Prohibition Facts v. Liquor Fakes

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2324, 4 December 1914, Page 14

Prohibition Facts v. Liquor Fakes

mTHMASTEMON?

'■:; '■■■% DELUSIYE test. "<: The''-naked*ctfiho%6ty : \ of: : the -tagHbji by which'' !'New"Zealander" "seeks" to discr;&it;lthe', Su'coeW of No-License, in Maki»iWii;;i6 < 'fully worthy -of the' Trade ho jchampionsy,?. He' professes to' have a statistical'.basis for his'sophistriea,' hut ho manages' to prove'black white by quotuig figures and stopping short'm 1 his guojiatjon-'pf-relevant figireß' at the point where they''would | destroy 'his' case.' Population'he declares I to bo the true test 'oi progress,' and he quote's figures to "show that the population of Masterton has' remained practically . stationary : under ifpur", years of No-License!'■' Of course, he knew that iheperiod coincided with a severe dp: prosSioh; -j3ue''partl; ,l; to v '; caueos, -partly to"- conditions^' affecting^the' Southern dis'triota 'of the North Islatid, 1 - partly 'to' ■■ $e ; reaction from a local' "Doom;'! "New- Zealander" was of .course aware of a fact which was familiar to everybody,' 'He opujd also hWe'ascertained, if he had been peeking for truth and not fajsehood, that•' tnV population' tables from which be quoted show that License boroughs I in this - part'pf ,the cpuntry have been worse hit than'Masterton.'' ;Lef us'take ihe'figu'r'es'fq'r Masterton ,;and for'''the' three' chief. boroughs' on "either bide of it, and display them in' "New* Zealander's''fashion:— '.'V'-'v : ' : ". I '■'■' ' '•". - Population under No-Llsense, J.gOP 1913 Inoreaso Mastertpn ....... 6,600 6,685 I'.fip.o. Population under License. 1909 1918 Decrease Palmerston Nth. 12'000 11,70'9' i'.'lp.c. |et0he" : .'.'.,..;..r.'. '7,313 7,010 4.1 p.o. Wellington ...... 71,553 66,838 7.3 p.o. "There is no town in New Zealand 60 stagnant "as Masterton'under No-Li-censej"' "New Zealander" has the impudence to" say,' "unless perhaps some other No-License town. 11 Yet" the fact is that, while- the population of Masterton has "advahcedby 1} per cent, un-r der No-License, that of the two nearest boroughs has declined 4.1 per cent, under License, and that of the capital pity 7.3 per cent. The True Test. 'After this taste of '!New Zealander'fl" quality, one''is' quite prepared to find him equally unscrupulous in the manipulation of figures' whioh .have a more direct bearing upon No-License. The best "statistical test of the effect of No-License "is supplied by a comparison of the number'of "convictions recorded (1) for drunkenness, (2) for other offences likely to be caused by drink, and (8) for all offences, before and after the abolition of the licenses. All these tests are carefully avoided by "New Zealander," because they give a triumphant verdict in favour of ■ No-License. He prefers to show that there are more offences in the fourth year of No-Licensa than in the first, but without any attempt to show how the cases connected with liquor'are affected. That the convictions under No-License still only just exceed half of those recorded in the last year of License is a fact which he carefully conceals. That the drink-caused crime has been still more substantially reduced is another fact that he is also careful to conceal. The relevant figures for the last year of License and the last year of No-License are as follows :— Convictions for License Ho-Hcrase Decrease, 1908 1913 " under.N.li. Drunkenness ... 311 '49 262-84 I*o. Other Offences... 367 _292 75-20 p.o, 678 341 337—49 p.o. A 49 per cent, reduction in all pffences and an 84 per cent, reduction in drunkenness are a wondcrful_ testimony to ' the benefits of No-License, which, as "New Zealander!' is unable to explain away, he prefers to ignore.

