GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Evening Star, Issue 3579, 12 August 1874, Page 2

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

[Br Telegraph.]

Wellington, August 11. In the House of Representatives Fourteen days’ leave of absence was granted to Mr Pyke. Mr Tribe presented a petition to exempt Ross firemen from serving on juries. Mr Fox presented a petition from Auckland, Christchurch, and Kaiapoi, in favor of maintaining the present Licensing Act. Mr Von der Heyde took the oaths and his seat.

In reply to Mr M'Glaahan, the Minister of Works said the Government had no intention to construct a line of railway or make a survey through the central part of Otago to Lake Wakatipu, as they considered the work purely a Provincial matter.

Mr Fox, having moved that several petitions in favor of the existing liquor law be read, proceeded to refer to the injurious effects of the liquqr tpadp. After three years’ fair, open fighting, the Act of last session was passed, and he maintained that Government had no right to come down now with a Bill repealing the whole principle of the Act of last session, which had been petitionedforby three times more people than ever petitioned the Bouse before. Still, if the Goverame.it would now withdraw the clause upsetting the principle of last year’s Bill, he would give it : his support. He Pould not help being struck by the absence' of any broad, stktescrianlike view in the speech of the hon. ‘ gentleman in moving 1 the second reading qf this ‘ 'Bill-something So unlike him in' dealpg'wjfih grhat 'questions brought before tne liorise.' ’ In fact, tfie whole meanipg of big Bill seemed to 'be, “Let tfioge qriqkph w neyerdranjk before, and those who drank still 4 r ink tlje more.” The Premier in the ( Handbook Qt New Zealand ’ says that colonising means building up homes, but this Bill meant destruction of homes. With one hand he built up; with the other he tumbled down. He appeared to wish to cover the country with trees, but amongst them was planting great upas trees of publj i-Kopses, * which qllowed no other tree t,p grow withjn their qhade, except porhfcß? the gallons tree. What be contended for wa/ir th a £ the p.epple should have the sole control of the lioqqr traffic. There was no desire on the part of the people to interfere with any of the goqd ami beneficial trades of society, ag the Premier seemed to dread when be said all such special interference should be delegated to the representatives of the people ; but the Government had taken this legislation under its own special care. Surely it was not asking too much to give the people a voice in a traffic affecting them so much, when they entrusted local Boad f Bb irda with quite as large powers. It b:jd beep boasted that the Wei ington pgtitjpn hs4 heeh gigh®4 hy aifult jnaleh only. Why, the fluggtipn a Women s question, and, had wom§n oegp'asked tp sfgii it, the petition would have been thrown in their faces. To bis mind, the way the petition was circulated and signed was base, unmanly, and degrading to gtbe civilisation of the nineteenth century, and he ventured to pay %ftt the bulk of the signatures were obtained ih the public bars. Be was reminded of the puhffcan who boasted that if he had twenty fflfin in hi§ bar he could secure twenty votes for twenty pints of fourpenny ale, as he had done it before. He noticed that amongst those signing the petition there were men who bad occupied and'should-now occupy the highest positions in Jsocjety, but fpoto' whom men pow turned away in ab°F ren Pe. H ( e frusfed, after wjiat the House bad already dope ? it lyoiild sup r port him in keeping intact the gpegt principle of the right of prohibition plactad in (heir hands last year.—The Premier said the boa. member’s enthusiasm seemed to prevent him fyom considering this special question in the same a® would any .other question. The very course take** forced people of moderate views into opposition.’ 'Tbe‘‘pceanpg of the permisive principle }yas that ip pertain cases property could be practically gonfispated, a principle which would shock its supporters if applied in any other direction. It appeared to him that when so much was abandoned in the Bill of last year it might have been abandoned altogether; an.4 when he supported the permissive danse it was because ffp considered it was practically useless and unworkr abb-, as circumstances had shown it to be, for it satisfied neither one nor the other. The real meaning of the hon. member’s Bill was to legalise the invasion of private houses. Such information and experience as he had upon the question showed him that all attempts’ 'tp. effect the ■ legal repression of drunkenness had been wnifbrjpiy q. failure.The Government was not prepared ‘to attafck the Licensing Bench in the same way ag the enthusiastic promoters of t§mpcra n PO- He could assure the House that the Government had bestowed an unusual amount of attention in the preparation of this Bill, which was really meant as a remedy on the imperfections of last year's legislation. He trusted members would look at it from a business point of view. The House went into committee on the Bill. Mr o‘Conor objected to clause 4, regulating the constitution of Licensing Courts, and asked that it be postponed. The .Government should ahondon the control of the Licensing Board, And either leayp it in tfie bands of the Resident Magistrates, br alfow the pen pip to appoint a board for granting licenses. —Mr Mervyn seconded. The Government could not have the necessary local knowledge to appoint a board.—The Premier preferred taking the sense of the House. The principle was inconvenient, and if they appointed magistrates for one particular purpose, they should do so in other eases.—Mr Fox conthaf the exceptional nature of the liquor traffic, whiptf had to 1)0 hedged found with all sorts of safeguards, justified suoh an arrangement V\ here was th§ difference in electing Boards for Education, Municipalities, and Road Boards, and eleotiqg them to control the liquor traffic, and in all respects giving them the power to manage their local affairs ?—Mr Cuthbertaon supported, and Mr Mervyn opposed.—A division was called for, with the following result : For postponing the clause, 20 ; against, 42 —Mr Rolleston would like to see appointments to the Licensing Bench left in the bonds of the Government. They ought to abolish the system of appointing Justices of the, Peace, and resort to the paid Magistracy. The hon. member for Kangitikei; was now complaining of results for which he himself was te blame—namely, the inefficiency of the Justices of the reace, having used Lis privilege in their creation' too indiscriminately.—Mr White considered that the Government were paying the pep-1 alty now of not having prevented the passing of-' the mischievous Bill of last yew*,

