TOBACCONISTS' LICENSES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 962, 1 November 1910, Page 4

TOBACCONISTS' LICENSES.

DEPUTATION TO THE WRONG MINISTER. The Executive of the Tobacconists' Association waited upon the Hon. J. A. Miliar yesterday morning in releronce to tne matter of licensing tobacconist".!. Mr. J. B. Speed pointed out tnat the association hau come to the conclusion mat tne oniy way to help tnem was by issuing licenses. They controlled ?a per cent, of tne tobacconists in New inland, or about lamf individuals, and their opinion was tnat a license tee of iS woiud rid them of a trouble they suriered from tnrougn the poacning of grocers, restaurant 'keepers, and otners on tneir particular preserve, A license tee would yield some iliiM) per year at the smallest estimate, and would make up in a great measure tor the withdrawal of the Customs surtax. The deputation considered tnat all holders of licenses should ciose on the Sabbatn, and tliey would suggest another condition tliat no license should be issued to any person unless he was duly accredited by the Customs authorities. They also suggested a heavy penalty in the event of a breach of the license. They had spoken of as heavy a penalty as £20, and an endorsement of tie license. Peoplo who were carefully observing the proper hours were suffering ■with the black sheep who broke the r\ue in regard to Sunday trading. If licenses wore agreed to, and when all the rules and by-iaws had been drawn up, tho Customs and Labour Department inspectors would be saved a great deal of trouble. At this stage, Mr. Millar pointed out to the deputation that it had waited upon the wrong Minister. This, said Mr. Millar, referring to the points made by Mr. Speed, is all Customs work. It had nothing; to do with' him, but with the Minister of Customs. Mr. Speed "You axe the Acting-Minister for Customs, are you not?" The Hon. Mr. Millar: "No; the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie is acting in place of the Hon. Mr. Fowlds." In a general disoussion which followed, Mr. Speed said the tobacconists had come back to their original proposition in regard to licenses, having taken the advice Mr. Millar had tendered when a deputation from the conference waited upon him some time back. The Minister expressed the opinion that there was only one way to deal with the ' question of illicit trading, and that was to fix a compulsory closing hour with no exemptions. ■ Mr. Speed said the question would come back to the public-houses. The Minister: "No, the public-house would be prevented from selling anything but cigars." It was, said the Minister., almost impossible to make the present law effective with so many exemptions. The inspectors might make" a raid every now and again and catch a man, but ft was not possible to have an inspector on every doorstep. The only way out of the difficulty was to hove a fixed closing hour for everybody. It would only be a matter of a week or two before tho peoplo would be educated up to the compulsory closing hour. The deputation retired, with the intention of waiting on the right Minister later on.