The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, March 11, 1909. THE LICENSING ELECTION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 452, 11 March 1909, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, March 11, 1909. THE LICENSING ELECTION.

The licensing Bench election, which took place on Tuesday last, created very little interest in this part of the electorate. So far as Foxton was concerned the majority of electors did not appear to know that an election was in progress and comparatively few recorded their votes. The trade worked quietly on behalf Of one or two nominees, but the No - License party, who had selected a ticket, took practically no interest in the election. Had the local candidate spent even a couple of hours canvassing he could have secured a good lead at the local poll which would have resulted in his obtaining a seat on the Bench. But no effort was made and thus Foxton is without a representative on the Bench. In one sense this is regrettable because while the present system of electing licensing benches obtains, it is desirable that the members constituting such Bench should be as representative as possible, and, further, the presence of a member in each centre has a good moral effect upon the licensees who are inclined to be lax in the conduct of their houses. The northern end of the electorate has now a monopoly of members. We believe, however, that the elected members may be relied upon to support the police in the careful supervision of the licensed houses, and both the No-License party and trade should be mutually satisfied with the result of the election. The closing hours will remain as at present, 10 p.m., and there is no fear of any more licenses being granted in the electorate.