The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1917. IRRITATING LEGISLATION.

Taihape Daily Times, 23 October 1917, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1917. IRRITATING LEGISLATION.

With which is Incorporated The Tai nape t'oot and Walmarluo News).

The sis o’clock closing legislation so nicely manoeuvred by Mr Massey is pregnant with a load of trouble, and, cause for soreness, together with seeming impossibility of just and equitable administration. No one interested in either side of the question-will forget how six o ? clock came to be substituted in the Bill for eight-o’clock, as the methods adopted could not be admired by those In cither camp. Experience has again and again proved conclus/ ively that any law put on to the Statute book which was obviously imy possible of giving equaF rights and privileges to all sections of the people has had to be repealed after causing widespread ill-feeling and dissatisfaction. The Bill has got as far as the Legislative Council where it met with such opposition that it had to be referred back to the Lower House, Members of which refused to accept the amendments made, and on Satur day the Council appointed managers to confer with similarly appointed representatives from the House w r ith a view to settling differences. We do not believe the Measure is one that will give satisfaction to people, ndt even to those who arc now so confident of its success. It must, of course, limit drinking in hotels very considerably, but it will immensely increase private drinking; the framers of the Act, and both Houses of Parliament recognise and admit this in their having made it lawful for visitors and travellers- living in hotels to have drink served to them in the prohibited hours. By making this provision they have shown that they realise that consumption of liquor in private wall be be increased. Closing hotels at six o’clock must lessen drinking to some extent, but surely it is not presumed by anyone that it will not encourage an increase in private drinking, I s there a man who has the temerity to say that evening swiping parties will not come into existence in places where the police have no control and have no legal ■ entry? We cannot shut our eyes & to the fact that the country is indeed playing with fire in allowing any body or any party to snatch a victory for mny such proposals as constitute the sum total of this Measure. We view v ith far greater alarm the inculcation of private drinking parties, and we dread the impetus given them by this

\ six o’clock closing far more ' than J we over can the evils from drinking in public and under the eye of the police. Reduction in the,'hours of public drinking would be worth; while trying were it not fraught with possibilities of direst danger in the evolution of another class of drinking which, in its evil effects, public drinking can never equal. It is pitiable to see the tinkering that is permitted with licensing legislation; if drink is a curse, well, the people will wipe it right out; but what good is being done from a consumption of liquor point of view by the Anti-Shouting humbug? Why, it is merely compounding a crime with the devil, that is, of course, to those of us 1 who consider drinking a crimp,, and we must all presume that it is a crime from the time Parliament is wasting in damming it back at one point, while letting it flow in another. This irritation of men who see no harm in taking alcoholic drink, is having the effect of bringing into being organisations of I great strength to oppose any interferI once with the traffic, while others are ; building up a mighty effort to got the State to take control, buy up all breweries and hotels, and so open up another branch of the civil service. We seem to be working for the time when , the control and management of State hotels will do more than any other

political or economic question can in deciding general parliamentary elections. No candidate for election would stand much chance that did not favour popular views of the State controlled liquor business. It is time we saw what tinkering with the liquor business must result in; we arc irritating people and from the strong language used in some newspapers it is evident that we are becoming a divided people. ■ Present laws give power to* the people to clear the land of drink; drink is not forced upon them, and we believe that if efforts were concentrated on the main question instead of on working points of doubtful value more good would result; in any case, wo should be' free from constantly recurring irritations which are productive of good not nearly commensurate with the harm they do. The questionable; value of the Six O ’clock Closing Bill is' exemplififed 'ln the hard road if haf 'had to' travel' already, and has r - not' yet be-

come law. The kfro' ifouses 'have' hot been abl6 to agree’ what ’ some will regard 'kPV trifling' point,’ but whether we look!' upon it as trifling or not, wo muslwstahd'%r dqiial rights to all before ‘a'n'd 11 tinder : ahy law. The House is of opihi'on that every man or woman having ideals' in an hotel during prohibited hours,'' shall be entitled by law to have drink served, whereas the Council urge's that only bona fide boarders shoiild ' have - the privilege, and each body has appointed cham; piong to meet ;and settle the question. That is the position at present, and no one knows ->just when the tossed about Measure' Will come into operation or whether it will even find its way on to the - statute ■ book at all. Why tinker about with*the' 1 subject? If drink is really a curse, and the majority of people have come to that conclusion there i s already a lawful way of giv■ing effect to their views, Moreover, if Parliament, or the Government, is of opinion that New Zealand is so sitjuated that drink interferes with successful conduct of the war, why does it not vipe it right out as America has done? fcho answers why?