WELLINGTON TOPICS

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3382, 10 January 1920, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS

I THE LICENSING POLL. I PROHIBITION MINORITY. 1 (Special Correspondent.) - WELLINGTON, Jan. 9. Bo.th the oiiicial parties, the Moderate League, and the New Zealand Al- - profess to be satisfied, even gratified, by'the result of the licensing poll, which to all intents and purposes lis determined by the figures published this morning. There are still are some iSOO soldiers’ votes afloat, but as pro-lhi-bition is about 1465 short ‘of the total required to give it an actual majority, the disposiiton of these votes cannot mat-erially alter the position. The probability is, of "course, that the bulk of them will be cast for continuance or State Purchase and Control, but even if they all were cast for prohibition that issue still would be a long way,sllort- of the goal‘ for which its jadvocates have been striving. There yet may be a demand for the investilgation of certain alleged irregularities ‘at the polls, but the rank and file of ithle prohibition party are ,‘\accepting this morning’s figures as c.onclusive. BOTH SIDES PLEASED. The Moderate League is comforting itself with the reflection that after a most strenuous campaign, and with an exceptionally large poll prohibition has been defeated by 2968 votes. It getsat this total by adding the continuance vote of 240,998 and the State purchase and control vote of 32,148 together, and pitting the total againstl the Prohibition vote of 270,1]75. As its 1 own policy was State purchase with al preference for continuance over pro-1 hibition, it is quite justified in re-I garding the figures from this point of view. But the New Zealand Alliance: argues that the great majority of the] votes cast for State -purchase were! votes detached from prohibition, andl that without this third issue on the} ballot paper the Dominion would have 9 been freed from the liquor ttrafiicfi And so-both parties are happy. ‘ ELECTORAL REFORM. The resolution of the Wanganui branch of the New Zealand Labour, Party calling upon Mr Massey to re-; form the present electoral system by instituting proportional representationj and to immediately thereafter ‘appeal! to the country under the new system is not likely to be takeii very seriously by the Prime Minister ‘and his colleagues. But though Mr Massey has not committed himself to any de-1 finition on the subject, there is somei ground for hoping that during the life l of the new_ Parliament ‘he will take‘ steps to redeem the promises he made from the hustings so long ago as 1911. He did not on that occasion declare, himself in favour of proportional re-‘ presentation, but he undertook thatl after abolishing the second ballot he] would provide something -better in its place to secure the representation oft majorities. ‘ l AN UNDESIRABLE IMMIGRANT. A good deal of stir has been occasioned here by the announcement that the Government has decided to deport, 9. man named Moses_Barifz, a recent] arrival in the city, who has been lecturing under the auspices of the Marxian l Society, and reproaching the New Zealand Labour Party with not being ad, vanced enough. There is “little local; sympathy for Bariti‘ and practically none for the ‘doctrine he would dissiminate, but in many quarters there is a feeling tli'a.t the legislation of last session, under which the Government is‘ proceeding, is a little un-British. Even the Dominion regrets that it should be“ necessary to “deport i-mmigrantg because of rtheihpolitical views,” and prays for the time when “such persons will be frozen out automatically” by the fruits of a system of education which will teach our children to think for themselves, and not crowd them with '3. mass of undigested information. ,