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Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 82, 31 December 1917, Page 5

MORE SOBER NATION —« STRIKING EFFECT OF BRITISH LIQUOR CONTROL IN WARTIME. A very great change has been wrought by war conditions in the trade i in intoxicating liquor is the conolußion come to by the Home Office, which recently issued a White.Book containing statistics as to the operation's of the laws relating to the. sale in England and Wales For 1916. '. The total convictions for drunkenness in 1916 were 84,191, compared with 135,811 in 1915-a decrease of 51,620, or 38 per cent., following a decrease of 48,017, or 26 per cent., in the preceding year. In every month of the year the figures were very much lower than in the previous year. The total of 84,191 is tho lowest recorded for nearly fifty years, and is 65 per cent, below the total for 1913. Tho figures for convictions of male persons in 1913, 1914, 1915. and 1916 were 153112, 146,617, 102,600, and 62,946. ' The corresponding figures for females were 35,765, 37,311, 33,211, and 21,245. The proportion of the total convio< tions contributed by Greater London (with a population of about ,20 per cent, of tho total for England and Wales) was 34.7 per cent., in 1913; 86.8 per cent, in 1914; 38.2 per cent, in 1915; and 34.9 per cent, in 1916; the figures being 65,448, 67,654, 61,836, and 29,394 respectively. In every area the convictions, fell substantially— usually at a greater rate than in 1915 —and tho three greatest falls occur- . ed. in the/areas least affected in 1915. In that year the figures for the Southwestern counties, tho Homo counties, and Yorkshire respectively were 4.1, 15.0, and 22.7. per cent, lower than in 1914. In 1916 thesothree areas showed decreases amounting to 46.0, 45.5, and. 43.4 per cent, respectively. As ■compared with 1913, no area- shows a decrease of less than 40 per cent., and in nine out of the twelve ; areas the ' decrease exceeds 50 per cent., the greatest,being 65 per cent., in the Midland mining and manufacturing counties.