THE NEW LICENSING BILL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 903, 11 October 1910, Page 3

THE NEW LICENSING BILL.

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. EAST POLL ANAEYSED. Had the Government’s proposal to carry a licensing poll on a fiftyfive per cent, majority been in force at last election, and the voting been unaltered, sixteen additional electorates would have carried uo-license, including the city of Dunedin and five electorates in the Auckland province. The electorates which would have carried no-liceuse are: Parnell, Waitemata, Marsdeu, Manukau, Waipawa, Franklin, Egmont, tlutt, Kaiapoi, Geraldine, Waitaki, Dunedin, Chalmers, Dunedin S. Taieri and Mataura. Dominion prohibition would have been lost by 1.55 per cent., but it is interesting to note that in the following provinces the total no-liceuse vote was over 55 per cent, of the total vote : Auckland 56.21, Otago and Southland 55 .84. Had the last poll been taken on a fifty-five per cent, majority basis twenty-eight electorates out of seventy-six would now be “dry.” The following summary gives the percentage of the no-license vote in the various electorates to the total valid vote : Auckland City 54-38 Parnell 56.01 Eden 63.09 Grey Lynn 7 f - 2 3 Waitemata 56.70 Marsdeu 56.62 Kaipara 5!-44 Bay of Islands 46.92 Manukau 59-45 Franklin 56-59 Thames 56-7 2 Ohinemuri 61.63 Waikato 5 2 - 11 Bay of Plenty 4 2 -95 Tauranga 54-3* Napier 46.22 Hawke’s Bay 42.40 Waipawa 55-46 Gisborne 53-4 2 Taumaruuui 42.09 Taranaki 54-45 Egmont 59.57 Stratford 5 2 - 2 7 Wellington City 54-4 1 Wellington South 63.53 Hutt ‘ 59-95 Wellington Suburbs 63.00 Otaki 49-79 Pahiatua 54-94 Wanganui 54- 22 Patea 5 2 -73 Rangitikei 4 2 - 2 7 Palmerston North 46.86 Manawatu 52.22 Masterton 60.61 Wairarapa 54-53 Oroua 50.06 Nelson City 48.64 Motueka 46.80 Wairau 50.01 Buller 54-67 Grey 45-03 Westland 37-22 Christchurch City 50.02 Avon 53.84 Riccartou 49-79 Lyttelton 50.96 Hurunui 42.22 Kaiapoi 55-43 Ellesmere 47.84 Selwyn 44- 6 7 Ashburton 46.07 Geraldine 55.73 Timaru 53.49 Waitaki 56.64 Dunedin City 56.63 Chalmers 57.52 Dunedin South 55-35 Oamaru 59-4 1 Taieri 59.54 Bruce 61-or Clutha 65.21 Mataura 55-32 Tuapeka 52.66 Invercargill 55-99 Wakatipu 54-33 Wallace 49-67 Awarua 52.17 In no case would restoration have been carried in a uo-license district on a 55 per cent, majority basis. The nearest approach would have been in Ashburton, where the restoration vote was 53.92 per cent, of the valid vote. Of course, it must be borne in mind that the above calculations are all based on the assumption that electors would have voted on the new issues to be submitted as they did on the old issues. That, however, is a very risky assumption.