The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1872-03-02
Restriction of Evil.

a nature that it cannot be abolished, the next
best thing to do is to control and restrain it.
The radical temperance advocates in one of the
United States a few years ago, procured the enact
ment Of what was called the s. Maine Law, . pro-
scribing altogether the sale of ardent spirits. Its
sweeping provisions were found to be impractical
BILE of enforcement, and it naturally became a
failure, to a very great extent. But the advo-
Gates of prohibition, or of a more or less strin-
gent restriction of the traffic in Intoxicating
drinks, far from being discouraged, have gone on
from year to year, agitating the subject, and
gaining large accessions to their ranks, not only
in the New England States of America, where
the movement originated, but in old England,
and even in distant Australia.
In Massachusetts, the ultra temperance men
are SO numerous that they form a powerful third
party in the State, whose influence is cOurted at
the general elections by politicians, and it is con-
ceded that on whichever side the prohibitionists
throw their undivided strength, that side will
win at the polls. The Massachusetts State Tenn
perance Convention recently met in Boston, and
adjourned finally on the 25th of January. Among
the proceedings were the adoption of an address
to the people, urging in eloquent terms the i'm
portance of the great work of reform in which
they were engaged and a series Of resolutions
petitioning the Legislature to restore the prohi-
bitory law of 1867, with some radical amend
ments, such as-making the possession of the
fixtures of a liquor store prinaa facie evidence of
guilt; excluding liquor dealers, as other crimi-
mails, from the jury box securing the right to
challenge liquor drinkers on a jury at discretion
making the punishment for sale of liquors thirty
H., - g., 4Io e.. a. 49,. H.
for the second, and so on, doubling the time for
every succeeding ofense abolishing the liquor
commission leaving the State police under the
control of the governor; and making liquor sell
ers responsible for damages resulting from its
sale. These proposed %enactments it will be seen,
are sufficiently severe to make the " old Bay
State" anything else but a liquor Dealers or
drinkers paradise, and the fact that their pub
LEGATION calls forth no opposition from the press
of the State, is sufficient evidence that generally
they are backed by a strong public sentiment.
In New Zealand and Australia, the more mod
crate, and certainly quite equitable " Permissive
System - is adopted in some portions of the
country. This is based upon the sound principle
that the majority rules. The question of permit
ting a license to sell in a particular township, is
submitted to the qualified voters within it's limits,
and their decision at the polls by Il majority for
or against, is binding upon the licensing authori-
ties. The sam system prevails in som of the
western United States, and we are told that, as
the sentiment of one community differed from
that of another as to the liquor business, SO the
thirsty man would sometimes be compelled to go
as far as from Honolulu to Eva, or from Lahaina
to KaanapaIi, before he could obtain even a
drink of beer.
In Great Britain too, the tremendous evils of
intemperance, particularly among the working
classes, has attracted much grave attention of
late, and while Good Templar" and other
kindred associations are encouraged and are
multiplying, the subject of legislation is strongly
mooted in the newspapers, in the direction of a
g permissive system like that of the Colonies,
to which we have alluded.
Thus it will be seen that among the English
speaking peoples of the world, the enlightened
public opinion of the age is recognizing the
necessity of placing some bounds and restrictions
to the traffic in intoxicating drinks. Great
changes for the better have already been expert.
enced IN some countries in this respect, and as
the world moves on in the march of improvement,
still greater and vaster results must inevitably
come, though not perhaps in our day and gener-
alton, when alcohol will be used by mankind for
its Legitimate purposes only-in the compound
ing of medicines and in the mechanical arts.
We at these islands, were we ever SO much
inclined to put an entire stop to the sale of spirits
as a beverage, are debarred from such a course
by treaty stipulations. Christian and enlightened
France insists that we shall never make law
which shall amount to an absolute prohibition oil
- the creature.' Our lawmakers have attempted
to do the next best thing, which is to regulate
the traffic by statute, and to forbid the sale &c
natives of the country-with what iII-success in
the latter respect, we have shown in a previous
number of this journal. 1t is of course useles:
to multiply laws on this point what is needed is
the enforcement of those we have.
In this direction we have a suggestion or two
to make, which, if taken in hand and carried on
by the coming Legislative Assembly, might per,
haps prove of material assistance to the police il
the more %efectual enforcement of the statute.
forbidding the traffic with natives. First then
let there be a license to sell By the glass only
" to be drunk on the premises - next a bottle
license, to sell in less quantities than a dozen, moi
to be drunk on the premises and last, a whole
sale license, 10 sell nothing less than the original
package. Then in the matter of punishment fol
selling to natives-abolish the fine altogether, anc
let it be Imprisonment at hard labor for every
one convicted of the offense or if there be a fine
at all, let it go to the informer.
1t remains to be seen whether the Legislature
of 1872 will be sufficiently alive to the welfare 0
the race as to give this subject their specia
attention, and to act in the matter promptly anC
efficiently.