REVELL STREET, HOKITIKA The Hokitika Guradian SATURDAY, AUGUST 5th, 1922 THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 5 August 1922, Page 2

REVELL STREET, HOKITIKA

The Hokitika Guradian SATURDAY, AUGUST sth, 1922 THE WEEK.

In "the mutter of weather Hokitika can plume itself that it stands next to Sunny Nelson for the Winter record of bright sunshine. Hokitika had two sunless days for the month of July Nelson had one only. In the total of actual bright sunshine recorded, Hokitika approximated von- closely the record of Nelson, These sunshine records will do much to improve the reputation of the district in regard to weather It is very unfortunate that the same prominence which is given to rainfall is not given to ■mnsh'inv

but for some reason the same measure of publicity is not accorded the latter.

It would lx> idle of course to belittle toe 'oca! rainfall, but though there is the aggregate rainfall here, there are not as many days in the year on which rain falls as in other places where there is a suinllei volume of rain recorded. Also Hikitika can show A better average of blight sunshine, as, also, more days of bright sunshine. The reputation for rainfall here was gained in the early days, but the record is not as bad as it is often painted, because owing to .lie physical configuration of the district with the adjacent snow-capped mountains, much of the rain falls t broil go tlie night, and is not so noticeable; also during rainfall there is the faculty to rain very heavily. Still the district has a climate to be envied, free from tlroiigbts, liigli winds, or intense heat or cold. It is a good average climate, humid of course, but with many beautiful days, and altogether a very genial climate with a wonderful atmosphere, which is envied by many places. The good weather is essentially good, and cannot be excelled by the best lavs to be experienced even in the Mediterranean.

The report by cable this week on the internationnl debts nod tile attitude of Cl rent Britain oil the great question, soi'vCs to show the magnimity of the .Motherland, and the greatness to which Britain can rise in emergency. Yesterday was tho eighth anniversary of Britain’s entry into the wtlr. an act which displayed her greatness it that period ill iio uncertain manner. Now titer eight years, with the debtor nati tis strangled by the war debts they owe to Britain, her financial advisers are magnificent* enough to offer to forego those debts, enormous is they aro, ii the Minted States will in turn forego Britain’s del>t- contracted to supply 'money to the Allies to help win the war. It is a magnificent offer, made in most generous terms ftce of all reproach that England is seeking for financial gain. The Motherland offers to forego all profit and even to meet her late enemy. Germany, by foregoing reparation payments. It is magnificent. Also it is finance—high finance—showing a realisation of the need for the heroic to help settle the conditions of the i,oi Id’s finance by the shorter. ’ cut to sanity in a return to solvency. \VT at hits now been offered has been spoken of tiefore. Tt is not » new ns--pect, hilt a real step along lilies foresiia lowed, America has the oppor tutiity of again taking sides a if f Great Britain in a real effort to save Europe It has been said >ver and over again that the Vnglo-British financial alliance alone can save the financ-ia' catastrophe to which Europe is hastening. It took America an overlong time to (•liter the war and help bring it to a close. In America there is a sound opinion expressed that the time is arriving to again join hands with Britain in attempting to bring peace and security to Europe by solving the finaneid troubles of the over-burdened peopl

Mum-—indeed most—of the "round ein'eied by the speakers in this week’s debate, in the House of Representativs, on the report of the Special Committee on licensin';, has been trodden a. thousand times by ten thousand disputants. We do not at this static, says the Press, intend to go over any of this old ground. but shall confine ourselves to one or two points to which not much attention has hitherto been Riven. Mr Hn iris, an Auckland representative. and an earnest Prohibitionist. nave the House an interest inn glimpse into the working of the Pro. hibitionist mind when he said that it was “impossible to reconcile the conflict of intnests between Prohibition and the Trade.” he thought the best thing to do was to wipe out the Trade. The Prohibitionists would probably think anyone unreasonable who might suggest that it would be at least.as useful a proceeding—and as just a solution of the conflict-—to wipe out the Prohibitionists. Mr Harris went on to say that if Prohibition were to prove a failure “the country could soon revert to tile present or some other system.” If, as is possible, he believes this, he cannot have spent five minutes in intelligent consideration of the matter, bet- him ask any leading Prohibitionist for an opinion. If Prohibition were to he carried the Alliance, remaining in business, as it has often enough declared th it it will, would use all its force to thwart every attempt that might he made to secure the poliical registration of any change of public opinion. -M present they possess the means (the general poll) to carry their policy if they can get votes enough, and it is not necessary for them to concentrate their energies upon securing the defeat of . individual candidates for Parliament. !

But consider what the position would he if Prohibition were carried at this year’s poll. Under the Act of 1918 there cannot bo any future poll. The , public will have no means of expres- ' sing its wish to get rid of Prohibition unless it can elect a Parliament to that end. The Prohibitionists will then concentrate their energies upon defeating every candidate who is prepared to restore to the people their right to express their wishes, As we may be sure that the people will desire the restoration of their rigid to control the law

anyone ('an imagine the intolerable state of politics that must ensue. The Prohibitionists, thinking only of their own policy, and organising themselves with no regard for anything else, will wreck and confuse and distort the Parliamentary reflexion of public opinion on other subjects. Another point in discussion which requires notice concerns the issue of State control. The Hon. E. P. Lee, used the figures of tho last poll, quite fairly to prove—what, indeed, hardly requires proof—that a majority of the people arc not satisfied with the present conditions under which alcoholic drink is sold. As a matter of fact the votes for Continuance came very largely from people who desire reform, but will not have Prohibition. Hut when Mr Lee went on to say that he regretted the inclusion of the Stfltc Control issue “because he preferred .n straight-out vote, liquor Or nO liquor, *’ he overlooked the fact that there was such a straight-out vote. If the votes for State' control are not votes for liquor, what are they? We ourselves see some serious disadvantages in State control, enormously though it is to be preferred to Prohibition. but it is ridiculous to deny to those who favour it the right to vote for what is after all an accepted method of dealing with a difficult ] roblem.