LIQUOR REFERENDUM

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 158, 29 March 1919, Page 3

LIQUOR REFERENDUM

6 REPLY TO MR. JAMES BODDIE FROM MR. W. D. LYSNAR '■My attention has been drawn to Mr. James JLloddio's statements appearing in "Tho Now Zealand Herald" of March 21 upon this question, and I have read same with' a feeling of deep regret, as 1 esteem Mr. Bodtlie as a friend, and knowthat ho' employs all his energies for what ho conceives to bo right and just, but unfortunately, liko many other good men taking up tho prohibition cause, he is working on totally unreliable and incorrect data, and it does indeed show the justification for my remark that it is difficult to get at the truth for prohibition, for apparently Mr. BoddieV, idea of tho total crimo in New Zealand is about .sixteen, .times greater than it actually is, and if all other faols in connection with the no-license issue are magnified in his mind in tho same way, I am not surprised that Mr. lioddie finds .himself driven to vote no-license. If he-will permit rac to say it, lie has been looking at question through a pair of Yankee spectacles, which aro clearly deceptive, and it will bo necessary for him to discard • these and look at the cold true facts without any exaggeration or embellishment, for I give Mr. Boddin full -credit for being' equally as sincere as I am myself in this matter, and quite as desirous of doing tho right thing as far as his judgment dictates, but he must concede that neither of us can form a true nnd sound judgment without correct and. reliable facts' to work upon, and this is the rock upon which we split. Now, I do not propose to attempt to reply- to all Mr. Boddie's facts, as it would take up too much of your valuable space, for which I personally would have to pay, but so that, there can be no misconstruction nf Mr. Boddie's words I extract, tho following from his statement: "Even omitting drunkenness altogether, the total arrests in New Zealand last year were 40,190, -which equals W in ..every. 1000 of our population, whilo the arrests in no-license districts were but 32SG. which equals only 19 in every 1000 of their population. So that our own experience within Now Zealand is right in line with that of Canada, that prohibition reduces crime to less than half. If to save over 21.000 New Zenland homes every year from disgrace of nn arrest is, as Mr. Lyenar says, an 'ungodly reform,"' then Mr. Lysnar's God must 1m quite a different being from the One usually believed in." ■ T would refer Mr. Boddie to the 1917 Year Book, as the 1918 is not yet issued, and lie will there find on page £05 that the total number of charges brought before the Magistrates in 1916 by distinct arrests was 15.021. Then on page 207 it gives the total convictions in the following words: "Prom the following table it will be soon that of the totaj convictions of rrfrsons arrested (15,9.12), the distinct, arrests amounted to 13,694, the i difference being ncounted for by mulHnle charges nsninst tK same person. If distinct persons only are taken this total i= further rained to 10.426, representing 9.4S for every 1000 of tbe mean population. Convictions of Maoris are not included. . . ■ . Of the 10.420 distinct persons arrested and convicted during 1916.-no ''ewer than 8675 were for offences against good order, and of th"se 7649 were for drunkenness (including 131 drunk and disorderly, 16 habituals, nnd 27 prohibition orders)." I, have no figures before me that show the arrests in the no-license districts wero 3286, as stated by Mr. Boddie. but if we take this statement as correct, and which he says ..equals only 19 in every 1000 of the population, and it is hardly to bo assumed that a no-license advocate would deliberately enlarge these figures, then it shows this extraordinary position thnt in the whole Dominion the total r.rrpsts represented 9.48 for every 1000 of the mean population, while in the no-licensee district thev represented 19 in every 1000 of-the population, which. Mr. Boddie, with all his fair-mindedness, must admit is the most damning conviction against nolicense. Whether he admits this or not, however, it clearly shows that his figures aro absolutely incorrect and misleading on '■ this head.

- Theiii again, - he is quite- wrong when he appeals "to savo over 24,000 New Zealand homes every year from disgrace 'of an arrest,""when, according to the highest figure of every crime in the Dominion if every arrest wero attributable to drink this would only- amount to 15,021 homes being affected instead of 24,000 as he asserts.

Then later on he says: "According to our police records the law against theft is broken every day, 2648 broaches being the yearly total." Here, again, Mr, Boddio's figures are woefully astray., for on 'page 207 of the Year Book he will find these words: "And of the 939 distinct, persons arrested and convicted of offences against property, 773 were for theft of vnrious classes." Consequently on this latter head, instead of being 2648, as stated by Mr. Boddie, the figures should read 773, and he has overstated the position regarding theft'by 1875. The 46,490 should read 2777—in other words, ho has obestated this by 43,713; this is after deducting the 7619 arrests for drunkenness.

Now I think it is fair to ask that if the items I have referred to are so far wrong, how can anybody give credence to any of the other facts put forward by Mr. Boddie '/ Regarding tho newspaper quotations from the United States Press as to the good of no-license in the States, quoted by Mr. Boddie, I would remind him that I have absolute proof and knowledge that in tho United States certain people subscribe to a fund which is not subject to any audit, and is largely usod to .bribo newspapers and pay for tho advertising at large cost of untrue and misleading Statements regarding food matters, 'and as our American friends will do this in connection with food matters I have no hesitation in saying that in my judgment they would do tho same with liquor. Therefore, I would ask all well-wishers of this question to absolutely disregard any Press opinions they may havo quoted to them from the American Press. Personally, Lvalue American Press reports on such matters as food and prohibition as not being worth tho ink used in printing them. Lot me here say that I refuse to bolieve that Mr. Boddie is the real culprit in quoting this erroneous data, and I attribute it to others who are running the no-license movement, and in my judgment are simply using our esteemed friend in tho : matter. Under the circumstances, seeing that thero is a total lack of knowledge of correct data upon which to baso a proper judgment, I conclude tho best thing 1 can do is to arrange to come to Auckland and give a public address in tho Town Hall beforo the. lOlh proximo, and if this is at all possible,l assure Mr. Boddio thatl will do so and then deal more fully with the facts put forward in his letter, and to show that I have no feeling against Mr. Boddie in the matter I will be pleased to give him" the first refusal of taking tho chair at that moping.

In concluding I would add that I great- I ly regret, that Mr. Boddio signed the let- ' tor. as president of tho New Zealand Farmers' Union, Auckland province, ns so far as I am awaro this matter has not been taken up in anyway by tho union, for if it were, in my judgment, tho farmers as a community, when they know tho true facts, would have no alternative but to go against prohijiition, as it ' would not only be a moral wrong, but n financial loss to thorn, as their difficulties of lalxmr would be immediately intensified through our best class of labour paying £3 to &t for n steerage passage to Australia whero their liberty would not be perpetually at slake, and this Would th lis leave the already over-work-ed farmer with less labour axnilablo. W. DOUGLAS LYSNAR."" Gisbornc, March 23, 1919. [Published by Arrangement.]