The Evening Star TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1874

Evening Star, Issue 3578, 11 August 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1874

Of the many questions affecting the social life of the people, now claiming the serious attention of political economists and social reformers, none are more perplexing or difficult of solution than those relating to the sale and use of intoxicating liquors in their relation to drunkenness, poverty, disease, and crime. Everywhere they are persistently pressing for immediate consideration. Evidence of this is before the world in the fact that the newly-elected British Parliament has already been called on to deal with no less than seven Liquor Bills; in the extraordinary movement now going on in America, known as the women’s whisky war ; and in this Colony hardly a session of any Legislative Assembly can be held without its being called upon in some way or other to deal with a phase of the liquor question. It is not merely the legislator who is moving in this matter : the great body of the people are forcing it into prominence, and are earnestly engaged in attempts to solve the knotty problem after one fashion or another. It is very obvious we have by no means reached finality in liquor legislation. Noone issatisfied with things as they are.: producer and.consumer, publican and teetotaler, .free-trader and protectionist, are all alike dissatisfied, and are desiring change. The current of popular opinion, as well as of intelligent political thought, is in the direction of farther curtail meet of the liquor traffic, as a means towards reducing drunkenness, if not of totally; suppressing it. In many of the States of America the trade has been largely e'estiqcted, if not entirely forbidden, by direct action of the legislature : m

England and the British Colonies generally the Permissive Bill party ask that the whole question of traffic shall be remitted to the 'vote of the people ; while John Bright would place the licensing power in the hands of municipalities, the members of which are elected by the people, and thus bring the granting of licenses under the indirect the popular vote. In England a popular opinion antagonistic to the liquor traffic is evidently growing, notwithstanding the determined action of a numerous, powerful, wealthy, and interested party. The temperance section in the House of Commons has not only held its own, but has added to its strength and influence at the late election; while! the Conservative Government, which confessedly owes its present supremacy to the support received from “ the trade,” has oulv ventured to propose a very slight relaxation of the provisions of Mr Bruce’s Bill of 1872 : and even that concession has been strongly opposed by large masses of the people. Our New Zealand legislators. Colonial and Provincial, have not been behind their fellows elsewhere, in their efforts to deal with this most difficult subject, and the result is that the liquor traffic in this Province is carried on subject to the provisions of so many Acts and Ordinances that it is exceedingly difficult for anyone to say what the law on the subject really is. Last session of the Assembly, the pertinacity of the Hon. Mr Fox, backed by petitions more numerously signed than have been presented on any other question, succeeded in carrying a Bill through the House which embodied what is known as the popular veto : that is, it provided that no license should be granted to any district in which two-thirds of the adult male and female residents objected to it, according to a prescribed form. The Act in which this veto clause was embodied, had, no doubt, many weak points. It had the usual faults of Acts dealing with very difficult practical subjects. Introduced into the House by a private member, it became law after a fierce battle in the House, and after passing through a fiery ordeal in Committee. The main features of the Act were, however, obvious enough ; and the principle of direct control by the people over the number of liquor licenses is one which has many able and intelligent advocates, and can hardly be said to have had a fair trial. ’J he Premier has thought this inadvisable, and has introduced a Bill this session which entirely subverts the purpose of the legislation of the last, and which, if it becomes law, will give the liquor a firmer stand than ever in this Colony, 3sp Box has given notice of many important amendments on Mr Vogel’s Bill, and Mr Vogel himself has also signified his intention to submit amendments on several of its clauses. Whatever may be ,the provisions of the Act which may be passed this .-session, the question will not be settled, and mfist, ere long, be again before the Assembly, Meanwhile, we think it extremely desirable that a Licensing Ordinance Consolidation Ordinance should be prepared for submission to the next session of our Provincial Council, so that whatever the laws affecting the liquor traffic are, people may be able to have them clearly before them in such a form that any ordinary mind may be able to understand their provisions. The vested interests and social results affected by the liquor laws are too large and too serious for those laws to be longer left in their present confused and well nigh incomprehensible condition. We have Acts and Amendment Acts, Ordinances and Amendment Ordinances, through the whole of which it is now necessary for one to wade before acquiring a clear idea of the laws regulating “ the trade ” in Otago; and he must be an able man who, without legal trailing, can manage to go through them without becoming utterly bewildered in his endeavor to understand a system built up of scraps of legislation involving so many different, and often times contradictory ideas.

Ondit that Mr H. S, Msh, M.P.C., intends shoitly addressing bis constituents’. By the up-country papers we find that, the snow still lying several feet deep, it has been impossible to find any sign of the pjan Morrison, who has been missing from the Whitcombe since the 18th ult. The following telegram has been received by Mr Grant respecting the working of the Shotover Company s claim, under date 10 th August, 1874—“ 630z. 2dwt. 3gr. to hand this morning. Mine looking well.” This, we understand, is the resale of the work of nine men who have been for a few days prospecting for the lead. A deputation from the City Council interviewed bis Honor the Deputy-Superinten-dent, and Mr Mackellar, Acting Provincial Secretary, this morning, with a view ®f seeing how they could assist the Government m finding work for the present unemployed immigrants. On the suggestion of Mr Prosser, it was decided that a list should be forwarded to the Corporation of the most suitable men, and these, it was understood, would be employed by them. A retort appears elsewhere. r The Harbor Board met this afternoon in the Provincial Council Library; present— His Worship the Mayor (in the chair) Messrs M'Dermid, M‘i\eil, {Neill, Thomson’ ‘ ewsley, and Stout (solicitor to the Board). .The only business transacted was appointing a committee to examine the applications received for the office of secretary, of which there are twenty-two. The Board adjourned to the first Tuesday in September. Tr ere was a c^aD ß e °f programme by the 1 Californian Minstrels at the Queen’s Theatre ‘ last evening. In the first pare of the entertaiument Messrs Aniery and Rockfeller’s ■ songs were especially worthy of mention. Several new jokes were given, Mr Sutton, as corner proving bfms'elf quite a host, while his unique style of pleading in a laV

