Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 80, 1893. The Licensing Question.

Manawatu Herald, 30 May 1893, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 80, 1893. The Licensing Question.

Thr question as to whether more licenses shall be granted in the Borough has advanced a further step. • For some time the two armies, those in favour of, and those against, the new licenses, have been skirmishing and marshalling their forces ready for the fray on Licensing day. Yesterday the first gun was fired, as it may be termed, as petitions on all sides were lodged with the clerk of the Licensing Committee. These documents form the ground work of the fight, it being too late now to enter other petitions. Mr Spelman has lodged a petition in favour of a license being granted to his house, signed by one hundred and eighty adults, including nearly every well-known settler in the borough. Mr Gray has lodged a petition in favour of a license being granted to his house, signed by one. hundred; and two settlers in the borough. ' These have nearly all signed Mr Spelman's petition as we11,,; thus showing that . the feeling is pretty well pronounced, in favour of further licenses being granted. A petition taken round by Mr John Whyte has been signed by twentyseven persons against granting the license to Mr Spelman, and by twenty-eight persons against a license being granted to Mr Gray. The names of the objectors are as follows :—W. S. Stewartp E. T (i Betty, E. Osborne, J. W. Walsh, Thos. Westwood, G. Grindley, E. P. Cowle3, ,O.:H. Symons, J.i W. Stewart,, George Aitkens, J. H. Howan, A. S. Walsh, E. P. Osborne, J. Weatwood, T. W. Forster, E. W. Holbrook, G. Langley, J. Duncan, J. Tos, L. Whitwell, G. Small, E. Westwood, A. Honore, Ellen Honore, E. Furrie Wnd Agnes McMillan. - ' The promoter of the above petition has been very remiss in seeing that the conditions of the Act have ■been complied with, and-the-result is, that out of the twenty- eigtii objectors fourteen are informal. The* Committee will have to look upon the objection therefore aSs coming only from fourteen persons, being thus only four more than the minimum number fixed by the Act as the number of adults who must agree together to raise an objection.

.We have no hesitation in saying that the objecting petition i 3 of very little weight, when analysed. We know that out of the. twenty-eight objectors the very first name doAvn on the list has asked that his name might be taken off, and that before the petition was lodged. It does not ..slio^Y ..a. very, strong position when one name is retained in spite of request for removal. Mr Betty who has signed, has lntely been appointed agonb .for Mrs Whyte in lieu of- Mr Startup, who is a member of the Licensing Committee. Four out of the itwenty-:eight. names are clergymen. Three families supply a third of the .names on the petition, and out of the whole number eleven are not ratepayers. We are aware that all adults have the right to sign, whether they are birds of passage or not, but undoubtedly the voice of the ratepayers, those who have to put up with the evil, or who will reap the advantage, of what may be done by the Licensing Committee; are entitled to more consideration than the wish of an adult who is here to day and gone to-morrow.