16 JUNE 1923, Page 2

The White Star liner ' Majestic,' which sailed on Wednesday,

will be the first liner to reach New York under the new Prohibition regulations. The company, having decided to abide loyally by the new American regulation, under which no alcohol may be carried inside the three-mile limit, nevertheless wanted to enable the passengers to drink what they wanted until that limit was reached. Then the fun began. Forms were issued inviting passengers to estimate the amount of drink they would require. A passenger had, so to speak, to balance his thirst against his prudence. He must undertake to dispose of whatever he agreed to buy before the three-mile limit was reached ; and thus he had to take into consideration the unpleasant obliga- tion of having to throw overboard what he had paid for but could not drink, or of drinking what he did not want. Perhaps a refreshing thought then came to him that he might sell what he did not want to fellow pas- sengers who had underestimated their thirst. But no sooner had he thought of that than he must have remem- bered that there would probably be other speculators in this line. The list of drink carried by the Majestic,' which was published before she started, looked large—but that is perhaps only an impolite way of saying that there were a great many passengers. The general judgment, indeed, seems to have been that the ' Majestic ' was neither wet nor dry, but moist. Meanwhile, there is a hint that the American Government may allow liquor to pass in under seal after all.