PICKINGS FROM HANSARD.

Evening Star, Issue 2969, 24 August 1872, Page 2

PICKINGS FROM HANSARD.

THE PEKMIiSSIVE BILL. One of the native members, Katene, during the debate on the Permissive clause of the Licensing Act, is reported thus :—Mr Katene desired to say a few words upon the Bill, because the law affecting spirits applied as well to the M aoris as to the Europeans. Formerly the law prevented the sale of spirits to the Maor.s. The law was, that not one glass of spirits should be sold to the Maoris. Subtquently a law was passed allowing licenses to be granted to Maoris subject to the app oval of the Magistrates and Assessors in the Native districts. Now another new law was being brought forward. The old laws were all being done away with by the new laws which were now being introduced. A license had been granted within his district, without the Maoris being aware that the Magistral s had granted it. He therefore took leave to say that that person’s license had trodden down the law. He felt that he ought to speak upon this subject, and his opinion wrs that th-.-y should put all the laws regarding spirits into a pot and boil them. He thought that although they might impose harsh laws with regard to drinking still drinking would go on. The only proper course to pursue was to prevent the introduction of spirituous liquors into Now Zealand ; and if they could not do that, let them be open to all, both Europeans and Maoris. Mr Vogel, speaking on the subject of the Permissive t. lause, made an excellent suggestion. The hon. member opposed the measure, but thought that amongst other remedial steps it should be made necessary that the bars of all public bouses should have open glass windows, like ordinary shops, so that it would bo clearly seen who was drinking within them, and what scenes were taking place there. If this were done, he believed the present drinking habits would, to a very great extent, be done away with. Many persons who frequented public houses did so under the knowledge that they would be shut out from the sight of the passers by; but very shame would prevent them from taking part in the scenes which sometimes took place in public bouses, if the windows were open like those of ordinary shops. During the debate on the Permissive Clause in the Licensing Bill, Mr Johnston is reported to have said, “They had seen, of late, various enactments giving married women separate rights of property, separating the legal existence of the wife from that of the husband, making marriage a copartnership instead of a union,—all tending, in his opinion, to make man iage a terminable contract, and to the degradation of the woman ; but this was the first time he had ever seen it deliberately pro. o e 1 to give woman legal powers to enable her to exercise a controlling authority over man, To his mind, armed with those powers, a wife would be too formidably a consort to be irrevocably bound to, and he was of opinion a man wocld certainly hesitate before he united himself for his whole existence to a permanent police agent. It was his deliberate conviction that the ultimrte effect of such a power would be to make men Jess eager to marry, and more prone to content themselves with other temporary arrangements. ”