RESTORATION.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4897, 30 October 1925, Page 2

RESTORATION.

(Extended Report by Arrangement.)

THE C ASE FOR OHINEMURI. LOCAL NO-LICENSE DENOUNCED. The case for restoration of license in the Ohinemuri electorate was fully and ably put forward by Mr Fred Burke, the well-known continuance advqcate in the second portion oft his address to a large audience at tne Gaiety Theatre, Paeroa, on Tuesday evening. The Mayor (Mr W. Marshall) presided. The speaker set out his case in a quiet, dignified, and lucid manner, and urged his hearers to lay aside all prejudices and look a,t .the matter in a reasonable light. He exhorted them to ignore all the propaganda that was being circulated and take cognisance only of actual facts an dfigures such as he quoted from the N.Z. Official Year-book and N.Z. Parliamentary papers in support of his views. People were allowed to bring alcoholic liquor into no-license areas under certain formalities provided by the Licensing Act, said Mr Burke, but the amount that came in through the legal channel did not represent onehalf of the liquor that was actually consumed in the Ohinemuri district. He had authoritative evidence —evidence that could not be refuted —that there were 60,060 gallons of “homebrew”'. made in Ohinemuri of which the Government had ng record. He was prepared to back up this statement in any manner challenged. Some of the “home-brew” was good — he had tas.ted it —and some of it was not fit for human consumption. Prohibitionists had hoped that by closing hotels in certain districts they would abolish alcoholic liquor, but the Parliamentary papers proved conclusively that the consumption of alcoholic liquor had increased since hotels had been de-licensed. . It must be remembered, said the speaker, that Parliamentary papers were the only documents dealing with nolicense areas, as returns were not entered in the Official Year Book, as the latter book had the compilation of the whole of - New Zealand in a collective sense. SLY-GROG SELLING. He, said the lecturer, was not going to try and tell the audience anything ab<lut their own town,, as they would have forgotten more than he could possibly know;.but.he did know that sly-grog selling was rampant, paiticularly in ' Waihi, and .that intoxicating liquor could he obtained from at least 40 places in the district. In addition, “home-brew” was quite a common thing. Therefore the prohibitionists defeated their own ends, because, from the time that little children opened their eyes in. babyhood. alcoholic liquor was to be in their home life. This would not be the case under .legalised trade, where the hotels, dosed at 6 o’clock. But where "home-brew” became a common domestic habit drink Wjis always procurable. He had with him the first Parliamentary return of the nolicense districts, and' also the last return for 1924. A comparison of these two official documents was irrefutable evidence that the consumption of alcoholic liquor, even per Goevmment return, had considerably increased since hotels were de-licensed. Strange though it might seem, it was nevertheless a fact that in no-license areas there' had been an Increase in the consumption of liquor. On top of that it was found that at least 60,000 gallons of beer were being brewed in tne Ohinemuri district annually, and that quantity was not included in the Government figures, but if added to the official record would practically double the consumption. FARCICAL' POSITION. It was a most ludicrous .thing for people living in this district and knowing the absolute facts to yet keep extreme ideas and not restore the licensed hotels. Under these circumstances a man who realised that alcoholic liquor was being brewed at hoinc, that alcoholic liquor was being imported into the district, and that people left the district to obtain alcoholic liquor at week-ends and holidays, and yet voted again ’t restoration of the local , hotel was either, a hypocrite or was suffering from the fanatical extremist mind which would not allow him to admit the failure of his dogmatic theories. The business people liad had, years to consider it and had now realised 1 that thejproniises held out by the theoretical publicity of the prohibitionist were far from having been achieved. Therefore the forthcoming poll would see the result of the new channel of thought by their expression in t|he secrecy of the ballot by voting for restoration of the hotels. They, as business men, had given no-license a fair and lengthy trial, but the swing of the pendulum was now coming back and they realised that their duty to the town and to their own commercial interest would compel them to abolish the underground traffic and restore the legalised trade. In no circumstances could it be truthfully said that no-license had increased the prosperity, the domestic happineiss or sociability of the residents of the community. THE BUSINESS ASPECT. No prohibitionist woiild dare to deny that a. certain amount of money left Paeroa for various business places outside. One should follow the advice of Abraham Lincoln: “If you have a dollar td spend, spend it in your own town, because you not only have the goods that you have bought but your town keeps the dollar, as well.” In the case of Paeroa the circulation of money meant prosperity. Sending m'ofuey to outlying townships did not increase the volume of business tor Paeroa Itself. For instance, it was now a recognised thing among womenfolk that when they say their men prefer to buy goods at a certain township it is merely an excuse to get the privileges afforded by a licensed tojwn to do. their shopping. So much was this the case, especially at week-ends, that Kikuta ia was now known as “Shikkatia.” Much coald he stated concerning the abnormal increase, not only of business but also of the val-

