Every South African Colony does, to a greater or less degree, restrict the native in his use of liquor, indicating a widespread opinion that the native races cannot safely be left to their own guidance in this respect. The principal reason put forward is this : the average white man has sufficient self-control to abstain from such abuse of stimulants as renders him a danger or a nuisance to himself or others; it is only a minority who are slaves to their passions in this respect. But with the native the reverse is the case. The native who, having unrestricted access to drink, will take only a moderate amount is an exceptional specimen of his race. We find this view all but universal among witnesses of experience, although some attribute it to his inability to control himself, while others say that he is capable of doing so but, owing to his lack of foresight and the absence of any such external repressive force as public opinion, is unwilling to do so. Probably both factors are present. 15. The experiment of allowing the native free access to intoxicating liquor has been tried in the Cape Colony. The evidence given before us and before previous commissions goes to show that the resulting drunkenness was outrageous, and that crime, especially stock theft, was common among the natives. The experiment was obviously a failure, since it was given up, and, in 1898, what is known as the Innes Act empowered licensing courts to restrict the sales of liquor to natives in various ways. The tendency to use these powers has been steadily growing; in other words, the general opinion of the Cape Colony, after trying both free sale and restriction, is increasingly in favour of the latter. Report of the Liqour Commission of the Transvaal 1908
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 19:28:02 +0000
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