The Southland Times. FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 1870.

Southland Times, Issue 1263, 10 June 1870, Page 2

The Southland Times. FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 1870.

OrEE-consideration, as a matter of political economy, of the influence of the drinkjing customs of society upon general prosperity, appears to be receiving simultaneous attention" at L home and abroad. The magnitude of the existing evil in connection with v tliese^ customs is on all hands admitted, society beng divided as to the remedy. By some it is contended -that nothing less than ;an entire suppression of the liquor trapc wUl^eet the evil, while ; by others it| is urged that a large reform may be effected by the remodelling of, and addition to; 1 eiistirig law£ ; that prohibitory enactments' will: ' r fail "to ; "extirpate the ejvil fagfeinst> which they, ! are. directedpahd are open to objection on the ground j of their apparently tyrannical character. In the present consiatiitibn of society^ it is not at all probable that any proposal /or the entire suppresiion of trade jin spirituous liquors would find favor wjth. thejßajority.f/ On . theTot]ber; : hand there are many persons who (making no pretence|to be^conßiderad as iotalabsfeiiners) would gladty tnfow the weight of thjeir influence into the scale of temperance by giving their support |to such measures as would tessenthe'existnig facilities for dißßipstipjix tta drunkenness, now, unhappHyr — so numerous. T?he influence ~o£ drunkennessr " upon :> crime need not be argued, rife/iff; admitted:; fts effect in increasing pauperism is .perhaps not less generally acknowledged. !ljhe advocates i. of, vtotai; abstinence.; ;point with much satisfactign to published statistics, - : 'contrasting'' Me"' : pWor' fates in those districts in which,,. .public houses exist, with those in .__ ptt er districts in which none .are permitted. In the contrast; the - advantage appears most convincingly on the side pf total abstinence • yet, 1 before "arriving ;at j a conclusion, eveix upon so strong de'njopstrative evidence, woa must j asspre. oiirselyeii ..whether . there _j.re__ not othjer circumstances to which this result may be in a measure attributed* 'Palling suph evidence as -will aatisfy us -on-thisjpoukt, we are thrown back to our etarting-pbint. It is yr.orth. w.hile first to note a few Jof . thaiacts.connecting. the . traffic Jn-spirit^ uous liquors with pauperism, and then to consider the^course to be taTceri whibh most fairly.prpmises to, secure ,,. the cpoperation of the largest flumber to remedy the existing evil of .drunkenness, and (to promote the cause of true temperance. The annual reports of the "Ladies' Benevolent Society " for this town have, in theuj limited. sphere, ppintei to the tax upon the community imposed by drunkenness,: and -the proportion bfldestitution and'jmisery arising, from this source, as compared, with. the result of other causes, i?,8o great as ~to be absolutely startling , }?roih recently published statistics affecfci ing- certain districtsin-Ireland^we lea^n that .in f a portion , of the Dungannjra TTnion, under . the T 3?oor Law" Board K eni^ bracing^seven distncjfcs, and. ; covering an area of 61^ square-miles, no public house ;hadj: since 1865, been permitted to-exi^t. In 1868 the' ' ! Durigannon Poor Ljjw TJnion ,<»used~the j^tej to be struck fbr r( tne Ji wn6ie * unjoin^ " %xiiz' 'modified in the different districts., according to the demand of the pauperism of each district on .the Poor Law fund. In the sevfen - dlßtrictß in which thft^1 ft fi f liqnora-hh.fi been prohibited, the .lowest r poor..rate waa9din the pounds and the 'highest 14d,, while in Ithbse districts -in which; ;[tjie liquor traffie was permitted, the lowest rate -wad 14d, ; and the highest" 20'i Thejre may, it is truey have beenother^nfluencjes afwdrk to cause 'the material WiFerence* in 'Jiejßnlt.which. is here aotedthatf that pf closing th^vbeer-shops, „J>ut the fact is a significant one, and if the prohibit' tion may- be credited- JwitE but onei half of the benefit accruing since.its. enforcement, the inference is that the experiment is worth ; tryingv relsewheria. It must be borne in mind that/the prohibitory plan was introduced in 1865 as an experiment,' and we presume that no material difference a£ that -time existed between the^ condition of the district into which it was so introduced, in relation to pauperism, and the other districts, of the Diinganribri Union. 'In having assumed that the experinienfc^iHight be profitably tried elsewhere,"it~Hiust be understood th^at iwe regard . its intrpductipn,. here as iieitner necessary^ nor practicable." ]$luch as ,ihe ©vilr 01. drui&ennessTiis to be deplored, it does not among us exist to; a 'degree' that renders " a prohibitorf law" necessary, and *may~ be met by suchj a refonn in thd existing] regulations affect ing the. liquor traffic as the sound; judgment and philanthropy of those who' have charged themselves with the Tbniideration~bT^e~subjecTmaysug^e^t.7, In the raid which has been made upon toe c traffic and traffickers in ; spirituous liquots, it has Seen too mucH "the custom toppt all upon the same level, to. speat :pf ;and deal with all as " rowing in the same boaii." This is not fair, as the fact is that the eyil 'joji Jtb^e pjpese_nt licensingsystenrisrbynone more readily ad^mitfced than by the) respectable pbrtibn^f the hotel-keepers, j and there' are none who; more earnestly j desire to have stringent Teguktiohs j introduced and maintained.- > - ; fact:is j

