A VEXED QUESTION

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 405, 30 August 1918, Page 2

A VEXED QUESTION

Decision on the Liquor

Trade

SETTLING THE FINAL ISSUfi

(By "Luhu.")

(Published by arrangement)

3e Those who have endured so long the turmoil and disquiet caused by the two great and apparently ineooncilable parties composed on the one irt side of the Trade representatives, and ar on the other of the No-License 01 as Prohibition advocates, will welcome id any means calculated to free politicc k- for ever from an issue that should be id entirely foreign to, and dissociated is from, parliamentary representation, n* We have heard so much of the le evils of drink and the blessings of tg prohibition, of the iniquities of the ir. drinker and the virtues of the abd stainer, of the efficiency engendered ie by abstinence and the wastage of e- force and Wealth through indulgence rs that the public ear is sated and the r- public soul is to a great extent sick ir of the battle-tabtids of both sidMj r- and the bitterness of partisanship l- inseparable, apparently, from such a ie conflict in any country. The noi- liquor party bases its petition on the recommendation of the National ie Efficiency Board, formulated at a is time of great national stress and >s emergency, when patriotism became g a passion to which all less emotions )f were subordinated That party rest quires a straight-out declaration ts either for continuance or prohibition )t on a majority vote, but this by no at means permits of the whole expres)f sion of national sentiment upon this great question, nor should it preclude b a just and abiding settlement satisy faotory to the public conscience, .e In dealing with the liquor trade it a is Ipcesaary to accredit those who it favour it with rights that equal the y .rights of those who do not, and why the great middle party, with a belief e first of all ia self-control, which has probably been somewhat shattered, should be entirely ignored or left a I Hobson's choice, is extremely hard to understand under democratic law. ' The liquor party, wealthy and 1 powerful and well organised to safeguard its interests, as is natural in ' sane commercialism the liquor \ party, so long opposed to compromise I and defending its territory yard by ~ r yard from the encroachme&ts of the dry areas, has at last put forth a definite proposal that appears to j point a way out of the difficulty and 9 create such a feeling of national interest as will guarantee an honest } and enthusiastic poll. Above all things this is what we desire, and no t catch-vote propaganda appealing to the fanatical of both sides. J One ballot paper should be suffi- ■ cient for one voter. The issiles ) should be clearly defined, not comI plicated by numbers or phrasing, | covering all reasonable grounds of preference or objection. On the one side then it is proposed to submit two issues, " Continuance " and " Prohibition," or its equivalent 1 On the one side it is proposed to submit three issues, " National Con- ' tinuance," " National Prohibition " and " National Ownership," and the greatest of these in public estimation is the last, without which no poll could be leasonably considered an expression of public opinion. It does not greatly complicate matters to find in this counter petition an interpretation clause which must however be considered. In this the meaning of "National Ownership" is defined as follows : "The acquisition by the Crown on behalf of the people of breweries, hotels, goodwill of businesses of breweries, wholesale wine and spirit meichants and retail hotelkeepers (including club charters), etc., upon payment of a lair and reasonable sum by way of compensation for the properties and assets acquired." It is proposed that the amount of compensation shall be fixed by a special tribunal set up and constituted for the purpose. It is difficult to imagine how a more sane and reasonable proposal could have been put forward by those who have large interests at stake That hotels have been shut and businesses closed in certain areas without payment of any compensation does not argue that such a procedure is just. It is argued, however, that the trade has no goodwill as licenses are merely granted from year to year, but the obvious fact has been overlooked that Parliament dejrcel that in the event of National Prohi )ition being carried the law would appear on the Statute book four and a half years before the same law became operative. The operations of the Licensing Bench would seem to indicate that that body contemplated continuance and encouraged the idea in the minds of licensees, when alterations, improvements and even new buildings were made a condition of renewed license.

It is not intended to dwell on this aspect of the question, but to emphasise the necessity for each voter to look into the rights and the wrongs of this vexed question with a clear and unbiassed mind, and in his decision to do justice to himself, the State and his fellow man. It must appear plain to the fair minded that this question before us, so insistent | and so long unanswered, cannot have a satisfactory until the great body of tho voters who favour neither continuance under present conditions, nor total prohibition, has expressed itself in regard to national ownership