THE LICENSING COMPACT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 670, 22 November 1909, Page 7

THE LICENSING COMPACT.

' an' emphatic protest. , ' That tho proposed basis of the new licensing legislation I has not been received with unanimity either by tho trade or tho "nolicense" party, thero is.abundant evidence; The ,winp and spirit morchants on tho ono hand are complaining that the; wcr.o not consulted by those who took upon themselves tho responsibility of representing' " tho trade," and there are prominent people in the " no- 1 license" ranks who strongly oppose the agreement. ' , '

, At its meeting on Friday evening the Geraldine No-Licehso League passed the following resolution (to be sent to the Now Zealand Alliance Executive):— " That this league enters its emphatic protest against tho unwarrantable assumption of ■ those gentlemen who agreed to tho compact with the liquor party regarding licensing legis- - lation,'their;action being in.direct opposition to tho mandate of the people." At tho same meeting tao ,followiug resolutions were passed ;— i (1) That provision should be made for local or Dominion option being carried by bare ma- • jority. ' '- , • ' (2) That on local option being carried, the licensees to have no further renowal of their licenses, bars to closo at ,tho expiry of the curtency-of the license. . ~". ■ , ; ' (3) That/each issue of local and Dominion option should be placed upon tho ballot paper and voted or,against byi.tho elector. (1) That Dominion option shall" have 'tho 'effect as set forth in tho Bills parsed through . the_ Lower Housa ,in ,1895 .and-1898. •(5) That,the provisions regarding local option romtun aa at'present, i.e., the closing of licensed ( b3ts. _ -i '' (0), That in the event of Dominion option being .carried, it shall not take effect until tho expiry of two years from the taking of tho poll. l i « ' The EsTi G. *H. Mann is to represent tho Geraldino League at the emergency "nohcense" convention to be held in Wellington this weok. i ■\ ". , . — ~ , , ' OPINION OF 'A, CLERGYMAN. The Key. Edward Walker,! of >Haleombo, former alliance ngent and, present honorary Parliamentary agent of the grand lodge of the, Good Templars,- ■»hen asked what ho thought of the local option' compact) said: "Tho more I think of it tho more it astonishes and distresses me,,a<i I think ,it will also tho wholo temperance party. In 1895, and again in 1806, Mr. Seddon brought down Dominion (then called "national") option proposals which, excepting the three-fifths provision, wore al-' togothor superior, and passed the Lower House I on both occasions ]wit)i'.practical unanimity, but wore thrown out, by, tho Upper House. Under them, when; national was ' , carried,-it was to,take full effect the . ' succeeding year's licenses oxpired, within v about _ twenty months, and,' though ' nioro thin a dozen years of stead) No-License progress lie between then and now, we are now nsked ,to accept worst),terms. There wne no suggestion from anj sonrco of any necessity of further delay in giving effect to tho poll on account of revenu") or anything beside. Those who know Jiow to deal with tho cost of a Dreadnought "are quite competent to eo deal with the revenue as-to bring about the change without either '■ sudden or undue pressure. This is only a red herring to eerve'tho trado witlTa longer run. If at this timo of day'the lato Premier had privately conferred with a few on both'sidee, and brought down the present proposals, theso 'Bame.conce«ionists would have resisted them •with a tempest of execration. Look at the position. The steady, progress of tho NoLicense voto and tho simply marvellous enthusiasm and unanimity of the recent great public meetings in tho four centres in favoui of baro majority and Dominion option, which must navo surprised even tho promoters, have mado the Trade ittolf, as i\ ell as Govornment and Parliament, recognise that an advnnce in temperance legislation U irresistible. Apart from the conourreiico of the No-Licenso party, anything retrograde as this junctuio would bo lmDos--81 ii i ' llie '^ laio > "J' tae compact, has yielded nothing but what it saw it stood to lose, and by binding tho No-Liecnso Samson hand and foot has.saved itself from further loes it would have eustmned, and substantially prolonged its existence. If the .No-License leaders, when appealed to, had paid: 'No, tho right of the electors is that the majoiity shall decide, and (hat there shajl be no needless delay in riv. ing their decision effect, whether at tho local pr tho Dominion option polls, and wo stand by that, and then had fought tho matter out on the floor of Parliament, they could not have lost so much as they have surrendered, ond by continuance of the agitation w spleniidly begun at tho four meetings, hiight have reached finality by tho completo enactment of. tho public right. ' Anyway, it is not i> question as botween two paitiee, but a question oJ giving tho electors ns a whole, whatever their opinions, their democratic right."