THE NEW LICENSING BILL AND THE PRESS AGENCY.

Kumara Times, Issue 570, 25 July 1878, Page 2

THE NEW LICENSING BILL AND THE PRESS AGENCY.

Much of the righteous indignation which has been expended in the “public” interests on the drafters of certain obnoxious provisions in lately circulated draft of the new Licensing Bill, has been apparently expended in vain. According to. the New Zealander, a journal generally thought to be as nearly as possible “inspired,” the Agency have either been the victims of a little game on the part of some playful politicians, or have, with an inaccuracy and want of care not unusual with that institution, secure in its monopoly been themselves blamable for the consternation which late telegrams from Wellington spread far and wide through the ranks of licensed victuallers and their friends. According to the journal mentioned above several of our southern contemporaries have a second time been sold by the Press Agency, and have jumped at the conclusion that the telegram purporting to describe certain provisions of the new Licensing Bill, correctly represented the intentions of the Government, It did nothing of the kind. As a matter of fact we can repeat, the statement we made a few days ago, that not a single clause of the Licensing Bill has yet been drafted for the consideration of Cabinet. One of the evening papers here published the alleged resume of the provisions of the Bill! how obtained it is difficult to imagine, unless the writer had been ho txed by some unscrupulous person ; and a few days afterwards the other evening paper copied the information, apparently ou its contemporary’s authority. The Press Agency no doubt thought the statements of the two papers of sufficient importance to telegtaph, and the result is that papers

'elsewhere have expanded h groat. de < 1 of unnecessary indignation over this, as they did over the other false report, that “all Resident Magistrates who were not lawyers were to be dismissed, and that there was to be but one Resident Magistrate for each Provincial District.” So that for the present the present Boniface may possess his soul in peace, untroubled by visions of oppressive permissive clauses and other disturbances of his peace.