NO-LICENSE STATISTICS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9538, 9 July 1909, Page 4

NO-LICENSE STATISTICS.

At a No-license meeting at Newtown (Wellington) on Wednesday evening last the Rev. J. Dawson, Secretary of the New Zealand Alliance, gave some interesting statistics in reference to No-license. At the last poll he said the majority in the Dominion over the continuance vote was 53,331. Twelve electorates out of 7G —a little over one-seventh of the whoie Dominion had carried No-license. There was a bare majority for Nolicense in 60 of the 76 electorate?. This meant that 53 per cent, of the total people who exerised the franchise voted for No-license. Auckland, Wellington, and iJunedin had majorities of over 2,000 each. Christchurch had a majoricy of over 400, In 1893 when the Act came Into force there were 086,128 persons in New Zealand exclusive of Maoris, and there were 1.719 licenses which meant one to every 341 people. The present population excluding 47,000 Maoris was 960.G42, ard the licenses after June 30th ' numbered 1,257 —one to every 764 reople. In IB years, therefore, 462 licenses had been abolished—-over 25 per cent. Compared with population the figures worked out at about 50 per cent. The reduction vote had been responsible for the abolition of 308 licenses. "No-license" by the three-fifths vote had taken away 154 licenses, making the total 462. In 12 years from 1893 to i 905, 75 licenses were voted out by No-license, and 280 by reduction. From 1905 to 1908, 79 licenses were annulled "By , No-license, and 28 by reduction, i During 1893-1.905 licenses were re- 1 duced at the rate of 29 per year, ' while the rate had been 36 per year from 1905 to 190 S. ,