The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1873.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 216, 8 September 1873, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1873.

THE LICENSING BILL. We have received a copy of this Bill, which is entitled *' An Act to regulate the sale of intoxicating liquors, and to enable the people to protect themselves against the ravages thereof." We propose to give as briefly as possible the purport of the Act,' which is too long to publish in full, or even in a summarised form, containing as it does over 80 clauses. Part I repeals all existing Acta and Ordinances of the Genera*! Assembly or Provincial Councils for the regulation of the sale of liquors. Part II provides that the Go-

vernor shall define certain territorial divisions to be licensing districts, and shall proclaim them as such, the Resident Magistrate being appointed for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the Act in those districts. Then follow certain provisions with respect to licenses, among others there being one to the effect that no holder of a publican's license is to have more than one public bar opening into any public street or roadway. Part 111 is headed "Publicans' Licenses" and provides that on or before the first Tuesday in March notices in writing of application for licenses are to be sent in to the Clerk of the Resident Magistrate's Court of the district, who is to post such notices up in some conspicuous place. In the proclamation declaring the several districts, the Governor is to declare the number of persons, of whom the Licensing Court in each district shall consist, three being the minimum and seven the maximum. These Courts are to be constituted in the following manner: — The ratepayers within the Licensing District rated under any Highway Act, or under any Municipal Corporation or Town Board Act, or if such district shall not be a Highway district, municipality, or township, then all adult male persons resident in the district for six months are to meet at some place appointed by the Governor, At such meetings tbe Resident Magistrate is to preside, and candidates for the office of members of the Licensing Court are to be proposed and seconded, and if there are more than the required number a polling day is to be fixed, on which day no public house within five miles of the polling place is to be kept open under heavy penalties, and no brewer, maltster, distiller, importer of liquors, and no person interested in any house already licensed or for which an application for a license is to be made is to be entitled to vote or become a member of the Court. Every member of such Licensing; Court is to hold office for two years! The Court is to sit on the third Tuesday in April in every year, when applications for certificates are to be made by the applicant in person, who must produce a memorial signed by at least one-third of the ratepayers in the district. The police are to attend the Court and report on the conduct of every licensed house in the district, and any householder in the district may appear in person and state objections to the granting or renewal of licenses, when the Court is to decide whether to grant a certificate or not. A fee of £1 is to be paid for the certificate, on the presentation of which to the Provincial Treasurer the license is to be granted on payment of the ordinary fee. We now come to the " Prohibitory Clauses." In this part of the Act it is laid down that on the receipt of a request to that effect from twenty or more persons entitled to vote, the Resident Magistrate is to give notice that he will lake the opinion of the voters in the district whether or not the prohibitory clauses shall be adopted in it. Every male or female of tbe age of 21 years, or if married, of the age of 18 years, whose home has for twelve months been in the district, shall be entitled to vote, and voting papera of the form prescribed are to be sent to their homes and to be afterwards collected, and if two thirds or more of the aggregate number of voters in the district are in favor of them, the prohibitory clauses are to be adopted in the district. If the majority is against their adoption, the votes are not to be taken again on the same question for one year; if they are adopted they are to remain in force for three years. The effect of their adoption will be that no certificate or license for the sale of alcoholic liquors within the district is to be granted or renewed during that time. The clauses referring to transfers are of no public interest, nor are those referring to "packet licenses," except that it is there provided that no liquors are to be sold on board steamers while moored at any wharf or jetty except within thirty minutes after her arrival and the same before her departure. There is also a clause prohibiting the sale of liquors at Clubs without a license. Among the " General Provisions " we find that no music or dancing is to be allowed in any part of a licensed bouse which is open to public resort without an order from the Resident Magistrate, such order to be granted only on some special occasion. — No holder of a license is to supply liquor to any child, youth, or maiden, under the age of 15 years without the express request of the parent or guardian, or to any person, any of whose faculties, whether mental or physical, are perceptibly affected by liquor.— The following clause is important to publicans, and we therefore give it in full : — " Every husband, wife, widow, child, orphan, guardian, employer, or other person who shall be injured in person, property, or means of support by any intoxicated person, or in consequence of the intoxication, habitual or otherwise, of any person, shall have a right of action against the person who may have sold liquor to the person by whose act the plaintiff shall have been injured, under the influence of which liquor the injury may reasonably be presumed to have been inflicted, and may sue for damages in respect thereof in any Court of competent jurisdiction." The last part of the Act has reference to " Adulteration," and from it we take the following clause: — " Every person who mixes or causes to be mixed with any liquor sold or exposed for sale by him, or kept in any licensed house or premises any of the substances mentioned in Schedule K, or any other substance injurious to health, or who sells or exposes for sale any liquor mixed with such substances, or who, being a licensed vendor of alcoholic liquors, has, in his possession any of the said substances, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than £10 nor more than £20 for the first offence, for a second

or third not less than £20 nor more than £100, or to be imprisoned in each case for a period not exceeding three months, and invcase of a second conviction shall forfeit, his license, and be incapable afterwards of holding one." ./ ■' x* !.: : ; \

Coals are now being delivered in Beefton at £2 10s per ton. The Auckland Fire. — We are authorised to state that the loss sustained by the South British Company did not exceed £1800. Concert. — We remind our country readers of the concert to be given at the Stoke Public Hall this evening. i Cbicket. — The first game of the season was played at the Botanical Gardens on Saturday afternoon, when there was a fair muster of players. The ground is capable of considerable improvement, which it ia to be hoped will be effec'tedr in time for the match with the Auckland eleven. Dissolving Views. — Mr Crisp wiil give an exhibition of his dissolving views at tho Temperance Hall on Wednesday evening, when we trust he will secure a good audience, as the proceeds are to be devoted to purchasing new slides for the magic lantern, with which he so often delights the children of the province. Thunder Shower. — We occasionally get a pretty good tumble-down of rain in Nelson, but even " the oldest inhabitant," who. as a rule is not deficient in " yarning " power, cannot call to mind anything to equal the deluge that poured down upon us between two and three this afternoon, flooding the streets and setting our drainage system at defiance. A vivid flash of lightning accompanied by a sharp crack of thunder fortunately brought the head of the water-works department to his senses, and induced him to put in the plug intime to prevent a flood, but he is again showing indications of a disposition to treat us to another downpour. Jtisto be hoped he will be a little less energetic for the future.