UNKNOWN

Taihape Daily Times, 2 August 1918, Page 6

UNKNOWN

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. THE CHIEF JUSTICE ON COMPENSATION. (Special Correspondent.) WELLING-TONN, July 31. His long association vritli controversial politics has left Sir Robert Stout a little prone in his private capacity to -wander beyond the fields of discussion occupants of the Supreme Court Bench ■usually permit themselves and his intimate friends were not surprised to hear of his expressing his ■views on the question of compensation to the liquor trade in an address he ■delivered at the Unitarian Church on Monday night. Some of his critics, however, profess to bo extremely indignant at the Chief Justice prejudging a prnciple he may bo called upon to interpret from the Bench or to administer as a member of the special court the Efficiency Board proposes should be set up to determine the landlords’ and the licensees’ interests in the houses they control. The position certainly does seem a little anomalous, hut it is to Sir Robert’s credit that none of the criticism! being levelled against him implies that his sympathy ■with the prohibition movement would influence him in the discharge of his judicial duties. THE PROHIBITIONISTS’ ATTITUDE.

The prohibitionists, very naturally, after the Chief Justice’s scathing condemnation of the principle of compensation are anxious to make it widely known that they are tolerating the principle merely as a moans towards Ihe end khjey jarc Seeking—national prohibition. They have been asking for years past with Sir Kobert and the rest of their ‘allies, “why those who are injuring the State should be compensated for losing their opportunity ■to do so.” but they realise they would Rave no chance of reaching their goal at the present juncture without the assistance of those electors who maintain that the community Itself is responsible for the existence of the liquor trade and that the cost of its extinction should not be thrown solely upon the people who happen to be engaged in it at the moment. Their attitude may not be very heroic, as they admit themselves, but some concession to deeply rooted vested interests is the price they are j;eady to pay for success. PARTY GOVERNMENT. The discussion of party government by the Dominion Conference of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union yesterday did not display a very intimate acquaintance with the problem by any of the delegates. Even Major Lusk who moved that the Conference should look about for some system of government that would eliminate “the many evils of the party system” was not prepared with any very sage arguments in support of his proposal and Sir James Wilson, with all his knowledge of public affairs, could say only that he preferred the devil he knew to the devil he did not know. He did ask, however, on what grounds members of Parliament would be elected if party government was abolished, thus confessing that his own ideals of popular representation were not being fully achieved under the present system. Finally the Conference decided that the executive should go into the question and obtain information for the guidance of delegates at their next annual meeting. WARTIME RACING. The members of the Conference evidently know rather more about racing than they did about the various means that 'have been suggested for, mitigating the evils of party government. A motion to the effect that the Government should be urged to stop all . racing during the course of the war was rejected in favour of ran amendment asking for a curtailment of the number of meetings, the voting being eighteen to thirteen, and the question was thus loft substantially where it was before with a majority of the delegates standing on the side of continuance. Of course the discussion was a little futile, the Government already having determined that the amount of racing permitted this season should be permitted during the season which will begin to-morrow (August I), but .it may be taken to show that a majority of the farmers’ ’representatives look with a tolerant eye upon the national sport.