LAST YEAR’S LICENSING BILL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 1050, 30 September 1911, Page 3

LAST YEAR’S LICENSING BILL.

Replying to a question in the House yesterday, regarding the amount paid to Mr Adams, of Dunedin, for drafting iast year's Licensing Bill, the Hon. J. A. Millar said that Mr Adams was the leading expert in New Zealand on the licensing question, and he asked to dralt a Bil to meet the troubles. Mr Malcolm: Did he seek the position ? Mr Millar : Ido not know. Mr Adams was the best man lor the work.

Mr Massey : I suppose so. A similar course was followed in other cases. Mr Martin was paid lor drafting County Bills, for instance, but the Government did not do much of it. Mr Malcolm said that there was a presumption that the Bill had been instigated by the No-License party, and he was glad to hear that the Bill had been prepared on the Government’s explicit instructions.

The Minister said that Mr Adams had been asked to draft a Bill on the lines agreed on by both sides.

Mr J. P. Luke said that the Bill had been the most useful of last session, and the Government was quite justified in having it prepared by an expert, especially at the end of the session, when its preparation by Crown law officers would have hung up other business.

Mr L. M. Isitt emphasised the value of having a Bill prepared by an expert to meet the wishes of both parties. The suspicion had been raised that there was some unholy swindle connected with the payment, but it was altogether unfounded, and the fee compared favourably with the fees of other legal gentlemen of no greater standing.