THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1911. NO-LICENSE IN MASTERTON.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10468, 4 November 1911, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1911. NO-LICENSE IN MASTERTON.

Tlie extravagaiut a-nd libellous statements wliicli are being circulated concerning tlie effects of No-license nj>on tlie trade of Masterton havo i)atnralily aroused a feeling of indignation among the business, men of this oommiunity. It is hardly necessary to say that the,so statements, beimg so utterly devoid of truth, will act as a "boomerang" upon those wltto have been responsible for their diisiseiiiiin.atioii. In our issue of Friday .we gavto them prompt denial, <vnd wo feel it our duty, as guardians of the piublie interest, to emphasize our protest bv a reference to facts. The ,p'ooj>le, whether rightly or wrongly, have decided that the hotels' sihiall he eloml. For .nearly throeyears Ulie oommunity Ivave done without tine open bar. It would be idle to suggest that the cessation of business of six licensed establishments did not resiult in a variation of trade. Some suffered a .i-tle through the bars being closed, others- benefited proportionately. In the aggregate, allowing the money wliicli filters to other townships as a. set-off against the -amount previously sent to the brewers and wine and spirit merchants, it may reasonably he asserted that the amount of cash 'available for local distribution Tia-a been

larger instead of smaller than be- I Joire. It is, unhappily, tnu© that j Manterton, in common with other ! townships, has passed througjh a per- I ibd -;i ucp.vG&sion flo blowing a boom. ' Five Kars ago a conuiderable I amount c-f Icon money was feeing J expc..i.'.xl in t'lie town. I'cop.le came here from all quarters* tb participate in the Shops and houses ,weut up in every direction, and 1 inflated vahies iv-wv placed upbn town properties. Any person with common sense and judgment ■ must have j known that this state of filings oould j not continue. The inevitable had' to acme, as it has come in Wellington and other centres in tflie low«' portion of the North island. When ,{io I'oari moneys were expended and tlnere was a -lull in huilidiing opera- : tionis, men had perforce to leave the town. On top, of this came the fall in the price of wood, which restricted the spending power of th'e people. And what was the result? The inexorable law of supply and! denuand .oompelM ,the closing of a fow business establishment;;, as it oompeliled their closing in other centres. To attribu.to tlie depression which existed in Ma&terton during til's year or twto succeeding tihe closing, I of the hotels to ■ the effects of Nblaoense, is to trifle with tlie intelligence of the people. It wouM be just as Tea^rma.b'.lo—indeed, it'wouM be more reasonable—to attribute | the stagnation in Wellington to the existence of tlie open bar. But what has boen the experience of Miastfcertoin of late P <Jn every .side there are indications of a return to prosperity. Building operations are proceeding apace ; tiln&r-o is not an emtpty house cf any proportions in the town; the demand l for labour liias iu>t been for years as keen as it is now,; and although, between the seasons, iniioney is not as plentiful as some would like, there iisi an air of oonfidence in the future wJbliieli is .pleasing to behold. This is not due to Nlo-license. It is due to tllie splendid' resourcefulness of tine district of which Masterton is ,tlie centre. During the 1 past year or two th'e Masteirton A. and P. Association has made enormous strides ; ifine Calwtonian Society h!as doubled its .membership; a nourishing Competitions Society has bo<-n established; tlie Amateur Athletic Society has been nevivcid'; the Swimming, and Eoxing and) Hockey, ami La win Tennis, ami Football and ether Athletic Clubs have strengtlio'.ied their positions niune.Ticall'y and' financially ; literary and debating societies have come into existence; and the peop'le have been catered for mentally and physically in .every possible way. This mlay not be tihe result cf No-licence. It is nevertheless a fact. It is significant of the return and tihe improved condition of the people, tliat there h'ave been only fourteen bankruptcies in the whole of the W'airarapa diuiring tilne pa.st ten month®, and; of these, nine wiere of labouring meai, and involved, only small amounts. Thiis should be a oompleto ans-svor to thiase wtlio reokHless'ly >assert that '.he. bot'toirp lnas fallen out of the place «s a, result of No-llicense. It is aiot necessary for us to enter into the mor il aspect of the quie&tion. The Judges, and Magistrates, >and police officials can speak upon that .suibjeot more eloquently than we. What we set outin tibiir, article tio do was to prove th'at iilie effect of No-licemse Mad not been t» wreck this business prospects, of the community. And! we eonolule by saving that any person who ullages that it has, is eitliea- lamentatoliy ignorant of the facte, >or is attempting to influence ipjublic opinion bv their deliberate distort™!.