THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. MONDAY, MAY 24, 1909 A BURNING QUESTION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 158, 24 May 1909, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. MONDAY, MAY 24, 1909 A BURNING QUESTION.

HAD anything been required to emphasise the fact that thr- liquor question is a burning one in the district the meeting at Te Kuiti on Friday lapt would have driven home the fact with convincing force. The British public is proverbially long suffering and lav. retpecting, and only when the lav.

comes into conflict with some cherished and time-honoured privilege do we have the experience of a sane community setting itself steadfastly to op pose that law. Above and beyond the law-abiding instinct is the ingrained love of liberty and fair play, upon which broad and worthy foundation, io fact, oar laws were first devised. Liberty and justice are the essence of our law system, and any enactment, which, for the sake of expediency, was calculated to curtail the liberty of any section of the community, has, in the history of our race, received a short shrift and scant sympathy at the hands of the liberty-loving public. The restrictions with regard to liquor, which were placed on the King Country at the request of the Natives, may have been suitable at the time for the purpose contemplated, but, as was pointed out a the meeting, that time has long since passed, and conditions have materially altered. In any case the questionable benefits accruing from the infliction were long ago held by the Natives themselves to be outweighed by the disadvantages, and even before the | iniquitous section of the Act was brought into force, the Natives of the district were unanimous in their de- : mand for the removal of the restrictions. The changes wrought by the passing years include the influx of a large European population, which far outnumbers the Maori element—not a nomadic or floating population engaged on public works, such as he Main Trunk line, but a permanently settled population of industrialists and settlers, such a<t constitute the best and f most reputable element of any commu* nity. Naturally it is galling and irksome in the highest degree to these people to be subjected to stringent and oppressive resrictions which they widely realise have outrun their usefulness, and which cramp the liberties of the peopl;, and retard the progress of the district. In addition, when these restrictions are enforced by means of a drastic law, which holds that a person must prove himself innocent of even an intention to break the > law, the poaition, to say the least, be- ' comes unbearable. In order to show I how the law works it is merely necesi sary to cite a case which recently was decided in the local Court. A man who brought in a quantity of whisky was charged with bringing it in for sale. The liquor was impounded by the police. The accused person did all that he could humanly do to prove that his intention was not to sell the liquor. Nothing was alleged against him by the police; his circumstances, in a monetary sense, were good; many reputable witnesses testified that his { character was good; be had never been connected in any way with the tale of grog, nor had he been suspected of being connected with it. In the face of this the Magistrate convicted the man of the intention of bringing this particular quantity of liquor into the district for the purpose of selling it. By what transcendental powers of reason- ! ing or sense of justice, the Magistrate arrived at bis decision, it would be bard to determine, but it is high time the possibility of this, a>«d other similar convictions was prevented. The public have had no voice in the placing of these oppressive restrictions on the district; the Maoris have repeatedly petitioned for the removal of the embargo, and it is not to be wondred at that the whole community is prepared to take the strongest means

possible to secure equal rights and | privileges with their fellow colonists throughout the Dominion. The meeting oil Friday was satisfactory in every sense, inasmuch as it plainly showed the feeling was notone of liquor or noliquor, but that a broad principle of liberty and equity was at stake. Mr Boddie and the Rev. Cottell, both prominent workers in the cause of prohibition, spoke fairly and fearlessly for the rights of the people, as a whole, and claimed only a fair field with a people free to exercine their votes and influence according to their honest convictions. Such sentiments do honour to the gentlemen mentioned, and by acting up to such a code they are, directly and indirectly, doing much to dignify themselves,and the cause which they so ably espouse. The initial step has been taken. A principle has been i{firmed, and the wish of the people made apparent; still much remains to 5e done. Further action should be &ken immediately and we suggest :hat a League be formed to carry on he work of petitioning Parliament, md taking such other steps a* may be teemed necessary to carry into effect he wishes of the people. A strong osamiUfifi, thoroughly representative if all sections of tfae community -hou'.'i « appointed, and by working li.'o'i i' : land for the common good, there iittJe doubt that the present unsatis- • sefcory ajad irksome situation will be . Btnedtet},