THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5080, 5 July 1877, Page 3

THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT.

( Written for the New Zealand Times.)

■ No good can ever come out of fanaticism. Much has been done by liberal statesmen. The legislation of the last twenty-five or thirty years, which : has been made law by the English Parliament, and which has gone through the trying ordeal of the Imperial Legislature,: has mo , doubt created a vast improvement in the Statute Law of the British Empire. But whenever a shot is fired out of a gun, there is a recoil ; and whenever public opinion becomes very strong on a particular subject, there is sure to be a relapse. We have read with very considerable interest the very important dis-, cussion, which isreported in the New ZealandTimes of the 3rd instant, on the social subject of which the heading to this paper may be said to form-the “ short title.” Nothing can he more gratifying than to see the “ old order giving place to the new,” as Tennyson would say. Every one who is accustomed to watch the course of events, every one who has followed the feeling which has arisen of late years with regard to the management of the houses from which spirituous and fermented liquors are dispensed, must have observed how necessary it is that these.houses should be carefully watched, and that if they are absolutely necessary, every endeavor should be made to raise the tone (if we may use the expression) of the houses, and to make use of them, more for the purposes of houses of accommodation for travellers than for common drinking houses. It must be understood that on this subject we are heartily at one with the promoter of the Local Option Bill, and also with the promoter of the Permissive Bill. But in these times of innumerable statutes, when there are so many subjects which engage the attention of members, it is very difficult to draw up an Act which will be found workable after it has passed, in the face of a, phalanx of lawyers, all trying to drive their coach and horses through it. Questions of finance, of the land revenue, of the Native Department, and of the sale of native land, occupy the attention of the Government session after session ; and this renders them unable to give their mind to questions of. social interest. In consequence, as our readers will readily understand, these questions fall into the hands of private members; they become, in fact, relegated to persons who only act as private members, who are not responsible to the country, as Ministers are held responsible, and who have not the power to coerce the House, as a Ministry is often able to do, by sending round the whip to gather the forces together, and carry any particular measure in the shape in which they think it will be -most beneficial and satisfactory to the country at large. The question to which our present paper refers is one of these. It is one which has been found a most delicate one to deal with. It has caused a very large amount of discussion, not only in the mother country herself, but also in all her colonies and dependencies, and also in the United States. And well enough it may. It is unfortunately a queatiouupon which “doctors differ.” We say unfortunately, because it is a pity that the solution of this most important and interesting question should have led to so many differences of opinion. No wonder that of late years it has occupied the minds of so many of those who take the lead in the guidance of the affairs of Great Britain—and her numerous offspring, as we may call the colonies, which have sprung from her. It is one which affects the welfare of every subject of the Queen. It is one in which there are innumerable conflicting interests; and it is one which, from the peculiar system under which New Zealand was colonised, presents unusual difficulties to those who take up the subject, and propose new.legislation upon it. But the abolition of the different Provincial Legislatures, and the fact that the people of New Zealand have been gradually educated up to the idea that they are one united people; an infant, in fact, which we may say is at present in long clothes, but which is growing up into a healthy child, and will in time take its place amongst the nations of the world. This ought to render the management of the course of legislation on this important social subject a very much simpler one than it has hitherto been. An opinion was expressed by one of the gentlemen at the meeting referred to above, that one publichouse is sufficient for the wants of at least a population of a thousand persons. But then arises the question, who is to have the monopoly ? We know that in densely-populated districts the profits of the trade are very large, and that very considerable fortunes are often made in a very short time. Now who is to; select the favored individual- who is to have the opportunity given to him of amassing wealth, instead of having a healthy competition. The question at once resolves itself into this : in all professions or trades there must, for the protection of the consumers, be a healthy competition. Lay down a strict, cast-iron rule that there is only to be one licensed house in any particular district, and you at once put the customers, who are the consumers, in the hands of the licensed victualler, who is the distributor. A builder when he commences to put up a house begins with a solid foundation, and in all abstract sciences it is absolutely necessary to have some axiomatic premise or premises to start upon. In considering the difficulty of the question of regulating the licensing of the sale of intoxicating liquors, we should he inclined to take as our starting point the axiom that you cannot make men teetotallers by law. You cannot, in fact, by placing certain provisions on the statute book, change human nature. Now, we are prepared to make a suggestion with respect to the management of the houses of licensed victual-Is-rs in this colony of New Zealand for the future. We take as our second axiom that houses for the accommodation of the travelling public must be provided. Visitors and strangers, whether travelling on pleasure or for business, must be provided with a public place to live in when they arrive in a strange place ; and of course they will always expect to be allowed to have the necessaries and comforts of life dispensed to them, just as much as a resident of the place at which they are staying does in his own private dwelling. There must besides, to suit the wants of the poorer classes of the population, be houses where the laboring man can go and have his pint of fresh beer. This class of people are not paid their wages in large suras. They receive them in comparatively small sums from time to time, and they cannot afford to purchase drinkables in large quantities. They have, therefore, of necessity to depend on the retail dealer, who is the licensed victualler, for their supply. The circumstances of the colony of New Zealand, if they are carefully looked into, will be found to be somewhat anomalous with regard to the licensing of these houses. In the days of Superintendents and Provincial Councils the revenue derived from this source constituted a very appreciable item in provincial finance. In illustration, we may say that at one time, when the late Dr. Featherston was Superintendent of the province of Wellington, the salaries of the officials of the Provincial Government were five months in arrear, and that the Ist of June was a gala day for the anxious expectants. Each province had its own licensing law, and even now each provincial district has its own. In the province of Wellington up to 1873 or 1874 (wa cannot be sure of the date, as we have not the statute book before us) eleven Acts were in force relating to this question, besides Mr. Eox’s Act, passed by the General Assembly. In fact the licensing law was something like a legal hedgehog, bristling with Acts and amendment Acts, which would puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer. The late Provincial Government, however, introduced a plain and simple Act, which consisted of twenty-seven clauses, which repealed all the provincial Acts of the province in existence, and which by a few simple provisions, laid down rules for the management of houses held by persons licensed to sell spirituous and fermented liquors. Unfortunately, Mr. Fox’s Act had to undergo the trying ordeal of going through committee in the General Assembly, and in au ordeal of that sort amendments are often moved which may affect the whole meaning and bearing of the clause into which they are introduced, and the promoter accepts them rather than imperil the passage of his Bill in toto. Wo have said we are prepared to make a suggestion with regard not so much to the alteration of the law, or amendment of it

