THE LIQUOR BILL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 963, 2 November 1910, Page 7

THE LIQUOR BILL.

VIEW OF.. THE REV, E.. WALKER^ STRONG CONDEMNATION. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.! Christchurch, November It ! "Writing to the "Lyttelton Times," the j Itev. Edward "Walker strongly condemns i the Licensing Bill. • "I must say/' ho writes, "that further I consideration since first reading the Bill j has neither reversed nor modified "my. views of it in any particular. It is \m- 1 democratic in the failuro to recognise the I rights of the majority, had handicaps re-! form instead* of the evil the public us 1 seeking to'destroy. In the form of th'e ; voting paper it embodies obstruction in- , Btead oi aid to a fair expression of the popular will, and it recognises an utterly 1 unwarranted and exploded claim in the i form of time compensation to still further j .obstruct tho realisation of the will of : tlie people."

Having elaborated these objections at some length, Mr. Walker goes on to say: ''Nothing better can be expected from the present Parliament, which was not returned to give the people any improved measure of licensing reform. The Government oould possibly do little better with the preset nouse. The true wisdom is, in ui£ judgment, to reject the Bill and anything this Parliament can be expected to offeT, and accept the proffered h&lp of the Labour organisations to return a Parliament at the next general eLection pledged to embody in legislation full popular rights in relation to the liquor traffic by which the temperance reform goal will bo the sooner reached and the reform be legitimately assisted instead of hindered throughout the Empire."

. MEETING OP THE NO-LICENSE ' LEAGUE. A large and enthusiastic meeting of the Wellington City and Suburbs NoLicense League was held at the Alliance rooms last evening, Colonel Knight presiding. The proposed Licensing Bill was under Teview, and it was made clear by the speakers that while the draft BiU gave a slight, advance on present legislation it fell a good deal short'of the expectation. of 'the ' meeting. It was / unmistakably clear in the opinion of those present that amendments were required to deal with the bare majority question, provisions to be made for separate ballot gipers at polls for ' local No-License and ominion prohibition; also the reduction of time compensation to licensees in tho event ol Dominion prohibition being carried. Eventually, on the motion of Mr. A. E. Atkinson, the following resolution was carried:—

"That this league heaTtfly supports the declaration of the New Zealand Alliance Executive regarding the Licensing Bill now before the House of Representatives, and particularly urges the separation of the issues of Local No-Lioense end National Prohibition as essential to-a fair and intelligent vote upon.either issues, and that any postponement of the coming into force of National Prohibition should be limited to the term of a single Parliament."

The following motion was also carried :—

"That this meeting would strongly urge that the new Licensing Bill should provide for more effective punishment in cases of sly' grog-selling occurring in NoLicense districts, ■ thus giving effect to the promise the Eight Hon. Sir Joseph Ward made in Christchurch: "That when a district had voiced No-Lioense sly grogselling was not to be tolerated."'