LIQUOR QUESTION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 5 December 1927, Page 7

LIQUOR QUESTION

COUNCIL AMENDMENTS TO BILL MANAGERS IN CONFERENCE. NO AGREEMENT AT FIRST MEETING. Wellington, Dec. 3. On the House resuming after the luncheon adjournment, Mr. Coatee suggested that the House might proceed to consider the amendments made by the Legislative Council in th© Licensing Amendment Bill, which was received with amendments from “another place,” • Air. E. P Lee (Oamaru) said tho Council had made amendments eliminating the bare majority , and substituting 52J per cent. There were consequential amendments, affecting restoration, the strength of wine, and establishing poll over six years, instead of every three years. He therefore moved that the House agree to the amendments proposed by the Legislative Council with the exception of Clause 1 (a), the amendments made in clauses 3, 4 and 5, and the clauses 16 (a) and 16 th), and that the following managers be appointed to draw up reasons for disagreeing with the Council’s amendments Messrs C. E. Bellringer, E. A. Ransom and J, McCombs. This was agreed to and the managers were appointed REASONS FOR DISAGREEMENT. Later the managers submitted reasons as follows:— That the proposal to substitute the six-year poll for the threeyear poll is objected, to on the grounds that an extension of the period on which tho poll is taken is a serious curtailment of tho power of th© people to control the granting of licenses. That the proposal to substitute an artificial majority for the present law of decision by » bare majority, which has been in existence for nine years, is not, warranted on the grounds: (1) There has been no expression of public opinion that there should be any curtailment of the popular will; (2) that at none ol tho three general elections held since the enactment of the bare majority in 1918 has there been any mandate ior an alteration in the present law which provides for decision by an ab&oluto majority. That tho proposal to alter the law to allow wine shops tq sell wine up to 40 per cent, proof spirit is distinctly retrograde. It would, in effect, turn a wine license into a spirit license The House received the reasons „f the Legislative Council for insisting on (he amendments The reasons ware as under :— (1) The majority proposed by the Council is a reasonable substitution for the issue o. State control, which this Dill excludes from future ballot papers on tho licensing question. (2) During the nine years referred to m the reasons presented by the House, the issue of Slate control has been included in ballot papers. The existing law does not provide for an absolute majority on two issues 13) With regard to the amendments providing for the extension of the period between Heenaing polls, the Council considers that- whichever party succeeds on the two issues now proposed as the sole issue that partv should have a longer interval tha u me present law allows from the disturbance of its position. (4) With respect to' the new clauses 16 (a) and 16 (b). those clauses do not permit a new or higher percentage of proof spirit in Now Zealand wine than .is authorised by the existing law. FIRST CONFERENCE FAILS.

When the House resumed at 7.30 -Mr. Bellringer presented the report of th© managers on the Licensing Bill. He said the managers of the House had met the managers from th© Legislative Council and had failed to come to an agreement. H© asked tor a fresh conference and nominated Messrs E. P Lee. D. G. Sullivan and A. Harris a s managers. This was agreed to When the failure of the first conference was reported the Council agreed to a proposal from the House lor a second conference, and appointed Sir K. H. Rhodes, the Hons. J. Barr and G. J. Garland as its managers.