HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 81, 2 October 1896, Page 2

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

THE LICENSING BILL CARRIED. Wellington, October 1. The Hon. R. J. Seddon said he pro- i posed to bring the Public Warka State- j ment down to-morrow night, to take the j debifce on it on Monday night, and the Estimates on Tuesday night. The Alcoholic Liquors Sub-control Act Amendment Bill was further considered in Committee. Mr Seddon asked that Clause 7 should now be allowed to go through, as it had already bean discussed for seven hours. j Mr Seddon again appealed to the Committee to go on with the Bill, so as to proceed with other business. He protested against a small miuority of the Honse preventing the passing of the Bill. Sir R. Stout suggested that the proceedings of the Committee should be reported in Hansard, so that the country should know who the members were who opposed this Bill. Mr Seddou said this would be a dan gerous precedent to establish, and he declined to interfere with the present reporting system. Mr Collins suggested that the House should adjourn for an hour in order to arrive at some compromise oil the Bill. The Hon. R. J. Seddon said if by an adjournment a compromise could be effected it might be advisable to do so. After a lengthy discussion the chair man, at 9.80, said that as the feeling of the House was evidently in favor of an adjournment lie would leave the chair and resume at 11 o'clock. On the Committee resuming at 11 p.m., the Hon. R, J. Seddon said he had great pleasure in intimating to the House that as the result of the conferonce on the Bill the seige was to be raised, a fair and reasonable compromise having been arrived at between the two contending parties. Mr McLachlan said his party were not bound to swallow the Bill as it stood. They could propose reasonable amende ments, but they had agreed to accept Mr Seddon's amendments in q/.obo. Mr Earnshaw said the temperance members had conceded every possible point claimed by the other side, but got nothing in return. Mr Seddon : Yeu got the Bill 1 Mr Earnshaw said yes 1 but with the proviso that national Prohibition and club clauses must stand or fall together ! Unloss they stood together there would be no Bill this session. Sir Robert Stout said there was no | doubt that there were considerable concessions given to the licensed victuallers. Clause 7 (which had been under discussion for about twelve hours) was then put and agreed to on the voices without amendment and without further remark. Clause 8, making it unlawful (iu case of Prohibition being carried) for any ship to bring liquor into port unless sealed up, was amended on the motion of Mr T. McKenzie, so as to provide that the captain of any such vessel might provide spirits for medicinal purposes in case ot accident or injury, the quantity available for such purposes, however, not to exceed one gallion. Subsection 3 of clause 9 was amended to pi'ovide that no person in a prohibited district shall make any " intoxicating liquor but not including liquor for family use," except by permit of the Commis sionor of Customs. The penalty for a breach of the subsection was reduced from £50 to £25. Clause 13. making club charters subject to the result of the Licensing Bill, provoked a lengthy discussion. The clause was eventually agreed to on the voices. Clause 16 was amended to provide that 1 no bottle licence or New Zealand wine i licence shall be granted or renewed after the commencement of this Act. On the motion of the Premier several new clauses were added to the Bill. After a lengthy debate the Bill passed through committee at 4.30 a.m. The third reading was then taken, and despite the protests of the Opposition the Bill was put through its final stages at 7 a.m. and passed on to the Legislative Council.