uation of the in that township. Worth a pittance, previous .to Ohinemuri going dry, it had increased in value beyond all proportion to the size of the township. As New Zealand depended on exports being more thjan its imports for„ the country’s prosperity, so in the smaller sense of economies a township depended updfei the continual circualjtion of money. This was now realised by the business men of. Ohinemuri, and wdluld be one of the deciding factors in the forthcoming poll—a great setback to the prejudiced who lose sight of all reasoning, common-sense, .andcommercial interest in order .to bolster up their ofoscession. REPLY TO CHALLENGE. Mr Burke said his attention had been drawn to an advertisement challenging him soncerning his visit to America. In view of this advertisement being signed by N.Z. Alliance, he would ask if, .there was .any official representative of that body present to hear his reply. Commenting on the style of tlie advertisement Mr Burke said that such tactics emphasised the mentality of the class of person behind the prohibition movement. He challenged the N.Z. Alliance to name two reputable persons to whom he could prove whether there was in America or not. Should he fail he would noti only forfeit £lOO, but would publicly state that he would never again take the platform against prohibition; provided if he did prove that he was in America they undertook to fd|rfeit £lOO and publish an apology to him. This, he .thought, was a fair proposi-. tjon in return for' one’s personal movements being made known to every Tojn, Dick, and Harry. Mr Burke stressed the point at some length that at not one public debate in which he had taken part, nor yet at any prohibitionist meeting he had attended, had he ever seen the “dry” advocates produce the only official records of the New r Zealand no-license districts. “I have them with me,” he declared, “and any person is weleoime to come up here and examine them ; but when a ‘Pussyfoot’ comes along I request you people to demand the same from him, and not allow him to state his ease per the publication of the Alliance for prohibition. There is only ojiie issue before you residents of Paeroa, Waihi, and districts: either you are content tol encourage the growth of an illicit and dangerous underground traffic, or - you want the ctiizens ‘of your community to have Governmental, protected pure liquor. Get back to the &ben trading in the light of day before the machination and ramifications of slygrog infamy brings everlasting misery and disgrace to your township, declared Mr Burke. QUESTIONS. Replying tc( Mr Fursdon Mr Burke said tiiat it} the event of restoration probably the same amount of liquor would be consumed under legalised methods,'' and there would be less "bootlegging.” Replying to Mr Beagley Mr Burke said that because he had figures to show that 60,000 gallons of “homebrew” was being made in the electorate it did not necessarily follow that the Government knew of it. Any perso who wished to refute the figures' quoted by him must deny the authority of the N.Z. Parliamentary papers. Mr Burke urged the electors not to be misled or lulled into a sense of security. The following resolution was moved and carried: “That this meeting of citizens of Paeroa .thanks Mr Burke for his able and interesting address, and endorses his. remarks as opposed to prohibition and confirms his opinion that this district would be much improved by the restoration of licenses.” A hearty vote of thanks to the chair terminated the meeting.