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Hokitika Guardian, 1 December 1932, Page 4

Tim Electoral Amendment Bill, which seeks .to extend the life of Parliament from three years to four, will also'involve widening the .period between licensing polls, which are customarily taken on the day of the general election. A movement now on foot contemplates the insertion of an amendment in the Bill to provide that lioci.sino' poll's .should continue to be held at three-yearly intervals. There appears ,to be small prospect of the movement making much headway, as considerable extra expense would be involved im taking polls whh'h would coincide with the general election only once in 12 years. It will be remembered that an arrangement w.s m'-de whereby no referendum on the liquor question w~s taken at the, time of the general election last year, and the nex;t poll wm postponed until the date of the nert election, which will not normally take place until 1925. It

will be readily agreed by most people that the licensing poll s-Ould only be taken at the same time as a general election is being- held otherwise there would be a great deal of difficulty in securing a representative vole of the electors on the question, and besides it would involve a substantial cost in the running of the special poll. On many occasions the electorate has given a decided negative to tire prohibitive issue, and thei'e was an increasing vote against it in succeeding years. At the last poll in 1928 the country’s vote gave prohibition only 294,453 supporters against 437,968 for continuance or State control. At the poll previous to that, in 1925, the figures were: Prohibition 319,450, continuance or State control 355,627. In 1922 the prohibitionists numbered 300,791 and the siviporters of continuance or State control 318,396. It would appear unlikely that there would he any immediate ehia.ngo in the voting-of any appreciable extent, so that there is not the urgency for the upsetting of business which a licensing poll involves.