TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 4030, 9 June 1931, Page 10

TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

(Published by arrangement with the United Temperance Reform Council.) Can New Zealand afford its present expenditure on drink when times are bad? Why not everyone reduce hie drink expenditure by three-fourths? It would also mean better health. NEW ZEALAND .DRINK BILL, 1930. (Compiled by Mr F. B. Adams, 8.A., LL.M., barrister, Dunedin.) For the calendar year 1930 the estimated direct expenditure on drink in New Zealand was £7,710,606. The quantities are taken from the quarterly Customs and Excise returns, published in the Gazette. Estimated Expenditure. Spirits—--569,656 gallons at £4 .. .. 2,278,624 Water added in breaking down (25 per cent, of bulk spirits, estimated at 2-3rds of total), say 94,942 gallons 379.768 £2,658,392 Decrease from 1929 Gals. Spirits 27,344 Water 4,558 Total 31,902 Increase over 1928 — Spirits and added water 80.953 Wines—--198,377 gallons at 40s .. . . 396,754 Decrease from 1929 9.326 Increase over 1928 6,095 Beer, Imported—--76,304 gallons at 17s 6d .. 66,766 Increase over 1929 3,569 Increase over 1928 8,277 Beer, New Zealand—--12.236,519 gallons at 7s 6d . . 4,588,694 Decrease from 1929 701,736 Decrease from 1928 530,322 Total for 1930 .. .. £7,710,606 Decrease from 1929: £406.288. Increase over 1925: £144,374. LAST FOUR YEARS. I’lie figures for the last four years (excluding non-beverage spirits) are as follow : — 1927 £8,831,531 1928 7.566,232 1929 8.116,894 1930 7,710,606 £32,225,263 EXPENDITURE PER HEAD. Mean population, 1930 (including Maoris) .. .. .. 1.492.376 Expenditure per head .. .. £5 3 4 Expenditure per household of 5 persons .. ~ £25 16 8 Average expenditure for each inhabited building (based on 1921 official estimate of 4.57 persons per building) .. .. £23 12 3 PER HEAD CONSUMPTION OF LIQUORS. Decrease from year 1928. 1929. 1930. 1929. Gals. Gals. Gals! Gals. Spirits 343 .405 .381 .024 Spirits 132 .141 .133 .008 Beer (imp'd) .046 .049 .051 *.002 Beer (N.Z.) 8.770 8.784 5.199 .385 * Increase. PRICES. The prices used above arc necessarily approximate, and are not intended as wholesale prices, but as average retail prices paid by the consumer. In the ease of New Zealand beer, it is possible to buy by the gallon at 4s, or in some places even at 3$ 6d per gallon, but this represents only a small fraction of the trade in beer. Bottled beer is sold at prices equivalent to Bs. 9s, or more, per gallon. As to sales by the glass, both the size of the vglass and the price per glass vary' considerably. In hotels having both public ” and “ private ” bars, the price of a long beer in the public bar is generally 4d, and of the medium beer 3d—equivalent to a little more than 5® per gallon. But the bulk of the trade is done at 6d a glass, at which price the medium beer (7| ounces m an 8 ounce glass) brings in 10s 6d per gallon. It is believed that 7s 6d per gallon is a conservative estimate of the average price to the consumer.

The prices of wines also vary considerably, some being lower than the price used above, but most being considerably higher. Prices of 15s or 17s 6d per bottle

are not uncommon. As in previous years, Aew Zealand wines are not brought into account, though it is believed there is an increasing trade in such wines. Whisky may also be purchased by the case at a price lower than that used above; but here again the bulk of the sales are over the counter, the “ nip ” costing 6d or 9d, according to measure, at which rates a gallon will retail for considerably more than £4.

WHAT THE FIGURES MEAN. all r excise duties amounted to j • i > •?? deducting which the j 11 represents an estimated loss of £6,003,896 to the community. If this money were not spent on liquor it would necessarily find its outlet in other trades; and, as the benefit would not be confined to any single quarter, there would be a great stimulus to trade and business over the whole commercial field. The following points will serve to illustrate the magnitude of an annual drink bill of £7,710,606: — 1. Apart from Sundays and three annual closing days, the takings of the trade amount to £24,872 per day, or £1036 per hour, day and night. 2. After deducting the full amount of the duties derived from the trade, the drink bill would provide 29,656 workers with an income of £5 per week; and, allowing each worker to maintain a wife and two children, would support a total of 118,624 persons. At £4 10s per week the figures would be 32,951 and 131.804 respectively. 3. With the same deduction it would provide an unemployment pension of £2 a week throughout the year for 74,140 persons. 4. The following figures (all taken from the 1931 New Zealand Year Book) may be of use for purposes of comparison: — (a) Total expenditure of hospital boards for year ended March 31. 192!) ( including charitable aid and loan repayments) £1.929,862 (b) Net expenditure for one year on maintenance of mental hospitals (number . ' Patients, 6048) .. .. 307,040 (c) total expenditure for one year out of public funds on education (including higher education) 4,058.222 (d) Expenditure for one year on naval defence (including contribution to Singapore base and interest, etc., on loan for battle cruiser , , New Zealand ..... .. 651,463 (e) lotal expenditure of Railways Department for one yea I ', •• 7,358,859 (i) total capital sunk in electric tramways in the Dominion 5,297 223 (g) Total expenditure of Post and Telegraph Department for one year (including Depreciation Fund, and interest on capital „ > lability) 3,111,199 (h) lotal cost of all dwellings completed in the year 1928'I 928 '. 29 3,311,323 (i) Total rates levied by local authorities in New Zealand for one year . .. 5,844,495 (j) Total pensions paid in one year (including old age, widows’, war, and all other pensions, together with family allowances) .. .. 2,809,59 S Three years’ drink expenditure (1928-29-30), £23,393,732. '