The Daily News. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1903. THE LIQUOR TRADE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 196, 1 September 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1903. THE LIQUOR TRADE.

Whes the enormous sums invested in the liquor trade are considered, it is not at all surprising that so much interest is shown in connection with the Prohibition movement, which has for its object the total suppression of the " trade" It is a question whether any other trade has such enormous vested interests and peimeates every section of the people to the same extent. We are led to make these remarks by the perusal of some statistics compiled by the Registrar-General, lately to hand, These statistics show that during the year ended in March of last year there were granted altogether in New Zealand 2492 licenses for the sale of intoxicating, liquors. Of these 1513 were publicans' and accommodation licensee, 6 New Zealand wine, 77 packet, 155 wholesale, and 741 conditional licenses. The number of persons to each licensed house was 507 jn the couutk-s and 508 in the boroughs. Local bodies received, by the granting of these licenses, <£54,514, of which ,£31,957 went to swell the revenues of boroughs and 9,917 those of counties. Tho approximate capital value of the licensed houses in the counties was stated at £755,687, i»nd for certain of the boroughs £223,398. Besides thfse, there was an annual value of £106,345 for other licensed houses in the boroughs, which capitalised at 6 per cent, would represent £1,772,417. The cipital value of all licensed houses would therefore be somewhere about £2,851,502. But since the date to j which these figures carry us many large hotels have been erected in the colony, many thousands of pounds having been so exp nded. Therefore the capital value of tbe hotel property may be put, in round numbers, at three millions, and, notwithstanding the insecurity of the license, many of the new c wimittees have ordered re-building on a large scale. Turning to another aspect of the trade, tho Registrar-General states that altogether ovei 8000 persons were employed in connection with the sale and manufacture of wine, spirits, beer, cordials, etc. As shown by the cenßus of 1901, hotelkeepers numbered 1556, servants and cooks nearly four thousand, baimen and barmaids overfive hundred (in view of a recent dis j elusion in the House of Representa- ! tives, it may be paid that the barmaids outnumbered the barman by 349 to 178), managers, secretaries, and stewards tf clubs 142, and so on, the to al figures showing that two years a ;: o direct employment was given by " the trade " to 4537 males and 3820 females.