THE GREAT REFORM.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 1049, 28 September 1911, Page 4

THE GREAT REFORM.

Docs No-Liccnsc Hurt a District ?

[Published by Arrangement.]

A COMPARISON BETWEEN INVERCARGILL AND PALMERSTON. One of the arguments most commonly used by advocates of the trade and others opposed to the NoLicense movement is the damage it will do to the material prosperity of the town ; and when beaten on any question as to moral effect, License advocates fall back on this argument as an absolutely unanswerable objection. Unfortunately for them, their argument in this respect, as in every other, does not bear the cold light of facts, and when tried in that way is dissolved into thin air. To try this, let us take two towns of similar size and circumstances, one of which has been under No-License and the other under License, and compare their progress during the period between the 1906 census and the one just taken. And no two towns can be better for this purpose, than Palmerston N. and Invercargill. Both are inland towns, both are situate in a fertile farming district. From its position as an important railway centre, and the unrivalled fertility of its surrounding district, Palmerston, if anything, should have the advantage.

As we are comparing these from a material standpoint, the best tests we can take are growth of population, valuation of property, number and value of building permits, and similar testimonies.

Turning first to population, what do we find? Palmerston started in 1906 with a population of 10,259; Invercargill and surrounding boroughs, since included, then contained 11,582. In 1911 Palmerston, which had been fifth town in the Dominion, took eighth place, while Invercargill to. ' Palmerston’s place rs fifth town. This shows an increase in the case of No-License Invercargill as against the License town of Palmerston North.

One of the surest guides to the prosperity of the town is the state of the building trade as shown by the amount of contracts let as shown by building permits granted by the borough council. For Invercargill, these are as follows. For purposes of comparison, Palmerston’s permits for the same period are shown in parallel column

228,152 224,805 This again does Invercargill no discredit. The Mayor of Invercargill has stated in public the permits for the current year will probably amount to £IOO,OOO, a fairly safe prediction, as already half that amount is in sight. Can the Mayor of Palmerston venture on the same prediction ? Rates ban scarcely be compared, as Invercargill has been valued more recently than Palmerston N. But the growth of valuations in Invercargill during the period under discussion was as follows ; Capital. Unimproved £ £ 1906 1,989,289 738,525 1911 2,357,119 1,079.572 Showing a steady increase in valuation. We may note in passing that one of the most peculiar results of No-License in Invercargill is that the hotel properties show an increased valuation of 36 per cent, and that this is justified by the increase in the letting values of these properties. Rates in Invercargill during the period under discussion have been very slightly affected. But, after all, the best judges of whether No-License hurts a district or no, are the people living there and so we may point out that since No-License was carried in Invercargill it has been reaffirmed by a large majority, and that owing to the object lesson afforded by the NoLicense districts, Otago, as a whole, returned a majority of approximately S 5/ for No-License at last election and bids fair to sweep the trade clean out of its borders at the coming poll. Now we can fairly claim the

figures given above clearly show that Invercargill has made far more progress under No-License than Palmerston under License. And as Palmerston has certainly as fertile a district, and the residents are certainly as wide awake, it seems to us a fair deduction that No-License is undoubtedly favourable to the material prosperity of the town. A conclusion most unbiassed persons will admit is agreeable to common sense, since money spent on strong drink is admittedly an economic waste.

Invercargill Palmerst’n 1906-7 ... £44,893 £53,056 1907-8 ... 46,780 36,997 1908-9 ... 28,421 46,303 1909-10 45,687 26,627 igio-n ... 62,371 61,822 '