LOCAL OPTION BILL.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 434, 9 August 1877, Page 3

LOCAL OPTION BILL.

Amongst the latest parcel of ; parliamentary papers to hand we find a copy of the Local Option Bill, introduced by the Hon. W.,Fox.. •It'is much more : detailed than MK Stout' 3, of last session. In Mr; Stout's Bill, being ;a ratepayer of some governing body was the necessary, qualification of a voter, and the' list of ratepayers hrthe libensirig district constituted the list of those who" were entitled to; vote for the purposes of the.Bill. If 'two.: thirds voted, " against.; license " no \ license : .whatsoever could be granted in that district,: but if,, .on, the other hand, atwo-thirds; vote was not obtained ..".against license," licensing went on in the. usual way. • A yotewas to be taken every third _year. This was the principle of Mr. Stout's Bill. ~.._. !; In MrT provides':— "l'hat at any time after''the'passing of this Act it shall be : lawful' ; for' twehty'or more adult persons, male or female, residing withitig within any Kd : e,nsing.difitrict; in writing \ under, -iheir. hands,: to require the Chairman of : the Licensing Court ot such district '."'v' ;■ to define and declare a subdistrict. ..-; v''v On receipt>pf such notice the Chairman, define the, boundaries-'of A subdistrict, and' appoint a clay on "which the votes of the residents wjithin the sub-district shall be taken'as'to'whether'the prohibitory clause's of thy Bill shall be'brought into 5 operation. The' Chairman."has to cause voting papers tq' be:-Adliv,e,red 'i at the residence ,*bf evei'y person entithjd toypte," and haslajso to,have them collected, after being filled,in; on the voting day,' when, he wiil'deciafej ;the" result.'," 'J he constitution; of' sub-districts is peculiar, ,Jmd in'this particular,, as in several others probably, there will be an alteration made before the Bill" becomes law (if such should ever be : the case'). Some licensed house is to.bejthe centre; -and the district is to consist of the area contained within a radius of 100 yards (if within a Municipality ; if outside a Municipality, the radius is to,be two miles)' from this'centre.;' Should'there be more than one licensed 1 house in the district applied fbr, the' Chairman is'to'fi'x which is to be the centre. r lf u a majority " (a'inajority of 'one would, apparently 1 ,be sufficient) vote in favor of the prohibitory clauses being brought into operation, no license or renewal whatever can be'granted. •' Clause 18 says:— " Air expenses incurred by. the .Chpirman in carrying into effect all or any of the provisions of the prohibitory clauses of this Act • shall be.chargeablempon, atrd shall be paid out of, the fees payable for publicans and other licenses." ' If the prohibitory clauses ■ are adopted, where : are these fees to come from?, ' The latter .part'of clause 15 provides that :—|Mf the persons entitled .to vote in any district shall determine in manner afore,aaid against the adaption of the prohibitory clauses of this Act, it shall not be lawful,, within' one pear after' such 'determination again to take the votes of the persons entitled to vote in such district as to the expediency; of bringing into operation therein 'the provisions of the eaid Act. On the contrary, (clause ;lfi): " If the persons entitled to ivote in such district shall determine in manner, aforesaid in favor, of the adoption of this Act, it shall be lawful after the expiration of three years, but.not before, from the time of the said adoption for any ; fifty persons . resident, in such district, again to require the Chairman of the said district again to take the votes of the voters . .. . . and the continuance or otherwise of .such clauses within 'such district shall be determined by a majority aforesaid of the vetes so given." The latter part of clause 14 is remarkable, as attempting,to do away with the possibility of the •overthrow, by legal foibles, of. any decision in respect to the adoption or '..fcberwise by the people of the clauses of the Bill. Clause 22 provide? that a vote may be taken as to any one particular license, .even should the sub-dislriqt (if it has been constituted: one) should have decided against a totalpro-: hibilion. If " a majority" is obtained against a license to any particular house, no license' may be granted, nor any application with regard to the same house be entertained for one year., ...

The Bill has evidently been, hurriedly drafted. If the ante-sessional, utterances of honorable members may be taken for anything, there is a strong probability of its passing, but hardly, we-should in its present state. Mr. Fox himself, we, should imagine/ could hardly expect'that. The 'outlines are better than those proposed by Mr. Stout, but the details, are certainly very faulty. The monster petitions received by Mr. Fox caiinnt be considered as being anything in favor of the details of the measure, for it is a positive fact that perhaps not more than one-tenth of those signing those petitions had any better. conception of the proposals of the Local' Option Bill than that conveyed'Bi'mply by the words local option;^— Communicated-. - .■. .