Clause agreed to.—On clause 9, allowing more than one bar In one house, Mr Fox said that, in con&equeuce of representations from Auckland, they abolished two bars in one house j and only one letter had been received, aud that was from Canterbury, in favor of allowing more than one bar.—Mr Swanson objected to holding out facilities enabling persona practically to have two public-houses for one license. Generally he would prefer that the Provinces would be It'ft to deal with the matter altogether. The Government could not possibly legislate satisfactorily for a variety of interests spread all over the Coleny.—Clause 10: Mr J. L. Gillies proposed to amend the clause so as to make it optional with the Provincial Treasurer to issue licenses, and also compelling those applying for wholesale license to go through the same formalities as those applying for retail licenses.—Mr W. Kelly opposed the amendment, as a hardship to wholesale dealers. —Mr Fox said that wholesale dealers were really sly-grog sellers in disguise, and did a great deal of harm in country districts.—After discussion a division was called for upon amendments regarding wholesale licenses, but negatived on the voices.—Clause 12, repealing clauses 13 14, and 15 of the Act of 1873 ; Mr J. L, Gillies proposed that this portion be struck out The Premier said that the Government had carefully considered the clause, and would stand by the clause as it was.—Mr Fox proposed that progress be reported. The practical effect of passing the clause in it? original form would be the destruction of all exercise of prohibitory legislation ; and he objected that this measure was being pressed through in an empty house. - Clause 13, providing for quarterly meetings : Mr Fox opposed the clause as one which rendered it impossible for the public to protect themselves against those who established disreputable houses. People could not be attending Court to oppose the granting of licenses every quarter-day, because if the applicants were persistent enough they were certain to be successful. He moved an amendment compelling any unsuccessful ap plicant for a license to wait until the next annual meeting,—Mr Vogel opposed the amendment, on the ground of its injustice to applicants.—Mr Harrison pointed out that it was not always the publican who owned the house j and, when a license was put back for twelve months, the landlord of I the house was unjustly treated —Mr Sheehan I said if they established good machinery, such as a good Licensing Court, and ififoey left the rest to the Provinces, they would be doing hotter than foakihjj cast-iron regala tions for the (jb|ony.—The amendment was withdrawn, and fob clau'se fihs6d!“ Clause 1§ wap amended so ‘as'to'make the applicant apply forepty-qpe days before the quarterly licensing meeting, and the Clerk 1 of the Court to post the same outside or the Court eighteen days befoe the quarter-day. Clause 17, providing for the issue of bottle licenses, was amended by the Premier so as to apply only to such Provinces as shall have provided, or shall hereafter provide for the issue of 6ueh Ileuses.—Mr Creighton hoped that bottle licenses would* be abolished altogether, {.‘‘Hear, hear,” from ‘Sir E. J. Brown. J— Mr supported the clause as one whiph wag very pbieptiopable tp publicans, and a convenience tp reppegtable tradesmen, who did Pfit cpre tp patrpnise publip-hopig s.r— The Premier spjd that, before bottle licenses gould be abolished, it would be necessary to dnd out what compensation holders of them were entitled to. —Clause 10—amen iment enabling brewers to carry on business without taking out wholesale licenses; clause 14, providing how fees shall be payable—postponed. . The Hp use adjourned at 1.5)0 a.m. Ju’ foe course ,of the evening the Premier said he expected’ fob"session would be ever in a fortnight* " In the Copngjl, The Lyttelton Gas Bill was read ft sepond time. —The adjourned debate on the treatment of lunatics was resumed. Colonel Brett passed a warm eulogium on the superintendent of the Canterbury asylum, and hoped that the effect of the motion would not he tp supersede that ofljeer. —Capta’n Frager said that the superintendents at Can terbury, Nelson, and Auckland were willing to_ introdupe foe modern system.—An alteration by the House of Representatives of an amendment of Council in the Conveyancing Ordinance Amendment, giving it future instead of retrospective operation, j w at'agreed tc. The following Bills were a second timelmprisonment fpr Debt Abolition Bill, Npw Sseftland University BJU, Hokitika Mayor Bill, 7 The following Bills were read a third time and passed :—Presbyterian Church of Otago Lands Bill, Merchant Shipping Act Adoption Bill, Municipal Corporations Act 1 Amendment Bil|.