction of rcforni, that will cost'thorn nothing, cause others irreparable loss without- compensation, disorganise' ourcommercial and social relations, and lower our credit -in Loudon, cannot bo regarded as sane and patriotic: unless at tho same timo they put, forward proposals of fresh taxation to maintain the country's credit and financial stability.

: isi , " S'?: If^g •s. s.b ■ ti-.rf y.a 0 F«|J . *■ Scottish Act 5,KM) 3o0l '1999 1502 Present 'N.Z.- ■■ ■ •••'.■ '•. Act 5500 > '-3301-. 21,99 1102 Proposed JM5.-... Act 550.0 ., . 3036 - . 2474:;. ■ S52