New Britain herald., 1926-12-02
Premier Ferguson's Poli- cies Approved in Elec- tion by Overwhelming Vote in His Favor.

Toronto, Dec. 2 dP The pro- vince of Ontario. dry for the past ten years, has gone wet. In cleo tions held yesterday throughout the province for the 112 seats in the legislature at least so members, pledged to support Conservative Premier G. Howard Ferguson's policy for government control of the sale of spirits and beer. were elected. Only two constituencies re- main to be heard from.
 The verdict of the people in fa- yor of Mir. Ferguson's program was even more emphatic than the fig ures indicate, for on the liquor is- sue he can count on the support of four independent liberal leaders. who broke away from W. E. N. Sinclair, the liberal opposition lead CT, and the solitary labor member elected.
 How Vote Stands
 Early this morning, with the vote in two districts missing, the stand ing of the parties in the legislature was as follows: Conservatives 75, liberal 14. progressives II, liberal progressives 5, independent-liberals 4, labor 1. Tn the old house the conservatives had 76 members.
 Mir. Ferguson not only was vio- torious in his stand for government control, but he carried into office with him all the members of his cabinet except David Jamieson. minister without portfolio. The premier had a majority of 1884 in his constituency, while Mir. Sinclair received majority of 2,313 in his home district.
 By the vote Of the people they have indicated that the operation of the Ontario temperance act as a method for enforcing temperance was not considered success. Much antagonism against the act, which provided for the sale of liquor only on doctors prescriptions, was due to the claim that it had made things easy for bootleggers.
 Premier Ferguson on the stump pointed out that persons feigning illness could secure prescriptions for liquor at a vendors store. He charged that ss,0Oo,000 was spent annually for liquor purchased on prescriptions.
 The Rural Vote
 The supporters of prohibition pinned their faith on the rural con- stituencies, which in the liquor plebiscite of 1924 went dry. In this. however, they were disappointed, for tle bulk of the electors in nor nal conservative rural ridings stuck to their political allegiance and endorsed the Ferguson policy of government control. One of the outstanding features of the elec- ton was the defeat of W. F. Nickle, attorney general in the late gov- crnment, who parted with Mir. Fer guson on his government control policy and ran as | prohibition candidate.
 It is expected that Premier Fer guson will call the newly elected legislature into session at an early date for the purpose of giving ef- feet to his proposals for govern , ment control. The details of these proposals have not yet been deter mined. The premier has announced that he desires to have the collec- tive judgment of the hous con them.
 During the campaign 1t was stated that Premier Ferguson's program would provide for permits | for every person over q years of | age to obtain liquor or beer at government vendors places at a reasonable cost. The cards would ! be subject to cancellation if the l privileges they gave were abused.
 Varied Liquor Laws
 The several provinces of Canada have varied liquor laws. In Prince | Edward Island liquor may be ob- | tained through a government ven- | dor by medical prescription. In No ! va Scotia government control eX- ists and a doctors prescription is | necessary. In New Brunswick ven- l dors must purchase supplies of li- quor from a board of commission | CTS and resell on prescriptions.
 In Quebec there is government | control through a commission and | shops in non-local option districts. { Beer is sold in taverns and beer and light wines in restaurants and