THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1894. REGULATION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2621, 15 February 1894, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1894. REGULATION.

In discussing the temperance question recently, the Eev. Mr Isitt asserted that it was impossible to regulate the drink traffic. He gave very cogent reasons for thefoith that was in him, and undoubtedly otnde out c very strong case in favour of the view he takes of the question. But, with all due respect to him, we hold that the liquor traffic is capable of regulation ; and what is more still, that the regulation which we think it is capable of is better than prohibition. The most rabid prohibitionist will, we think, admit that there i* no harm in taking a drink of any kind of liquor bo long as a person takes only that quantity of it which does not impair his Health, or hi) capacity to perforin the functions of !iia station in life, or that 1)0 does not want*; the moisey wiiich ho requires for the muintancuco of his family. These tiro the throe objections to drh)lc. Ist, it impairs one's health; 2nd, it unfits quo for performing his duties; 3rd, it causes one to waste what is required to support one's family. The other evils which arise from the abuse of drink need not bo enumerated. Now so long ns drink is taken in such moderate quantities that no harm can como of drinking it, no legitimate objection can be raised to the use of it, and we presume that even the Rev. Mr Isitt a-ould not object to it. The objection in not to the use, but to the abuse of it, aud if iko abuse was rendered impossible, then the Qb}e<tf«U t° it would,

be removed. Now, can the abuse of it be stopped? We hold that it can. There are several reasons why men abuse it, but the chief one is the means of recreation it affords. It is for the sake of the " company," and not for the love of drink that moat men drink to excess. Of course there are exceptions to this rule. There is the niau who has contracted the evil habit of drinking by himself, and who drinks because he feels an insatiable craving for it. He drinks for the sake of the drink, and cares nothing for the "company." But he cultivated the appetite for it in company with others. He was not born a drunkard, he made a drunkard of himself, by keeping the company of persons who were given to drink. Undoubtedly this is the way almost all drunkards commence their career, and if something were done to prevent men from congregating together in drinking saloons, then the first step would be taken. But this cannot be done so long as the trade is conducted by private enterprise. Mr Isitt is perfectly right in saying that it is impossible to regulate the trade as it is at present conducted. Publicans are human beings, like other people, and their business is to sell as much liquor as they can, and make as much money out of it as possible. That is the rule which governs the actions of men in all the walks of life, and a pablican cannot be expected to do more nor less than do as others do. To promote trade, and draw custom to his house, he furnishes comfortable apartments for his guests, provides means of amusement, from " Yankee grab" to|billiardß,and does everything within the scope ofhis ability to iuducemen to patronise him. The comforts and conveniences thus provided offer great inducements to men to meet in these places, and then the custom of " shouting " completes the project for manufacturing druukards. Jones and Smith go in to have a quiet drink, but they meet Brown and Robinson, who join in with them, and who must return the " shout." Before they have finished other friends arrive, and henceforward the fun grows fast and furious. This is how most men begin to cultivate an appetite for drink, and these are the circumstances under which nine-tenths of the drinking is indulged in. Let all this be rendered impossible, and drinking will be reduced to a minimum ; and the only way in which it can be donei? by the Government taking the sale of the liquor into their hands. Let the Governpro vide bars, in which there shall not be seats, or any conveniences whatsoever, and place in charge of them reliable and well-paid men. Let the instructions of these officers be : Ist, to supply drink to any sober man who comes in alone, and demands it, but uuder no circumstances to permit the system of one man " shouting for another ; 2nd, to be careful not to supply more than a stated number of drinks to any one man in any one day ; 3rd, to sell no smaller quantity than, say, two gallons of spirits to auy one for consumption off the premises, except by the order of a medical man j and 4th, to discourage anything bordering on the abuse of chink. Let him also understand that any infringement of theße rules wonld be the signal for his dimissal, and if this system were adopted we say that drunkenness wonld bo almost impossible. .Now a Government officer could comply with these regulations, for, unlike the private individual, he would not have any temptations to "do a trade." The private publican must "do a trade" or starve. He has very heavy liabilities to meet, and must "force business" to provide means for paying his way. The Government officer would get his salary; his instructions would be to do as little business as he could, and consequently very little drinking would go on at all. Those who have already cultivated the habit would still go for their " nips " occasionally, but the rising population would never think of going in alone and drinking by themselves unless some necessity drove them to do it, and so in the course of time the custom of drinking would die out. We hold, therefore, that regulation is possible, and that the system we have thus suggested is far betterthfku prohibition. The extent to which prohibitionists would go has not yet been made public. We knoarthey want to close up all publio- houses, but what then 'I Would they prohibit the importation of Bpirits into the country ? Would they allow it to be sold for mediciual purposes? Would they prevent a man keeping liquor in his own house ? We presume they would not. At any rate they have not stated so far that they would prohibit either the manufacture or the importation oOiqaor, or that they Would not allow a man to keep drink in his own house. We shall, therefore, take it that they would permit private individuals to import for their own private use any drink they may like, and, if so, »ly-grog shops would be possible. We have no sympathy with those who say that sly-grog shops would be worse than the public-houses. That is uonseiue. But w,e say that so long as private individuals are permitted to import liquor sly-grog shops will be possible, let.their evil effects be great or small. Let tha system we have suggested be adopted, and sly-grog shops would not be possible, for the Government would import the driuk, and private individuals jyouid fjPp be allowed to traffic in it. For these rsaswel W? W thafc there would be less danger of dVuikpnnpss £ the sale of drink was controlled by the than if all public-houses W<?r© shut up. .Now if all friends of temperance CQinb*n,ftu together and aimed at this one ciject, ,we bgHeye that it could bo attained. As for com\,Ma prohibition, there is not much chance for it for * long time yet. The great majority of the people are not iu favor of prohibition, and even if it was carried by a snap vote the houses would bo opensd again before long.