PROHIBITION DENOUNCED

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2301, 7 November 1914, Page 9

PROHIBITION DENOUNCED

BY, MR. PHItIP SNOWDENi M.PV PROHIBITIONISTS "RECKLESS . ■■.: AND'.UNFOUNDED."-. \,,;:..: ''ABSOLUTELY : UNTRUSTWORTHY ■.:■.-. .. ADVOCATES. ,, . :';/;:,: In Ha book, v- "Socialism and tie Drink Question,'.'•■ Sir. '/Philip Snowden reviews' the progress: of./true" temperance in English-epeaking countries, i In the-courise of this review, he denounces ' prohibition, epeaka up for freedom and liberty, advocates that provision should to made for fhe right of moderates to use alcoholic beverages,..-denounces prohibition and prohibitionists in no unmeasured terms, and ! concludes' by arguing in favour ■ of, the niunioipalieation of the liquor industry I , • : ' This second book by Mr. Philip Snbw'den, M.P., .is very .thorough, and no one who -reads it will question the; vehemence and intensity,- jhe honesty end thoroughness'of thei author's con-, demnation/of local option aiid prohibi- -•' tion as temperance reforms.. ,r ; "' ■ / : , Mr. Snowden confounds the Alliance : '(U.K.) with the fact that the liquor consumption per head of■' the pbpula- ' tion increased from £3 6e..10dj in-1886 to £3:165. 3d.'in 1906, and asks; the lAlliaiice what it means-, by 'claiming that temperance has made progress in .the face of that outstanding factrr-pageß ■ 34,35: - ■■.... ',;■:■ ,-;;.; ;'.-=rj%\- : -.; : Coming to New Zealand, which ;most particularly interests us;' MrV Snowden directs attention to the failure of pro-hibition-and no-license. Mr. Snowden says (page 131):— . ." . ' : ' ''.'■■' "We fail to find much encouragement'to hope that local option ■'-.. will do much to lessen the volume of the drink trade.". Again (page 129), Mr. Snowden .", ■ '.'■■.':..• ■■;... '■ . .^ : y ;.,-:' ■■.'.'' -t'Lopal option In Now Zealand ' ' has apaprcntly done nothing whatever to lessen the amount of drink •-.•'' consumption." v ?; ■- ;';';.;-■■ : Then -Mr. Snowden quotes Sir GeorgeTurner, ex-Premier of Victoria, on , prohibition, thus:— . .V' s A . " ; .."". . ; "In his opinion there Is no surer • wat of making. the people take to liquor than to close all the hotels and make the traffic illegal.!' ; ■ -':,'.' Next, Mr. Snowdeii, '-with' manifest approval, quotes" the Bishop.of Ballarat on prohibition, thus:—...... ■■•_'/;. :-:...'■ "It (Prohibition) lowered the moral tons of the community for U generated on a jarge scale, ■ bogus clubs and sly grog shops,! , etc ; - ;...:' -... -. ' . ;'"'(Vide. page. 132.) The best is yet U> come. Mr. Snowden.,- declares - (page 137): "The suppression of a license will not destroy the drink appetite." And Mr. W. E. Gladstone is quoted, 1 to sup-, port Mr. Snowden in his denunciation of. "suppression of licenses" as a temperance reform and so much, lauded by piohibitionists in New Zealand: ■ Mr. Gladstone:; 'Mf it pretendsto the honour of a remedy.lt Is ; . little: better than an imposture." Page 136. . ; Mr. Snowden ■ has, like all original ■ .thinkers, ideas of ..his own,'and .'his • scheme of temperance reform is urged upon the acceptance of his readers for .-• various reasons, chief of which is that provision must be.made for the moder- ■ ate user of alcoholic beverages :— "The public must provide for the satisfaction of the demand for liquor In moderation," etc. (page : • . ■■-..'.' , v ■■'■- ■•'■■-,• ' ■'Again (p.. 174), Mr. Snowden urges that their proposed reforms "must be • moral in the souse that the proposed . changes do not violate the popular sense of liberty and justice."/-That is exactly what local option,"i.e., local no-license- and prohibition aim at'accomplishing, and so we have, left the ' strongest instance of Mr. Snowden's denunciation of prohibitionists 'to , ' the end. Here it -is, vide p. ll'i :— "The' Rev. W. J. Dawson, in an article recently published, says :— 'Six great States, viz., Maine, Kansas, North Dakota, Georgia,

Alabamaj and Oklahoma have enacted prohibition laws. In not one of these States is it possible to sell or procure alcoholic liquor." Now it is the invariable custom of prohibitionists to declare that "Prohibition does prohibit." 1 The Rev. Hammond, the Rov. John Dawson, the Rev. Hmton, the Rev.' L. M. Isitt, tho Rev. Comrie, et hoc genus omno, niost_solenirily. avow that prohibition prohibits and that those .who disagree or, would quostion the dictum of the Rev. W. J. Dawson must be advocates of the liquor .industry and.in the pay of-the liquor, party. _But what does Mr.. Snowden have about Mr. Dawson's statei and Mr. Snowden is under engagement to and in tho service of the Prohibition . party ? Here is what he says about the Rev. Mr. Dawson's wild statement (vide page 114):— ■/■ "This extract Is quoted as a '.; typical specimen of tho reckless and unfounded statements mads by fanatical and emotional wouldbe temperance reformers. Suoh statements contribute nothing to ■: tHe discussion of a great and difficult problem, but serve only , to " condemn as absolutely untrustworthy tho advocates of this particular proposal." " This particular proposal is "prohibition." 'Therefore, when advocates of prohibition tell : you that prbhibitioii will prohibit,. or. that no-ljce_nso is any improvement upon the existing system of licensing you can quote Mr. Philip Snowden aiid say to these' "fanatical and emotional ; would-be temperance.Tβformers" that their statements are ."reckless-and unfounded," and their assertions to the contrary only serve to 'condemn them as "absolutely.." un- ; trustworthy" advocates on this particular subject. .When it comes to trouncing the .reverend and unreverend prohibitionists', Mr: Philip Snowden, M.P., of England, ■whips the prohibitionists with serpents and scourges them with- scorpions— that.is, in his book.—Published by. arrangement., ■'..■'■'•■•. . ■