LIQUOR REVENUE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 21, 12 June 1914, Page 2

LIQUOR REVENUE.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—Speaking at Christellmreh, as reported! in your paper, thej Premier pleads for a long period of waiting—four years—.between the carrying of national prohibition at tbe .polls and the coming into operation of that reform. He pleads that those in the trade should have time to wind up their business. Well, that may be dis,mfeed as kindhearted regard for the money interests of the traders, and absolute indifference to the moral and physical damage and suffering that the trade is causimi day by day; and, ■further, on the mere money aspect, it is poor, foolish finance to spend so much to save so little, comparatively. The great plea for the long four years of waiting is based on the time needed to re-adjust the national finance. This l is quite groundless fear. Look at it this way for a moment: Suppose that without any warning tho people stopped at once from spending their millions on drink, where would the money go? Not into stockings, nor into the sea, but it would be. spent in some other way. The money now spent on liquor is very largely looked on as pleasure-spending, and so it would be treated if the liquor trade could not take it. It would be spent in other ,]' ; ea=iure-giving ways—travel, toyn for children, ornaments for the house or the person, jewellery and drcsw, all of which pay a much larger rate of duty than beer, and quite as much per cent. as all the liquors put together. The revenue from liquors would, of course, be slopped, but the other .branches of trade would, and mirt-t, receive such an increase that it would quite make up the £!K)0.000 that Mr. Massey is so anxious about. It is strange tliat after all these years our prcscnt-dav Premier is not so wise on this finance question as statesmen of 40 or oP. years Sir Wm. Fox met this plea for revenue 3iv •saying that he was a very noor .financier who could not get more from a wet sponge than from a dry one; that i-, more money from the people liefer, they hail wasted their money en drink than after they had clone >,a. Briefly. the liquor h not weaUii-.prn.luciug but expending; if we stop prouueing we are poorer: if we stop spending we are richer. But, if prohibition came into force, we should not stop producing; we should increase it by bavin" hs"- time wasted, and we should not slop spending either. We should merely change the direction 'of our spending, and into an infinitely better channel.- f am. etc. C.TT.M.