as it at present exists, but-to a complete and permanent settlement of, this question, which has been a stumbling block iu the way of even the greatest and best trained of English states-, man. The robk on.which the Government pf : Mr. Gladstone split on the occasion,of the last ! general election in England, was an igneous one, made up of various ingredients.: One of these ingredients—and that , not the least important one—was thequestion of public-houses.. We may fairly venture to say that two questions, viz., the question of secular versus de-; nominational education, contained in the celebrated 25th clause of the Education Act, and the question with x-egard to the licensed victuallers completely turned public opinion in; England, and placed the Conservative party on the Ministerial benches, which had been so long occupied by the Liberals. And now we will give our suggestion for the reform of the law on this vexata ■ questio I We have taken up much space, but it is generally looked upon as being a subject which must be worked out. The suggestion we would make is this : Repeal every Act at preseut:ou the statute book iu New, Zealand,-whether Provincial or General ; then draw up a set of principles on which the licensing law is to be feunded. What is required first is for . the drafter of the Bill to know on what main principles his Bill is to be drawn. Those who are going to take the leading part in the matter ought first to settle amongst themselves the general principles of their measure, and so frame them as to meet as far as possible the discordant views which are prevalent on the subject. Let them Joe drawn up and handed over to the draftsman, who is to put the measure into shape. Any person who has had any experience in these matters will understand that, while the principles upon which the legislation is to be founded must be settled by the people through their elected representatives, the language which is to be used in order to enable the law courts, who are the interpreters of the law, to enforce the enactments of the Legislature, ought to be the product of one; mind. What is required in New Zealand on this subject as well as in many others, is a complete consolidation of the law. The require- - ment at present is a simple plain Act, which will carry out the views of the majority of the people. We feel perfectly satisfied, and we are not without experience on the subject, that an Act of about eighty clauses would answer all the requirements of the case. It would be readily understood, not only by members of the legal profession, but also by the licensed victuallers themselves. We do not wish to touch too closely on the policy of its provisions, but we may be allowed to say this. We think that it should be a free trade. We think that a certain standard of accommodation should be laid down. That a proper system of inspection should be provided for, and that when a plain, short, common sense Act, providing for these has been prepared, a provision should be inserted giving the administration of the law to the Judges of the Supreme Court. We notice that this course was proposed by Mr. Travers at the last meeting, to which we referred at the commencement of this paper. We can honestly say that it is a principle which we have advocated for some years. The trained lawyers who sit upon the Bench as Judges of the Supreme Court are above suspicion. They excel “ Caesar’s wife.” And with one plain simple statute before them, trained as they are in logic and in the logical interpretation of the English language, the Judges of the Supreme Court could most conveniently settle to the satisfaction of the other persons interested the interests which at times are very large in the !issue;of licenses. There could be no pressure brought to bear if this arrangement could be carried out. We sincerely hope it may be so. Many a difficulty would be set aside. But we must again impress upon our readers that the principles on which this regulation is to be founded must be agreed upon, and that then the provisions must be put into black and white. We have said enough at present on the subject; but after the utterances which will be given at the adjourned meeting on Monday night we may have more to say on the subject.