The Daily News. MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1911. THE COMING LICENSING POLL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 136, 4 December 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1911. THE COMING LICENSING POLL.

We are not going to tell the voters on which side they should vote at the coming licensing poll, but we are very anxious that no one should make.a mistake, and that-every vote should he an intelligent vote. To secure this there needs some more attentipn perhaps than in the matter of the Parliamentary vote because of the changes that have been made in the law since last election. For the last five elections we have had three issues before the electors—continuance, reduction, no-license, with the power ok, voting .for any one or two of these issues. All these, ho'Wever, only had a local bearing, and were only applicable to the,.district ifi which the vote was cast. Now the position is changed. There is no more any reduction vote; but, as we may say, in its place, we have the vote on national prohibition. There is, however, another great difference, in that whilst formerly there was only one voting paper haying the three questions on it, now we shall have two papers, each dealing with a separate issue. One will be for or against national prohibition, and the other for or against local no-license. Each voter will get two papers, .and each paper will have two issues. One paper will be of a pink color, and will bear the words, "I vote for continuance" and ."I. vote for nolicense." On this paper the voter will mark out the line that does NOT express his views. The other paper will be of a buff color, and will bear the words, "I vote against.national prohibition" and "I vote for national prohibition." Here, too, the voter will mark out the line that does not express Jiis views. In this way each person has t'wo votes, as of old, but with this difference, that the votes arn counted separately. No vote cast for or against the local issue has any hearing whatever on the national issue, and vice versa. The votes are as distinct as though cast on different (fays and at different places. There is, however, one thing to bo borne .'n mind, and that is that the difference between the questions is not only a difference of the area affected by the vote —the district or the Dominion —but there is a difference in the time within which the decision takes effect. If the local be decided for no-license, then it comes into operation on July 1, 1912, in the district only; if. however, the votes decide for national prohibition, that does not. cnine into operation until July 1, but when it does come it applies to the whole Dominion. There is another point on which the voter needs to he informed: If by any chance he spoils his voting paper he may, on applying to the returning officer, or his deputy, pet another paper by surrender-. ing the spoilt one. before it is put into the box. Once in the box the secret, vote is beyond recall. Remember, it is a secret vote. Every provision is made to secure that. Whatever be the decision, wo wish to do all we can to secure an intelligent vote.