The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1911.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3399, 14 December 1911, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1911.

There is a suggestion in certain quarters that it might be advisable for the future to re-ai-uLL' ljut issue to one of ‘“National Prohibition” or “National Continuance.” According to the “Lyttelton Times,” for example, the much larger aggregate for national prohibition as compared with the grand total for local no-license means that many people voted for continuace on one ballot paper and prohibition on the other. “Whilst the attitude of a person who approves of the total prohibition of the liquor trade whilst objecting to merely local prohibition is,” says our scut hern contemporary,” quite reasonable, the polling in some districts gives countenance to the suggestion that the issues were not well tmderstood- In Grey, for example, where no-license was defeated in 190 S by 3117 votes to 2416, the previous verdict was reaffirmed this year by 3441 votes to 2483, showing clearly that the electors did not want their district to go "dry.” But national prohibition was approved in Grey by 3051 votes to 2711. Tlie apparent inconsistency may have been quite deliberate, hut it is surprising to all parties that the West Coast, where the no-license propaganda has never seemed to make much progress, should renounce its old views on tlie liquor question at the first poll on the dominion issne. We think that the new Parliament should avoid any possibility of confusion in 1914 by simplifying the ballot paper. It would be quite sufficient to present to the voters the direct words “National Prohibition” and “National Continuance.” The ballot papers used on Thursday gave no reasonable ground for error, it is true, but electors make strange mistakes on polling day, and it is desirable that their task should be as simple as it can bo made. We should not allow any possible cause of confusion to exist when the next' j>ol 1 is taken three years hence.” For our own part, wc do not think any altogether satisfactory explanation! in regard to the polling on Thursday last has yet been made. To say, as was opined, for example, by Sir Wm. Russell, when interviewed in Sydney the other day, that the vote does not represent tlie true feeling of the people of New Zealand, would amount to this: either that the electors did not properly understand the issue upon which they were asked to vote, or that, many of them cast their vote lightly on this very important question. It may be, of course, that, the national issue overshadowed the local issue or indeed that even opponents of the liquor traffic were not so keen on trying to secure local no-license when an opportunity was afforded for having the question settled as far as the whole Dominion was concerned. That many people will not be satisfied as to what is the true feeling of the country on the subject until after another poll is taken: seems quite clear. In connection with auy proposal to hold a ballot only on the national issue many interesting questions would, assuredly be raised.. For instance the elimination: of the issue as to local uolicense versus local continuance would perhaps be made to involve the deprivation of the rigid of electors of no-license districts to say whether licenses should or should not be restored to them. After all is said and done, it is perhaps not. open to question that a second vote, following upon a strenuous campaign on the greater issuo alone might lx l found to vary somewhat from tlie verdict which was recorded last week. I

One Issue or Two?