More Crime In One Year of License than '.'"'■'.'■' Fivei Years "ofNorLlcense. ■

!. The above\ figures are taken direct from the official'statistics.. If.the-.fig-foies Tfor'-'dranJcenniess and- allied offeri'rmiclF fairer including offences'' with.- whibh;' liquor 'haß nothing, .&,; 'do^aro^.takei..' 'separately . f6£j%th&'. whole-fi've v 'years ; 'of:N#Llconse (June v 3ov 1909—June SO, 1914) -and compared with those of the last year of License (June B(V'l9o>-June'3o, 1909) ■ the result is as follows:" :,.■■'.'■'<■ ■;' V- 4 *1 ill ''■'■■ ' . tlx Si Ihl? • ES-3 se>o ► * 883* Drunkenness : .«..; 287 '208 41.6 86 p.o. Vflffianoy ■■' '. 25-9 1.8 92.8 p.b. Obscene vLangrnage ■ 21 19 -3.8. 81 p.o; Theft' .. v ,.......'.'i.'.;.":i.-.. 44 ,27 6.4 85 p.o. Indecent EipoßnTo '3' i .6 80 p.b. Malicious •••Injuirj'to property-...... 5 7 1.4 72 p.o. Obstrnctdnsror He- ' ■'■ ■ '.!■ ■ 'slstlnß' Polios- P.;' 18 ''« 14 ,80 p.d, ■"■397. •' 82 pi.' Thus (1) a single year of license produced 79 1 more pases'- ; of drunkenness than five years of No-License—a margin of 88 per cent. .-••■' '' (2) A single year of License produced S3''more allied offences than the five years of; margin of 42 percent. -.'/■:■ : . : (3) A single year of License produced 112 more cases of drunkenness and kindred''off en'c'ea than,'s years of No-Li-bense—a margin 'of.'39 per cent. ' (4) The average retludtion per »n----num in drunkenness and kindred offences effected in 5 years of No-License was 82 per cent. - ! "New. .Zealander'! was not paid to tell the truth,' so he gives us nothing pf these wonderful faof's. Ealry Figures, Another impudent misstatement is that Masterton's police offences .represent oyer 6 per cer&'of the population, whereas,' the percentage or the whole Dominion is jess than 2J per cent.' This wonderful result is arrived at by identifying'tho police district of Masterton with the borough. ' On the same basis-the offences under License amounted to 12 per cent, of the population —a truly marvellous proportion worthy pf one pf the most criminal populations of the worldl The fact is that Masterton electorate has a population more than twice ; as large o.b the Borough—l2,l6B at the last census, as against 6182 for the bprpughj and that at least two-thirds of its caseß come_ to Masterton. Mpreever, part of the crime dealt with in this court, including most of the drunkenness; comes from outside the district. , : Some Businesses Slack In Masterton. Business is Black in Masterten, is itP Yes, some sorts of business. The business which "New Zealander" champions is very slack indeed; with the chief factories of crime closed, the jail is also in a poor way. "The lock-up at the Police Station," says Mr.-J. T. M. Hornsby, 3.V. and Coroner; "is seldom used; indeed, to quote an officer of the law, 'the cells are blue-mouldy for want of occupation,' and only one of these cells is occupied as I write. That cell is occupied by some whisky and beer seized by"the police. Tho remaining cells are unoccupied. The old position is reversed. The grog is locked up; the men who used- to be its' victims are free." But of other forms of industry than those represented" by the publio house and the jail, Mr. Hornsby says, "Business is very brisk."A Carbled Quotation. One more sample of "New Zealander" and'then wo have done. ''Even Mr. Hornsby," "he writes; "so much lauded by the Prohibitionists, says, 'The contrast" between Masterton under No-Li-and other towns whose License exists isa revelation to mp.''" Even

Mov Hornsby, it seems, 'supports the liquor-sellers' 'oase :"but' 'that' iS'' only oauso' 'TNew '"Zealander"'' dishonestly suppresses' his -next ''sentence .wh'ich' l is as rollowe:-—"One has only'to'live in .first; a, Lioeriße area and.then a NorLipehee 'afeS' : t6" realise 'how 'good r 'a■ thing .it. is to close upi the drink, bars'.": Even 'lViye>wh6hi:he'' : to : garble hia words'for him. . An honestvinan is "ijtow Zealander." and equally expert in oooking quotations and statastios!

THE DECADENCE (?) #INVERCMaiL.

It' ia a' strong testimony to t&e suocsw of "New 'ZealandI er" dpes not'' cpiißider it advisable to touch'its relevant statistics at all. This is because' even tlie utterly delusivo test that he applies to other -No-License disof comparing -.the first and last''years qf : Nci-LioehseV-wpiild in this case have given' him ■ no comfort, There were 91 convictions for drunkenness in invercargill-in 1907, the- first-year of NoJjicense, and only 97 with a population which' had'irioreased 'more''than 25 pofoehK'in 1918,' th last' year"'of Nch License. Drunkenness is thusi'a declining "quantity"in Ihye'rcaTgill relative to the population,' despite the'contiguity of License districte and the "keg parties," for which ."New Zealander" blahiis NpLicenße?but' which are""really'the'puteoih'e of the weakness of the law and the 'activity of his"fi'iends and'emplo"y : efs, the brewers.' "" '■ • Drunkenness props 55 Per Gent. 1 How remarkable has been the i success of No-License in Invercargill, iri spite of all these disadvantages, is best shown by comparing tho statistics of drunkenness ' during the' whole seven years of No-License. with the same number of years at''the close 1 of the period of License. The relevant figures' are as follows':— : ' '■ ' - - ■•'.'.-■( Oonviotions for Drunkenness. Seven years of License ' ■""■ ' 1224 Seven years of No-Liceriso ...... ■■■""■'■: ' " '(19Q7-1913) 685 Decrease under No-Licenße.;.'..; 689 Decrease relative to population. 66.7 p.p^ ',- In other words, at the rate prevailing under License,' there would, with the rapid increase of population, have been 1687 convictions for drunkenness during tho last seven 'years,' but iii spite of all the keg parties and the depots, and the inundation of drunks, as well as the drink from the adjoining districtej No-Liocnse has reduced the number to 685. Even' of this reduced number it is, estimated that 8Q per cent had got drunk in one pf the adjoining license districts. No wonder the ingenious 'hireling of "liauor tr'afiio" prefers to talk about something else." ''.'•' Soarolty pf Habitual Offenders. "The worsfi featxire of Invercargill's No-License' re.gimo." ' says -'"New Zealander," is that Invercargill produoes a larger number of 'first offenders' than is the average of all. the licensed districts " in-..the Dominion." This is a gross and glaring falsehood. The convictions for drunkenness in Invercargill represent a' little more thaii half the average rate for tho whole Dominion. In this smaller percentage the proportion of first offenders is larger than for the Dominion ae a whole, but the proportion 'of first offenders to Mpulation is nevertheless smaller for Invercargill than for tho Dominion. What " "New Zealander'! deplores is really a most satisfactory sign. If we correct- and invert-his falsehood, we shall get "very near the truth. ' -'The best feature of No-License in Invercargill is that it produces a smaller prooortion of drunkards who are convict-

