THE COSMOPOLITAN CLUB.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2211, 15 October 1907, Page 2

THE COSMOPOLITAN CLUB.

GRANTING OF A CHARTER

STATEMENT ON THE GENERAL QUESTION.

SERIOUS ALLEGATION AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.

(Spocial to Times). WELLINGTON, Oct. 14.

The granting of club charters was the subiect on which a deputation from the New Zealand Alliance waited unon the Colonial Secretary (the Hon." Dr. Findlay) to-day. The Rev. J. Dawson, in stating the object of the deputation, said that it was understood that an application was being made by the Cosmopolitan Club at Gisborne. Since the last local option poll was taken, ho said, club charters had been granted at Fed ding, Hastings, and Masterton, although the people at the local option poll had voted strongly in favor of lio-license, while at Gisborne also the same same state of things prevailed. A member of the Wellington Working Men’s Club informed Ihim that since the lockers were introduced there their .Sunday drinking cost them 2s Gd, instead of, say, Is previously. From what the Alliance had learned of these clubs, it appeared that .the wliolo tendency was in tho direction of drinking, and they thought there were already sufficient facilities for all those who wanted drink. ALLEGED FAVORITISM. The Rev. F. W. Isitt said that when ho was in Gisborne lie found a feeling that tho Government was showing favoritism to the liquor-sell-ers. The police inspector had laid informations against certain publicans for selling . whisky in 'bottles which were wrongly branded, and ,nt the same time informations were laid against certain tradespeople for not having had their weights and measures stamped. A telegram came instructing the police to withdraw the information against- the publicans but not against tlio tradespeople, and that action was greatly resented. Dr. Findlay: What date was that? (Mr. Dam son : I think it was about August last year. Dr. Findlay: I am sure it is news to the C iliinet.

,Mr. Isitt said there was a strong feeling at Gisborne that the publichouses of the district were practically a committee for the Government .candidate. THE MINISTER’S REPLT. Dr. Findlay, in replying, asked the deputation to hear in mind that the present Administration should be made responsible for its own conduct, and its own conduct only, and that it did not commence a very long time ago. With regard to the clubs referred to by Mr. Dawson, the Government was met with this difficulty in regard to the Masterton Club: There was a definite promise made to the members that if they built their club-liouse a charter would be granted. That promise had been made by a responsible Minister. The same applied to Feikling and Hastings, and it.also applied to the Cosmopolitan Club at Gisborne, whose application for a charter came in eighteen months ago. The Gisborne people were led to believe that if they erected a building costing £3OOO a charter would follow in good time. The Government was confronted with the question -whether as a .matter of common justice that promise should not be made good. The matter came before the Cabinet on several occasions, and it perplexed them very seriously. If it had come before them as a matter of first impression there would have been no question that the charter would have been refused, and df similar circumstances arose in future ■these charters would be refused, every one of them. (Hear, hear.) The Cabinet had passed a resolution that no charter should be granted in future, .and by virtue of that resolution he (two days ago promptly refused an application for a charter for a special artistic club in Wellington. • Applications from other parts of the Dominion had also been declined. The Cabinet’s perplexity, however, in regard to the special cases referred to lay in the fact .that promises had been made, and while he did not wish to escape responsibility or cast any reflection upon the Minister or Ministry which took diferent- views, it was due to the present Government to impress upon the deputation .the fact that their hands were tied; but for the future these charters would not be granted in any ease at all. When the public vote was expressed as it was at Gisbornethe rule that no further charter would be granted would be adhered to so long as the present Government remained in office. As to .the remarks of Mr. Isitt, the question of withdrawing informations in certain cases was entirely new to him, and he .was certain to,the Cabinet. It could not apply to .the present Min-istry,-but it would be investigated, ■and if it was found to be true they would have something to say to the officers responsible for this." As to club charters generally, he thought it was an anomaly that where local option was so widespread as it was in Now Zealand the question should not also he rated on as to whether licenses should -be granted to clubs. He spoke entirely for himself in this m itter. He had not discussed it with any member of the Ministry. As to tQie locker system, he thought it was even worse than the system of ordinary licenses, because it was not subject to control. He agreed that something should be done to check it when the proper time came for Join" so. "