PARLIAMENT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3724, 1 December 1927, Page 3

PARLIAMENT.

PROGRESS ON BILLS. 'The following Bills have been passed by the Legislative Council : Education Reserves Amendment. Government Railways Amendment. Native Land Amendment and Native Land Claims Adjustment. Reserves and other Land Disposal. Public Works Amendment. Wellington City and Suburban Water Supply. \ Palmerston North Library Empowering. Napier Harbour Board Empowering Loan and Constitution Amendment. The Insurance Companies’ Deposits Amendment Bill has been referred to the Statutes Revision Committee. The Palmerston North Library Amendment Bill and the Napier Harbour Board Empowering, Loan, and Constitution Amendment Bill were read a (first time and referred to the Local Bills Committee. THE LICENSING BILL. The Licensing Amendment Bill reappeared in the House of Representatives yesterday, and was further considered in committee. Following the conferences held by,the Prime Minister with representatives of the contending parties in the house, quite a number of amendments were introduced, and practically all of these were agreed to by the House. The Prime Minister made it dear that he was still opposed to the bare majority principle adopted by the House, and he intimated that he would not himself move the third reading of the Bill. If the House decided to send it to the Upper House, it would go there. The Prime Minister explained the amendments which it had been agreed should be made to the Bill. The first of these provided that restoration polls shall be held in the same manner as the present licensing polls, that is, at every general election, with the existing safeguard against elections held on a dissolution of Parliament within its normal life. Mi'’ Coates mentioned that only once during the last thirty years had Parliament dissolved within the normal period of three years, but said that it was necessary to safeguard against such an •eventuality. The amendment was agreed to, as was also another providing that restoration should be carried by a bare majority decision instead ofthe fifty-five- per cent, originally provided for in the Bill. ' There was some discussion concerning another amendment which provided that if restoration were carried the number of licenses to be granted should not be more than one for every 500 electors in the district concerned, and not less than one for every 1500. The Bill had suggested that the minimum number of licenses should be one for every 1000; electors. A member: It will give you another two hundred hotels. The amendment was finally agreed to however. The section in the bill governing the taking of special polls, on requisition of ten per cent, of the electors and on determination by a bare majority, for the granting of licenses to hotels which are restored to licensed areas by changes in the electoral boundaries, was passed without alteration. An important amendment that was accepted provided that if national restoration is carried at the first “restoration” poll, licenses shall not be granted in a former nolicense district unless local restoration is also earned in a special poll conducted simultaneously with the national poll. To obtain such a special poll the electors must follow the same procedure as in the case where it is desired to restore the license of a hotel which has been put back into a licensed area by reasoniof boundary, changes. In addition to machinery clauses governing the issue of licenses if national restoration is carried, the committee agreed to another provision that if restoration is carried at the .first poll, the number of licenses to be issued shall not exceed •those in force in the respective districts on the date prohibition was carried. After some discussion the House accepted the Prime Minister’s aInendments deleting from the Bill the clauses relating to the provision of a minimum amount of ac-. comodation in new hotels, of an adequate hot water service, and the . right of a licensing committee to impose conditions that repairs, additions, and alterations to the premises and furnishings must be made within a specified time.