that at present many of them are asnamed | of their occupation, not because there is anything essentially wrong in it, but i because the trade is flooded by individuals seeking by every means r-to eyade the law, and who 'have v .no scruples whatever with respect «to the encouragement of -debauchery and.- demoralisation. ; In the • recommendations of the Biib^committ«e on -ije te^agerance question, as tojalterations-in^e Licensing Ordinance, the question of bottle licenses appears to be untouched. The omission is impor tant, becausrthS"l^§HSiagJsyite ffi[ canno* lie j f^rly' Tc'o^sidere^ (wifhbut ief§i:ejip§ joit.; . & 3&mMt£pd&n.ce Jam been taken on the subject ip. Punedjjj, and many persons, the soundness of wlipse judgment or sources of information cannot be questioned, have declared againptitv believing: that it opera|«s as -a very/ material /agent ; : in^i encouraging drunkenness. It may be questioned whether more liquor is not consumed on the premises of some- ■of—the-bddera of bottle licenses than in many of the duly licensed houses subject to the supervision of the police v ~We. do ; npi? object^ to .the introduction V. ftf-d stringent neither do we think the respectable clasß of hotel-keepers, .wou^d complain,^ of stringency, -but' ih" dbmmott" Fairness all places where liquor is aUovrod/fp, b^r .-Bfold; other than in bulk, should oe subject to the same supervision and right, of enWee^ *a%! in| unlicen'seQf non«ies np j-pJac6| ep| consideraWeixfent, is 1 eae %¥ Vhten liairy 1 proof may be easily obtained. Probably part of the existing drunkenness attributed to public houses,"iiTairly chargeable to sly grog-selling. That the number of licensed houses may be, without detriment, 4MpJßned.by j at|eaßtt^ojthu^ r s^ai^cely :any pißrsojolwillxlie foiiiid/toxi&iiyil The evil of too large a number is not only manifestly that of inc^§asin^hj^jcjai^£ supervision, but of so subdividing the amount of legitimate business as to illegitimate means. It is well Known that even "old topers" object to take their drinking bouts in houses but little frequented, and it is often the case* that absolutely more of evil is associated with 1 the means, adopted by the proprietors of certain.houspsvto .attract .company,,. than , with *tnV actual xtrlhking: ' Sucli' Tfeihg' the case, the essential to a reform of the existing state of things — as prohibition is impracticable — is to purgo tho tra4eby diminishing to the lowest point, consistent with meeting the legitimate wants of the community, the number of licensed hfiiisSs k»;^gSrߧai§trlcfe::!;J^M; undoubtedly in, and for the interest of the community, that the subject has been taken up. The advocates, either-of. total abstinence or of true temperance, have much to hope from a thorough ventilation of thesubiecjt. Whether we take our ftani oi^i^e # |)r|ncirfe^tt^modei*a|ion,^r viJW^foiS Mattlr 'frtfo? tlf€r|ilatfbrm *of teetotallers, we have no question as to the duty of ev^ry^^hkt-th^aking man^ tp combine in any i nioVe"aient -tfiaTprbmise's to reduce the facilities and temptations ( ta^runkenn e^ f . v v 9. ft C