The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, NOV. 2, 1905. NO-LICENSE ON THE COAST.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1592, 2 November 1905, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, NOV. 2, 1905. NO-LICENSE ON THE COAST.

The question of no-license or continuance is beinginuch discussed along the East Coast,at the present time as it is everywhere else. ' It has been stated by writers favoring no-license that the voting of the Coast electors for continuance depends upon the jpersonal popularity of the publican of oach township, ,bjxt such a statement is a ? distinct libel bn the intelligence of the residents. There is no doubt that the question is talked over in all its b eatings in the bush camp, in the he ones of the settlers, in the stores and at the hotel bars, and the Coast people are -not afraid of giving expression to thei r .opinions, and the great majority are etesirous of giving intelligent votes on the subject. It is generally j recognised that the,, hotels are a great conven ounce to the travelling public, and tin® accommodation, supplied is fully et yual to that obtained in any part of tlhe colony. There is a deal of journey ing up and down the Coast, and at ti hues travelling can only be accomplish .ed at great risk to fife and limb. It is therefore thought that under no with no hotels the accoQuaoclati«Q and comfort at present

procurable would be greatly missed. The fact that a publicanmakos a large profit on his liquor trade enables him to spend money on improvements to his house, and means extra comforts for those, who have to stay with him. That the house is public and not a private boarding house gives an added senso of freedom. It is fully expressed too, that it is not just to close up the hotels without giving compensation to the publicans who are under great expense to keep things going in a manner that will give satisfaction to the lochl residents and to travellers. The publio demand that the hotels shall be well built and commodious with everything up-to-date, and it 1 must be admitted that the Coast hotels are a .credit to the district generally speaking. To preserve the good name of his hotel a publican must conform to the law in its entirety, and the licensing laws are now strict. If he breaks the law he has no mercy shown him, and he must needs make way for a man ■"■'ho will conduct the business satisfac. rily. To close up the hotel without compensation is regarded by many as not in accordance with an Englishman's senso of honor and fair play, and until the law is altered there are many -electors along the Coast who under other circumstances would perhaps favor no-license will cast their vote for continuance. Of course all the arguments are not in favor of continuance. It is admitted generally that the abuse of alcohol is to the. detriment of the individual, and consequently to the, state,, but it cannot be said that no-license is a cure. Any system that allows the wholesale importation of liquor will not check .drinking. At present there is not a single sly-grog shop in existence 1 along the Coastj but under no-license it is fearedthat sly-grog selling will flourish apd will be almost impossible of detection, and that in that case the.evils of drinking will be augmented. The fact that at the present time nearly 200 miles of Coast with si number of large townships is controlled by two white policemen, and that there is absolutely little or no crime is flattering testimony to the manner in which the hotels are controlled, and there is no doubt that this is one strong reason why the residents vote so strongly for continuance. They feel that if the hotels were done away with, and the Coast became networked with sly-grog shops that the protection which they are now afforded under the licensing law would be gone, and that the introduction of an illicit business would be accompanied with many attendant evils. There are many dangers in connection with illicit trade in liquor that do not exist in well-con-ducted hotels! Sly-grog shops will not add to’ the manliness of the race, and so far as the Coast is concerned no-license means sly-grog. It is considered that , much money is spent at hotel bars that could be more profitably used, and that more is spent than would otherwise be through the shouting system that has arisen. Well, it is a man’s own fault if he wastes his substance in riotous living, and,the man should be blamed for his lack of. manhood rather than the blame being put on the hotel. The hotel is there for the use and convenience of the public, not for abuse. Some to protect themselves say they Will vote for no-license. Well these poor fellows are to be pitied, because after, by their votes destroying the present system, they will be the first to go in for sly-grog, and their last state will be worse than their first. If they w,ere voting..for total prohibition it Wduld h s e 'W different matter. -* Another point raised in connection with the liquor trade along* the Coast is that for the sake of the Maoris the hotel bars should be shut. ‘ It cannot be denied that drinking to excess is a great evil , among the natives. They earn good money by bush contracts and at shearing time, and much of that money I goes in drink and gambling. There are Maoris who are teetotallers, nonsmokers, and who never gamble, but they are in the minority. What gambling there is, however, does not take place at the hotels. Such is the condition and temperament- of the Maori, that he loves gambling and does not need the stimulating effect of drink to make him go f‘nap ’’ when he is in a gambling mood, which in most cases'is when he has earned a | good cheque: So far as drink is concerned the open bar is a great temptation to the Maori. But the “secret” bar would exercise a still greater attraction. Not only would he have the satisfaction of getting his glass of beer, but he would drink it with an' added zest 1 because he was beating the law. The only effective way to prevent the •Maoris drinking is total prohibition, which no-license does hot enforce. The other man who comes in'for a certain amount of attention on the Coast is the bushman, the genial, open-handed, open-hearted fellow, who for six months or more has been in the heart Jofl the bush, exercising his muscle on the giants of the forest, doing pioneer work for the good of his country, and earning a good cheque for himself by work that needs a man for its performance. He lives in the bush a clean, healthy life of. toil, and then comes to town for a holiday. He. has paid his store accounts and has a surplus, which ' so long as he keeps it, will burn a hole in his pocket. If he has an old mother to support, or sisters who are in poor circumstances, our bushman sends them all he can spare and has a quiet time until he returns to toil. If he has no ties he is then on pleasure bent, and right royally, does he enjoy himself, He never complains and does not need the sympathy that is expended on him, for he gets a “ quid pro quo ” for his money. . Such is his cense of honor of what is due to him as a mail that if he does not' get decent treatment at a place that place will see him no more, and his cheque will be spent elsewhere. He gets on the spree sometimes and spends money which possibly he might have spent at a jeweller’s in buying a ring for his best girl ; he enjoys himself in his own way, a mistaken way to the minds of some perhaps, but he has himself to please. If the bushman who likes a glass of beer after his lonely camp life were to come into a place where he ' could not get his glass of beer lawfully, and he knew that he could get round unlawfully, then round the corner he would go, and come 1 back with a sparkle in his eye that would show that 1 he had been satisfying along-felt want. It is certain that the bushmen along the Coast do . not desire no-license,

