The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, DEO. 8, 1905. THE LICENSING CONTEST.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1621, 8 December 1905, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, DEO. 8, 1905. THE LICENSING CONTEST.

From one end of Ihe colony to the other on Wednesday the keenest inter.si wu s taken ia the licensing contest. In view of tho high expectations formed by the No-lioorss party it was generally expected that in (he southern portion of the colony the no lioenso area would be largely incroaßed, whilo in tho North Island the returns would show a in irked inoreaso in tho no-liccnse vote. It was, indeed, freely claimed by lecturers that quite a number of elccto'afces would be CBpttured. I is rather premature yet to spoak with any certainty until the official counts have been made throughout tho eoloDy, but a goueral impression can now bo gained as to the rrsults. Apparenily Waiapu temains continuance with a fair working majority on tho three-fifths basis. Tho majority may seem - sma'l in itself, but on top of a very heavy poll, with tb6 natural average that every ten on the ' no-lieeDso sido would givo ti tho oilier side, the number to bo picked up would really bo a very heavy one to oomplcte a three-fifths majority for no-license. Oama u seems to be the ODly place of importance that has joined the no-licenso ranks. Invercargill, which both sides expected to make tho experiment, still remains undecided, Then we oomo to Grey Lynn, which cannet be taken into eeiione consideration. It contains only one hotel, which is situs ated at the lop of SymoDds street, Auckland, and which is not really required in the intsrost3 of tho travelling public, for the rrason that there aro three ho'els within a bundled yards of it, but in an ithor electorate. As against these it is

tj be noted that three electorates which carried no-licenso at la t election havo gone bach on it, Chalmers, Newtown, and Biuco, whilst at Ashburton thero was a largo majority in favor of reverting to license. Napier and Hawke’s Bay, whioh were confidently claimed as certain recruits for the no-licensing showed if anything a remarkable swiDg back, and the same may be said in regard to a nutn ber of other o'oetorates in tho colony.