HON. LLOYD GEORGE AND THE DRINK TRAFFIC

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3106, 9 June 1917, Page 8

HON. LLOYD GEORGE AND THE DRINK TRAFFIC

Sir,—l feel loath to reply to one who hides his identity under a non-de-plumc, and in replying to "John Plowman, Jr.," whoso letter appears in your issue of yesterday, I do so only in tho interests of others, Your correspondent takes me to task for introducing "political and control versial matters" into my address at the Empire service on Sunday last. Jf he is an intelligent man he ought to know that the very meaning of "politics" is that which pertains to the life of tho State and citizenship. And he ought also to know that all such matters are controversial, How I could speak on the responsibilities of true patriotism at an P.piro service, without to "political and controversial matters" I am at a loss to know.

Ho then accuses me of attributing language to the Hon. Lloyd George which he says was never used, and in the saiuo sontonco contradicts himself by savins it happened two years ago, mid that the Prime Minister of Great Britain has since changed his mind. Not only did the right honourable gentleman ninko the statement I quoted, but, if T remember aright, the London "Times," iirrt leading article, endorsed the opin'"ii. and I have ;i copy, of an aritcle before me which appeared in the "Spectator" on November 'Si. 1015. in which it sjivs: "thir waste on Iho lion-necessary u.-e of jjlooliol will undo us oven moro surely than the Force and fraud of Ger-ni-'cv and Austria."

T think I can claim to bave as full a knowledge of the opinion 'of Hie Hon. Lloyd George on this matter as "John Plowman, Jr.." and I do not hesilalo In declare Hint the right honourable gontleninn ha* nevrr swerved . from the opinion T have attributed to him. That he has modified hU views as to Hie best course to lie itnmediatelv adopted to meet Hi" iliHiciillv T admit. But "John Plowman. Jr.," himself attributes to the Hon. Llnvd Coori'o flic verv opinion ho accuses me or falsely doing. On Mav is the Pre" nulilislied a cable message •■•tilling that in the course of his renlv In two deputations, one ur»in<r Prohibition dnvioT H'O war, and the other SMo c-iulvol. Jlr Lloyd George said: "For Heaven's sake don't let us tight amongst ourselves. If the best, is not

attainable the. second br-st is." And "John Plowman, .lr." savs libit bv "best" lie meant Stale control, tl' Hint is so, thou ni.v critic himself makes Air. Lloyd George an advocate, for the "second best," which is Prohibition according to his own interpretation. If it is not so, then ho still admits that the right honourable gentleman still holds, os I! believe he docs. Hint Prr.Wuilioii is tho "best" solution. Ho thus imlinlt's himself ou tho horns of a dilemma. In conclusion, while I profoundly believe Prohibition lo be the nnlv truly effective solution, T may say that X did not mention Prohibition on Sunday lust. But I did accuse, the Government of this country of a. lack of patriotism by their failure to modify a traffic which was admittedly a menace to tho Umpire, and urged tho necessity of grappling fearlessly with tlint- which hampers us in tho carryine of this war to a srieedy and successful issue.—T am, etc... ARCUD. E. HUNT. 17 Ellicc Avenue. A VERY WEAK MOVEMENT Sir,—According to the "Gazette" of April 12, 1917, tho peoplo of this metropolitan area number 95,208, and about '-'(100 peoplo were present at a no-called citizen's meetins in the. Town Kail on Thursday evening to consider the G o'clock movement. It could hardly l>o called a representative gathering. The Mayor displayed an unconvincing and not impartial altitude to the meeting. For instance, ho said he would not stand for any movement, that would affect tho soldiers, and the returned soldier showed how the suggested 6 o'clock closing would 6lrik« at the soldier's present privileges. But His Worship the. Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke, C.M.G.), knowing what tho resolutions were, announced his determination to accept no amendments to tho resolutions. Such is the impartiality of Wellington's Chief Magistrate !

Dr. Newman informed the meeting, quite erroneously, but perhaps quite in ignorance, that was being sapped by liquor in tho vital industries of Great Britain. That was the. story the prohibitionists of Great Britain invented against the working classes of Scotland and England. And when Mr. Lloyd Georgo discovered the truth of the position, ho told the prohibitionists he would have nothing to do with their proposals. Dr. Newman has imbibed prohibition inaccuracies in England. Mr. Lloyd George sent the prohibitionists about their business, and" nowheTo in England has a hotel heen taken over by the Liquor Control Board and closed, unless adequate compensation has heen paid tho proprietor, and nowhere, save in munition areas, have restrictions in regard to hoars heen imposed hy tho Control Board. Outside tho munition areas tho hotels are open in England lo 12 o'clock midnight. Inside munition areas, where the vital industries of the nation are being carried on, tho hotels are open in varying hours up to 9 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., and in some places they open in munition areas as early as 5 o'clock in tho morning. If Dr. Newman had told tho citizens' meeting these facts, then it might bo said that ho was not out on a vote-catching expedition. Why did Dr. Newman want his audience to believo that there was necessity for cutting down the hotel hours because of the drunkenness of the people of this country? Dr. Newman knows as well as anyone that the people of this country are far more sober than the people at Home, using only about one-third of the quantity of alcohqj.ic liquor consumed by the peoplo in Great Britain. Why did not Dr. Newman tell the citizens of Wellington that while the people in the United Kingdom consume 26 gallons, we in New Zealand consume nine gallons of malted liquor per head of the population? There is no comparison between New Zealand and Great Britain in this 1 respect, and Dr. Newman knows it. He tried to buttress his case by telling his audience that according to the New Zealand Year Book there are more convictions for drunkenness in New Zealand than before the war. But Dr. Newman was not fair to the people of New Zealand when he made that observation. He -should have said this: "According to the Year Book for 1918, I find that in 1914 there were 12.06 convictions for drunkenness per 1000 of the mean population; and that in 1915—a whole year of war— the figures were 11.79 per .1000 of the mean population. So that notwithstanding the prosperity of the country there had been a slight reduction in excessive drinking." Dr. Newman did : not tell us how we have been economical, how we have saved .£27,000,000 sterling since the war broke out, of which'sum, too, we. had lent ,£12,000,000 to tho Government as a war loan.

Just one word more. Under existing {conditions, Dr. Newman knows that no country Ims turned out a finer, body of men as soldiers than New Zealand. In point of behaviour, military spirit, courage, and fighting finalities, they are unsurpassed. We havo sent nearly SO.OOfI away of the finest troops in the world, and yet after nearly three years of war Dr. Newman lias tho effrontery to stand up before a meeting of Wellington citizens and tell the people of this country that they are lacking in national efficiency! As they say in Foxtail, with emphasis on the "is," what is the matter with the flax industry? So I would ask, with the same emphasis, What is the matter with Dr. Newman?—! am, etc.,

MOUNT VICTORIA.