They look upon it as an infringement of their rights,!they are quite capable of looking after themselves and do not desire a law which will read “ You

shall not drink beer at'the open bar, but you can suck the bottle git day in the privacy of your own house. 4 ' The average bushman would not say thank you for a bottle of liquor that he has to drink in private. ! What he likes is

company after his loneliness, and a glass of beer, yes, and sometimes many glasses to help the flow of jokes hud friendly talk. He is not looking for trouble but for fun and jollity, and he gets it in his own way. Is drink sapping the. manhood of. the bushman ? .[f the nation needs soldiers the bush-

men make the best men, if a woman is insulted the bushman is the readiest to

avenge the insult, if a mate is down he is helped up and hot kicked to death. Our bushman has noble qualities, and so far the open bar has not caused de>

terioration of his character. So lon® as he gets good accommodation, goo« liquor and square treatment, so don° will he vote for the continuance of th. 0 present system On the whole the attitude of the great majority of Coast voters in regard to no-license may be summed up as follows; They do not think that to close the hotels is a cure for the drink evil, feeling sure that it will only make matters worse, that the evils of private drinking and of sly-grog selling (which, owing to the geography of the Count and tho inadequate polioo protection, will be impossible of frustration) will do moro to undermine tho aharaotor of tho individual and consequently of the State than tho open drinking bars. It is also advanced that it is impossible to make people moral and temperate by Act of Parliament, and that all history tells us that the repression of a thing by law which rhany regard as a right eventually leads to trouble, aad tbat tbe good that will aooruo to the nation from the disuse of aloohol is a matter for education and not for an Act of Parliament. There are many who will not vote for a system whioh will allow the rich man to import and drink his liquor, while the respectable poor man with but little to spend will be unable to buy openly his pint of beer. The opinions of many are affected by the question of compensation, whilst the excellent accommodation; provided for the travelling pablio is also a strong argument for the continuance of the present system. At any rate, the question is receiving due consideration in all its aspects, and will not be decided on through personal feelings towards tbe publican, but in regard to its effect upon the nation as a whole, at the same time peeing that any.new system does justice to all concerned.