, 1898-02-02

would go in to say, that there is the slightest
chance of gaining anything IN that direction,
III fact any alteration at all, except really
that the drinking in excess will become mole
licensed, 50 TO speak, because the cheap Ium
will be bought from the licensed rumseller,
even though the demijohAs be brought out
on estates and just as many small retailers
of tue licensed lumshopkeel ers' Ium be
found on estates as there ale buyers. lie
therefore utterly failed to see how the pro-
posals If he Majority, Joined by those OF the
Government, can be styled amendments, by
which is certainly understood improvements,
improvements IN the given state OF ahalls
on which You legislate; but he did not fail to
see that the state Of things that Will be
licensed under the Majority's proposal will
ON the contrary lead to wolse evils Tor
which YOU do an Injustice to one class OF
people namely those holding LICENCES for
public houses, without doing any cores
ponding goOd 10 The public, where 1t is
needed and sought fvr, you make use OF that
injustice tp benefit q ftT individuals, 10 tho
decided de.1iment but no benefit to the
public. IL that way too, you deprive the
public Chest Of an income which it requires
and which could 90 far to relieve the bur.
thens on which We hear such loud cries,
you discald al lmpost which would do no
injustice to any one, but would lie IN the
long run a sally 0ciON to he COmmunity;-tor,
let us now suppose that you put The rum
shop tax as higL as 81 ,0O0-but he guessed
YOU would Lear endless cries against that
figure, as being too h Oh for the taste OF the
parties concerned and YOU have 8 lumshois
The outcome would be $4,000 y. a.; but now
take the total consumption Of rum, whIch
the Governments Commission on whose
report the Government worked i'll 1892, puts
down at 600 10 500 puncheons a yeor, but
let us say it is now only TOO; this gives, at
10 gallons, II 600 gallons at an excise Of
% cents or IN income Of So, l5Q; 1t ia gen.
erally agreed that % cents is too low; put
it at so cents and you have $38, 80 p. Il.
CLAIR income, without doing my harm,
but decidedly some good. But what does
the rise even up to 81, 900 signify III
point of fact, will it be az much and when
will it commence? 2 years later, soys His
Excellency; and are the evils to grow and to
he fostered in those two years still more ?
Is it in any way reasonable to expect that
any change Will result from such an
amendment if amendment 1t can be called;
is it within the scope of common sense to
reckon upon its being mole difficult for
people to obtain rum By such q palliative, as
ills ExcelIency styles it? Do you suppose
that the COSU VI Il NIIHh WIN bHCu w pHS
way higher; on Will a little more water and
some more cayenne pepper serve to make the
rum scratch, and t. MIKE up for the higher
tax, when we do get 1t and if We do get it?
The idea lies Just here. that if a glass of
rum costs l cent, q men wis lake 5 glasses
for the 5 cents ne has in his pocket, but if
a glass cost 2 or 3 cents, he can buy 2
glasses; Of course q man with 2 glasses
instead of 5 must be less intoxicated, or not
intoxicated at oil. But it is just that cheap
ness of tile article, which causes this evil for
one, that many a Time you hnd he greater
part Of the dwellels Of an estate village sick
and unable to work on Mondays and some
times Tuesdays too, and frequently habitually
sick in bed from the effects Of tue rum which
they can get SO cheap and plentifully. Now,
we cannot rid ourselves of a part of the
responsibility for tie state of things which
is patent to vveYe body ana which decidedly
is ut the bottom Of CIR downward tendencies
in this Island; V must are lie responsible
litv if we do nothing to t'es the evil but
that which the NJ ,jorlty aud Government
proposes is rep''y othiu@, a leaet nothing
IN tho direction iced y TACT be could not
Mt all recognize h0w ny shape or form
those changes which sc see coming on today
can be STYLED ub.am8vGme1's to the MAORI.
Tvs amendments; for he was at q loss to find
snch amendments AZ tuUse alluded to from
M;;,.. orJ sura,v IN. Majority has no