Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 23,1881.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 148, 23 June 1881, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 23,1881.

The local option clauses of the Licensing Bill which have recently been agreed to in the House of Representative are not, perhaps, thoroughly understood by the general public, to whom a brief resume of them may be interesting. They are ten in number, and provide that no new license Bhall be granted until the ratepayers of the dißtriot sball have determined whether the existing number of licenses may or may not be increased. To arrive at this deciuion the Chairman of the Licensing Committee of every licensing district wherein is a rate payers' roll is to appoint some day in January 1882, and thereafter at same time in every third year, when a poll ia to be taken in the following manner:— A Presiding Officer is to be appointed and voting papers are to be printed in the following form:— "I vote that the nnmber of licenses in the district may be increased. I vote that the number of licenses in the district may not be increased." The blank is to be filled op by the class, of license applied for. The voter is to erase one or other of these lioes as be thinks fit. The reßult of the poll is to be made known as soon as possible, and if the majority of the votes that have been given are again si the license being granted, then that shall be the . determination ; but even should the majority be in favor of the license, it is rot imperative upon the Committee to grant it. Where there ia no ratepayers' roll in force, the Clerk of the Licensing Committee is to make out a list for the licensing district from the electoral roll for Tie House of Representatives. The costs of the poll are to be

paid out of the license fees. In addition to the above, it will be remembered that the Licensing Committee are also to be elected by the ratepayers, so that occasional battles royal between the Good Templar and publican intereets may be looked for. Tue Christinas Tree which was to have been exhibited and stripped of its prizes at tbe Btigbtwater schoolroom last Eridaybas been carefully preserved in the meantime, nnd tbe fruit will be found to-morrow night to have suffered not the slightest damage by the delay. The microscopes and Iho music too are likely to prove quite as attractive next, as they would have done last, Fiiday. It is to be hoped that the proviso that there will be a further postponement if wet will bo found to have beeen unnecesaiy. A meeting of farmers and others interested will be held at Biightwater this evening to take into consideration tbe best means of ridding the country of tbe sparrows. A very exciting and well contested race came off on tbe Wakapuaka course this afternoon between Mr Blowers'g Septimus and Mr Bol ton's Half Caste. The two kept together the whole distance (two miles) and ultimately Septimus Avon by something less than a head. The course was very heavy. Tbe match was for £100 a side, but a good deal of ihe outsiders' money changed bands as well, Half Caste being rather the favorite