THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1908. THE WISDOM OF MODERATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 903, 25 February 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1908. THE WISDOM OF MODERATION.

Nothing is more unlikely than that Parliament will attempt to deal'during the coming session with the licensing question. It is a subject which Ministers usually have a deadly hatred of, and shun by every means in their power. In a final session the Government will rot look at it. A licensing question of great importance is nevertheles to be submitted to the Legislature in the form of a petition praying that the law be so amended that the No-License issues in the several electorates may be decided by a simple majority instead of as at present by a three-fifth majority. The petition emanates from a convention held at Oroua, near Feilding, and will doubtless be largely subscribed to by prohibitionists throughout the dominion. A bill to give effect to the desire of the convention has been drafted, and will probably be introduced by a private member; but a measure of the kind could never get through under such condtictorship. The Temperance Party is very hard to satisfy. It has gained more power than has been gained, by kindred bodies in any part of the Empire, and is still unsatisfied. High though its aims undoubtedly are, it has reached a stage when it should pause before seeking to wrest from the people more than the people are willing to quietly give. It is claimed

that the present law is "purely and

harshly arbitrary" because it requires more than a bare majority to stifle the liquor traffic. But is that so? , It would seem as if the demand now being mad<3 by the No-License Party partakes more the spirit of arbitrariness, because it would gjve those who have no commercial or industrial interests at stake in the matter undue facilities for crushing out those interests. If the claim now sought to be established were recognised, it would be open to other organisations to demand similar consideration from Parliament in order to enalile them to wipe out other popular social customs to which objection might be taken. Many eminent physicians declaim against the growing abuse of teadrinking, which, it is alleged, is endangering the general health of multitudes of the people. Would it be considered by the Prohibitionists just if power was sought through Parliament to abolish or even restrict by a mere majority vote the sale of tea? But the point we would like to make is this:—The Temperance Party has gained a great victory so far, and has secured about as much power as public opinion is willing to sanction. Would it not be wise therefore for the party to rest for a time upon its laurels. For the sake of the cause it has at heart it seems undesirable that it should endeavour to push its demands to extremes, because an attempt to du so is likely to cause a revulsion of feeling and create a reaction. We have every sympathy with any legitimate movement calculated to bring about a reform of the drinking customs which lead to so much evil, but it is very questionable whether the people will permit any section of the community to absolutely dominate them in the matter of what they shall or shall not drink, any more than they are likely to tolerate dictation even at the hands of a; bare majority as to what they shall eat or wherewithal they shall he clothed. The Temperance Party should remember that by injudiciously "striving to be better, of; we mar what's well.'''