($ more than once than the average, licensed district."'' One' of the Barouiy testimonials Quoted by' ''New'Zeakinder'' would, & it were true;' 6upply' a sufficient explanation. Other, mercenaries of the ■ trade " dwell'-upon" "the seductive power of sly grog. "Now Zealander". calls a witness to testify in the' opposite direction :r :; ' ''Jfc-Lioens'o forces men to drink in urinals and out-of-the-way' plnoes:" ' Drinking under such 'condition's oan hardly be the most cheerful of 'wsoiipations,'' an 3 it' 1b "notsurprising to find that few have . the stomach, to b«>come habitual offendera;

Population and Prosperity. The commeFqial stagnation of Invaroar'gill, of course) distresses '"New'Zea-. lander." ' £u|- i's a town' which" in'the last thrse years'of NchLiobhse has 'lai sued building permits totalling '£320,'000, and in ihe lost 'year" operated ''an. electrid tram''service '-at a'' cost of £90,000, supples no relevant figure's to help him.' he indulges 'in mid 'general statements aii'd m "a"' dishonest "appeal to''the popuJatidn Bta'tretics. Bo speaks of '"Inyerc'ar'jnll progressing in ' popvilation'at'the i-ate of 0n1y'2.65. per cent, per : ''annum,' while similarly sized towns, rindor licensing, rto advancing at 'this rato of 6i76 and 9.62 per cent, per annum respectively." r Why does fe'pasß Palmerston North by, and go all'the way' to Wang'anui to find one of his parallels? Simply because the\ Pat ' merstori . North figures would have. shown that ono v of'tho' most prosperous towns in the Dominion had lagged 80 per cent, behind No-License Invercargill in its rate of progress during the'period in question I' And why h'a's he cut his: comparison short : at 1911 when it is, according tol'-'the tests'ho has applied to' Masterton and other cases, the lasfc years of No-Lioerise'that supply the' crucial tost P The "ans'wor Is as before. The last throe years'would not have suited his 'case, 'and* so'he■ went further back.' During 1 th<plast three years cf No-License in InyercaTgill the towns which' "New Zeilahdo'r!' has selected to shame it', advanced at the rata of 2.67 per' cent, per 'annum' (Wanganui)i and 4.2 per cent. (Timaru), while Invercargill V progress was at $he ; r'ate of 4:731 Very blight/ ing' indeed ' h; the-effect'of No-License if th'o paid agents of the Liriuor traffio are'' given." a' free 'hand .to ' 'fako"'' the figures! v A Striking Contrast. Now that < 'New Zealander?? has supplied us with the names of two noodel I/ioenße towne, and .our own research' has 'supplied another, let us compare them with Invercargill in the one point which best test 6 the moral effects of No-License—the number of oohvictipns for drunkenness. '"■ The population of each and the proportion of convictions to population' are also given in the following table:— tlocnis. OonTletlonJ Oon-rtfltioiM Population for per 1000- . ■ ■'■ Drunkenness Population WMgYHHIi ... JMSJ, '««■" " '" lU '" Hinara:;.'. 18,702 326. 25.6 No-Llcenso. •. Di-reiwrglU--. IMS) m *•? Though it is an article of faith with' "New Zealander" and his employers that.there is more drinking under'Nch License, these figures show that License towns about the same size as Invercargill have from 2i'to 4 1-3 fames as much drunkenness; or if the proportion which Invercargill owes to the tion effected m adjoining Lioonso districts bo allowed' for, from 12 to 20 times as much. And in which of these three License is there the same immunity from .serious primes thatf disr tinguishes Invercargill. Time after, time judges congratulate the town en. its splendid record! ' On no less;' ' than four occasions in recent years there has been no criminal business as all. "Now Zealander" 'should' bo pleased that TVanganui and Timaru don't suffer from such a slump in crime.