FINANCES OF NEW ZEALAND.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10481, 18 November 1911, Page 6

FINANCES OF NEW ZEALAND.

(ADV EIRTI SEMiEN T.)

HOPES THAT PROHIBITION | WILL NOT SUCCEED' IN CHECKING INVESTMENT. I i (Finanwail News, September 1-t, 1911) The collapeie of l J lrohibitix)ii in the American Sta.-e of Mtaine, after a career oif something like sixty yeaote, wiiil' doubtDet be a very useful object lesson at the coming election's. in New Ztul'and. Advocates. of Pireihibi.ttcir in New Zealand have invariably used till? State of Maine as a hj'ioQiit and 'shliuiing ex«imip?je to tfhle Antipodean colony; and as there are i sign© tHiia.t Prohibition' may be an. issue, ait the December elections in New Zeal'andi, the Maine cpllapse is a- very timefly incident. I Tllucirio iis 1110 need', at thiis time of day, to rehearse amy of the argument# fbr oir against Prohibition. We are only concerned with the consideration thia.t the success of tlile Pfl-ohiiMtkm programme in. Niew Zearlatnd wioul'd infallibly htuve the effect •of qutting off, to a large extent, this supply of British, capital' to the cottony. A & wie have over and over agaiilri urged this claim® of New Zealand km E.'ritiish' investors, suiclh an epiisiodfo wpulld be an occasion cif mlore than orrfina'iy dleep regret, and we certainly trust, far the sake of Nero*, Zteailiand lilersellf,, that the con.tin.geincy will' not arise. Nb doubt iit would be going trto far to suggest tl.ut the ®uoces.s of a Prohcibition campaign miglhit in any way endjanger this, interest oin th© New ZeaQ!a<nd debt. But it would certainly render e,stieawbiaiT the adoption of fresh metiliodis of taxation in olrdeir" to. supply this deflcslency created by Pralxbiticn, h,nd, th'oise exped-en-ts would c'f necessity -tend, to emphasise the disquietude aJlready created (ex by Pirohibiv* t/iton itseSif. It nvu's.t not be overlooked, earthier, that one of the pri- | irjary necessities- of New Zealand iis the iinflux of population, and that population would next be lSktely to bte stmngjly airr acted to a countfrry wjilere it wais 'impossible for. a .-man to enjioy thia ordinary liberty of obI 'taiinning reasonable liquid represihment iif hie wanted it.