"LIQUOR AND THE LAW."

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 398, 23 September 1911, Page 7

"LIQUOR AND THE LAW."

TESTIMONY OP POLICE REPORT AGAINST THE TRADE.

(By "Crusader.")

Last year the police report was laid beforn the Parliament of New Zeeland, and gave some dark facta concerning the Liquor Traffic, which in themselves, outside of any organised effort of Prohibition or Temperance people should prove to every true patriot and citizen, the desirability of speedily ending a system whose main business is the maiming of manhooc', the wrecking of womanhood and crime, against childhood. The folJ lowing figures are culled from the Police Report for 3910: — Convictions for drunkenness, 13,738 —increase 30G1. Convicted for first time in 1910, males 6777, females 279 —total 7056. Prosecutions against hotelkepeers 256 —average 1 in 6. Convictions against hotelkeepers 122—average 1 in 11. From these "Trade facts" the average mind will conclude that the tendency of the Liquor Traffic is to make:—

The average brewer —Rich. The average hotelkeeper—Lawless. The average customer—Drunken. The average family—Poor. It is now a platitude to assert that the Liquor Traffic wherever permitted has proved itself an unmitigated CURSE to society. It is still proving iself the cradle of crime, the prolific parent of pauperism, perjury, and piracy of the worst kind, and the mother of many miseries. Knowing no interests but its own sordid selfishness, the Liquor Traffic has exercised over both its servants and supporters a terrorism worse than that of the notorious Black Hand, created a serfdom worse than that of Black Slavery, and can be credited with the destruction of more life, than all the devastating Black Plagues known to our history. The DEPREDATIONS OF DRINK are very evident from its dire physical results. But mora perilous still to the national well being, is the moral degeneracy that accompanies the advent of the Traffic. Its influence in this respect are calculated to shock even the most callous beyond all power of expression! Many folk in the south are criticising the Rev. Knowles Smith, of Dunedin, for saying that he knew of a woman who sold her child's coffin for liquor! Perhaps those so amazed need only to reflect a little, to be led themselves to make even a stronger statement. For what is this to the sacrifice of the child itself? The trading "of a coffin for drink " is a light offence compared with the traffic in child life which is daily permitted to continue —even in such an enlightened democracy as ours. Every open bar is not only a menace to manhood, but also a terrible crime against childhood. The Liquor Traffic in New Zealand calls for one thousand boys per year to keep it going and last year turned out over 7000 new drunkards — the finished article of the trade. It is computed that in Great Britain alone the deaths of over 1,000,000 children annually is traceable directly to Drink ! It is surprisingly strange that those "who never will be slaves" are so terribly tyrannised—what a dark travesty upon the boast of freedom ! If one of Britain's sons hap-

j pen 3 to be unjustly maltreated or slain j in a foreign land, how quickly the national indignation is aroused and reparation demanded—we feel it a national insult, an offence intolerable. Yet Britain is guilty of the monstrous crime of INFANTICIDE—- | the slaughter of her sons and daughi ters at Home, by the permitted exis- ! tence and support of that red-handed ! TYRANT, which in the dark and ! desolating business of KILLING | CHILDREN would shame a thousand ! Herods! ! Owing largely to the splendid and undaunted efforts of the Prohibition Party the people of this land have, with growing force, realised that a traffic guilty of such criminality is itself more than ripe for destruction. Every election has manifested the growth of public feeling in this matter until to-day seven-tenths of the voters of New Zealand have declared for its extinction. The "death sentence" has been passed—it is only a matter of time —very probably 1911, when the public will carry out the "execution!" In the meantime one of the most glaring iniquities of the

day is the amazing fact that, in this democratic, country, the expressed will of the people is thwarted. The country has to submit in this matter to being ruled by a very nondescript threertenths of its population ! Men talk sometimes about Prohibition being "forced" upon them —yet say nothing of the intolerable burdens daily forced upon the best people of this land by the despotic iniquity of the Liquor Traffic!

Solely for its own preservation and J the perpetration cf its evil business , the Liquor Traffic "forced" upon the j Temperance Party of New Zealand, by j the Government of the day, that j which Prohibitionists did not ask for j or believe in, namely, the infliction I of the three-fifths majority! The ! time is opportune to ask why should j that Traffic most inimical to the i people's welfare be longer allowed ! to protect itself with this PIRATED ! POWER of legal provision? Why i should this arrogant Traffic be thereby | allowed to insult every citizen antagonistic to its claims, by disenfranchising, him to the extent of a third of his VJte? thus placing a premium upon the most useless citizen rather than upon the best! Such a position is (insufferable to the sane, and must i speedily give place to a better one I wherein the majority shall rule in this | matter, as they already do in all i others!

While the Traffic would dictate the law, the Police Record shows that it has a BAD RECORD for keeping the j law —showing the high percentage of prosecutions as 1 in 6 among liquor sellers! They of all men need careful police supervision—in fact, they and their "friends" almost monopolise police attentions! It is time such bad examples should be taken in hand by j the voters and placed in businesses of ! a more law-abiding character! Most : publicans would be better back again I in honourable trades! i

Wherever the People have compas- j sion in this way on the Publican they | certainly profit themselves by such ! kindly attentions. The health, physi- i cally and morally, of the No-License ! areas shows wonderful improvement according to statistics. Prohibition is a good thing and harms none. There are certain small areas in New Zeaalnd where absolute Prohibition reign 3 —namely the gaols! Certainly the , general health of these "forced resi- j dents" seems to suffer no evil con- ; sequences by total abstinence. Indeed, the death rate for such institutes compare very favourably with j most hospitals and sanatoriums. In ■ this respect the gaol is looked upon as effective. So, rather than all going : to gaol to enjoy Prohibition, let us VOTE FOR * PROHIBITION, close up the gaols, and bring the blessing , in! I

In Iceland, as a result of Total Prohibition, there is NO GAOL, There is no court and only one policeman. Not a drop of alcoholic liquors is made on the island. It's 78,000 people are all TOTAL ABSTAINERS, since they will not allow any liquor to be imported. There is not an illiterate person on the island: not a CHILD TEN-YEAR-OLD unable to read, for the system of public schools is practically perfect. So VOTERS, protect the man, the child, the home, and the Dominion, in one act by STRIKING OUT THE TOP LINE ON BOTH PAPERS.