court fairly convulsed the audience. Mr Herman’s violin solo was deservedly encored; and the double dances eatne in for a good round of applause A large number of farces were played, “ Othello and Macbeth” giving Mr Kelly an excellent opportunity of displaying his serio comic acting to the best possible advantage. Several of the members of the company were suffering from very bad colds. There was an excellent downstairs attendance.

The comet is now more than 3deg. south of Gamma A rgils, and is in the southern circumpolar region of the sky. It consequently never sets in our latitude, and is visible all night from places that command the southern horizon. It is growing faint and inconspicuous, though its tail can still be made out; its brightness equals that of a star of the fifth magnitude. The ‘ Tuapeka Times ’ reports that pheasants are getting numerous on the Teviot station, and are so tame that they allow horsemen to go within a few yards of them. Some indivtdual is making very free use of a gun every Sunday in the neighborhood of Lawrence, and one of the coveys of partridges has been reduced in number from eleven to seven. —The Knobby Ranges in the vicinity of Alexandra are swarming with rabbits and tame pigeons, who have taken up their residence among the rocks with which the ranges are covered. Some excellent sport has been enjoyed by people in the vicinity during the late frosty weather, 140 rabbits being bagged by a party of six men there in one day We should imagine the runholders will soon have to subsidise parties to destroy the rabbits, as the Knobby Ranges, from their dry, sandy nature, are so well adapted for the breeding and shelter of these four-footed pests, that their extermination is almost a matter of impossibility.

“Paul the Pilot” was played at the Princess’s last evening to a numerous audience, followed by the burlesque of “ Romulus and Remus.” The drama again met with approval, the scenes painted by Mr Williams contributing in a large degree to its success. The entertainment was rather prolonged, owing 1 o the unreasonable demand for encores from the occupants of the pit; and however flattering this might have been to the performers, it was imposing too much upon tneir good nature, although the loudlyexpressed requests were invariably accrd* d to. Miss Etty Marlineau received a double encore for a song and dance; Miss Vivian wag also twic.e encored, and with Mr Hooper had to repeat an Irish jig. Mrs Hill made a gractful Apollo; Miss Willis dressed and played well as Baccharia; but Mr Keogh’s Remus was too exuberant. “ The threat World of London” will be produced tonight. M, Eugene Bcda, a one-legged gymnast and dancer, is announced to appear this evening. An exciting occurrence at Tokomairiro is thus described in to-day’s ‘ Bruce Herald “ Yesterday forenoon there was a pleasant break to the prevailing monotony by a sound of rushing wheels, clattering hoofs, and cries of. ‘a runaway horse.’ The compositors left their frames, and came out with fragments of precious literary matter in their sticks. The editor left off writing leading articles with a scissors and a bottle of gum mucilage. The thirsty soul at the hotel bar paused in the act of saying ‘ here’s luck,' put dowp his glass, and ran to the door ; a select knot of politicians, who were arguing ,the State Forests and Water Supply questions in the middle of the road, adjourned hastily without declaring that Mr Vogel was betraying his country and Mr Goodall his town ; a servant-maid turned a perambulator, with two rising colonials, into a gorse hedge, and said ‘lor’ • a gentleman carrying a hod of bricks de-’ posilgd them temporarily on the foot of a personal jmdgazad after the runaway ; and finally th,e hsrse, sftgr a career down the Main -South Road, turped jnfo the yard of bis owners, jMegsrs Scatter, Hjslop, and pray, and took the cart along with him.” A meeting of the members of the Otago Institute was held last night; Mr M'Kerrow in the chair. The following gentlemen were dec'ared elected members Dr Cole, Messrs Conyers, H. F. Hardy, and G. Miller. The Rev. Mr Wohler then read the second instalment of his paper on “Maori Mythology,” whiefr was listened to with fully as great interest as syas shown in the first part. Dr Bakewell follow*e<T witty a paper on “Some Common Causes of in Otago, which subject be divided ipto thjree branches : the breathing of impure air; mental depression ; ami over education. The lecturer expressed hia surprise at seeing so many cases of consumption as he had met with in Otago—a place so thinly populated, and where people live so well, l.eslroi.gly insisted on the necessity of fresh air at night, by the thorough ventilation of bedrooms ; and ajtribpjed the prevalence of disease here (especially atfiong yppmeu) to depression of spirits, owing to the dwimjss a,ud monotony of the life they lead, as well a# to tjbe foul air in bedrooms. At the ponejusion of the paper a general discussion took plac?, of the members’ views appeared to coincide with those of Dr Bakewell.

A special meeting of the Hand and Heart Lodge, M.U.1.0.0.F., will be held at the Oddfellows’ Hall to-morrow evening, at 7.30.