Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1870.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 15, Issue 764, 24 February 1870, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1870.

Some time ago the friends of temperance in Canterbury, struck with! the gigantic nature of the evik of drunkenness, met together and appointed a committee to investigate the subject with a view to the adoption of remedial measures, legislative and otherwise. That committee has recently presented an interim report, which has been published in the papers of that province. Although members of total abstinence societies j were, we believe, scrupulously excluded from the committee as being too; ultra and unpractical in their aims, it somewhat strangely turns out that the committee reports in favor of a permissive bill upon a similar basis to that of the United Kingdom Alliance, viz., to enable a two-thirdsi majority of the rate-payers of any] district, defined for that purpose, to secure the prohibition of any licenses for the retail of alcoholic liquors within such district. Several othey recommendations are made in the report of minor importance, such as that in cases where applications for fresh licences are made, enquiries should be instituted whether such advertised: establishment ©is necessary for the accommodation of the public, and if it shall not appear to be so, such application not to be granted; that rigorous measures be taken to punish persons guilty of adulterating intoxicating liquors, and a recommendation that light Australian wines be admitted duty free to the Colony. The committee have also found that there are several good laws in existence in that province relating to the sale of intoxicating drinks, but which aie not enforced, and they also recommend that a new temperance society be established on a broad basis, so as to embrace moderate drinkers, a portion of whose duty it would be to enforce existing laws.

While we hail with much pleasure every well-meant effort we see made to check intemperance, and especiallysuch as this, which is of so advanced a character as to strike at the traffic in intoxicating we must not overlook the fact that in trying to make its basis bioad enough to embrace the moderate diinkers, and encourage the use of light wines, the Canterbury committee have -mwifctingly admitted the elements of failure into its construction. " Broad basis''' societies were the first that were tried in the mother country some 35 years ago. They embraced moderate drinkers and favorers of "light wines" and malt liquors, and failed because they did not go to the root of the evil. However, they cleared the way for the more thorough associations; and this the Canterbury society will doubtless do, while in its assault upon the traffic, and its determination to see existing laws enforced, we recognise an im*jporfcant advance, and in these respects at least wish it all success.