NEW ZEALAND’S DRINK BILL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3156, 28 February 1911, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND’S DRINK BILL.

A COMPREHENSIVE RETURN.

FORTY-ONE YEARS’ RECORD

The following statement showing, the “Drink Bill” lor 1911) has been prepared bv the Rev. Edward Walker , who for some years past has annually calculated and published the Dominion’s-ex-penditure on alcoholic liquors:— The drink bill for the Dominion for ] 910', calculated as usual at per gallon rates' on the quantity which passed through the Customs and Excise amounted to £3,505,438 being increase on the previous year of £l/’5,301, or £3 13s Ud per head of the population, this being an increase per head on the previous year of 2s o£-d. The “bill” is like a. barometer for showing the current spending power of the people. Anyone may form his own estimate of what the figures would be if the increase (after passing the Customs and Excise) of the quantity of liquor by methods know to the trade and the actual cost to the consumers, not at per gallon, but as sold across the bar, could Be calculated. Probably five million pounds sterling and five ’pounds per head of population, or ,£25 per householder is less than was really spent on liquor in New Zealand last year. For purposes of comparison, Mr Walker says, the expenditures for both 1909 and 1910 may be quoted, the figures covering the period from January to December 31 inclusive

The population is calculated by taking the mean of the four quarterly estimates issued by the Register-General, and adding Maoris 47,731, as per last Census, but not the population (12,430) of the Cook and other islands in the Pacific annexed to the Dominion in 19K) The slight apparent excess im the totals is accounted for by unexpressed fractions of a farthing in the amount standing over them . Mr C. M. Gray, of Christchurch, who for a. number of years calculated and published the annual drink hill, estimated from the Customs and Excise returns calculates that for the 16 years from 1870 to 1885 inclusive' it averaged £2,599,553 per annum. This would give for the fifteen years from 1870 to 1884 Inclusive a total of £38,991,295. Following this are given below the annual expenditures for the twenty-six years which have since elapsed to 1910 inclusive. The estimated population prior to. 1896 and onward has been inclusive of them. For 1897 and onward the year’s expenditure is reckoned for the 12 months from January 1 to December 31 (inclusive),but for the year 1896 for •the twelve months from March 30, 1896, to March 30, 1897, and similarly for the years prior thereto.

Totals - ~ 3,628,137 311 0$ Decrease Estimated population, 1,021,214. Increase, 26,780. 1910.

Totals —■ Increase Estimated population, 1,040,442. Increase, 19,228. Note.—Spirits and wines estimated at £2 per. gallon; imported beer at 6s per gallon; Dominion beer at 4s per gallon. ' Prior to 1870, in the days of the diggings, the drink bill pet head of population’ was much heavier than it has been since, cheques and gold- being •‘knocked down” with the utmost recklessness, so that, in the absence of the figures, it is difficult to . form an estimate of the drink expenditure on the cost per gallon basis for the thirty years. Of the country’s history up to 1870, an estimate which would bring the total to the present time up to £125,000,000 would probably be much within the mark. It must be remembered that this cost is estimated upon the actual quantity of which the Customs and Excise has taken cognisance, and as if the customers purchased it all by the gallon at ordinary per gallon rates, and takes no account of dilution, and adulteration, nor of the much greater cost of a gallon to the consumers when it is served to them by the glass or the nip, or of the cost to the man who: “knocks down” his cheque for just what he may get when drunk and helpless. It is obvious. Mr Gray says, that £250,000,000 might be a moderat estimate of the amount that has been squandered for liquor involving many millions more cost to the State to cope with the consequences. Comparing the increase in the cornsumption of drink with figures taken -from the police reports annually laid upon the table in Parliament Mr Gray gets the following results: — 1901, separate, persons charged with drunkenness, -8032; not known to hove been previously , convicted 4.458; rear 1902, 8244 and 15205/; year 1903 8815. and 4944 ; year 1904, 961-> and 5268; Year 1905. 8707 and 51 ■H: vear 1900. 9.210 and 5144 ; year 190/,. 10,203 and 5809: year 1908, 10,343 and 5,840:. vear 1909, 10,657 and .6,042

making 47,948 separate persons in nine years. If they were'not official police figures Mr Gray says, this one black record of a single .form” of the evil fruits of the liquor traffic would seem incredible. Yet only a, fraction of the offenders reaches the court. It is obvious that if we had the figures for 1910 the last ten years ivould show o ver 50,000 separate persons brought before, the court for drunkenness, against whom there was not traceable any previous conviction. Such experience, taking the present population roundly at a million (it was only 823,000' in 1901, and allowing for those, who. have com© and gone in the ten years (were we to make so large an allowance as that) these ,50,000 have been taken from \a population of one and a-half millions. That would mean one person in every thirty each fresh year.

Estimated Estimated Cost per population, cost of lquor head of Yeai consumed, population £ £ s. d. 1885 600,000 2,089,514 3 16 0 1880 600,650 2,154,855 3 11 9 1887 603,361 2,093,430 3 9 5 1888 607,380 2.085,162 3 8 8 188!) 620,279 1.911,788 3 1 8 1890 625,508 2,111,498 4 4 6 1891 631,058 2,083,898 3 o' 9 1892 650,433 2,169,166 3 6 8 1898 672,265 2,19S,335 3 5 5 1891 086,128 2,099,552 3 1 1 1895 703,360 2,129.119 3 0 5 1896 757.503 2,265.900 2 19 8 f 1897 762,079 2.371,738 3 2 2i 1898 776.288 . 2,458,898 3 3 4 1899. 770,387 2,557,968 3 4 9 1900 803,333 . 2,747,170 3 8 4? 1901 822,779 2,923,982 ‘ 3 11 °- 1902 810,031 2,953,298 3 10 3* 1909 865,560 3,056,590 3 10 71901 880,776 3.152,849 3 10 10 1905 915,060 3,120.705 3 8 0 1906 944,490 3,360.121 3 11 H 1907 967,017 3.667,379 -3 15 10 1908 994,434 3,751,968 3 15 51 1909 1,021,214 3,728,137 3 11 Oi1910 1,040,442 3,803,438 3 13 ls Total for 41 years: £10S,138,S53.

Qnantit; r Total cost Cost per in gals. Decrease, in £. head. 1909. £ s. d Spirits 719.000 22,478 1,438,260 1 8 2 Wine 138,079 10.156 277,358 0 5 5 Beer 252,450 (imported) 19,370. 75.785 0 1 5§ Beer 9,283,920 (Dominion) 103,760 1,836,784 i 15 lij

Spirifs 767,617 Decrease. 48,487 1,635,234 1 0 6 Wine 152,418 Increase. 14.739 306.836 0 5 10! Beer 271.600 19,150 81,480 0 1 6f (imported) Beer 9,399,440 215,520 1,879.888 1 16 11(Dominion)