The Licensing Bill.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 220, 21 September 1904, Page 2

The Licensing Bill.

AMENDMENTS ALREADY MADE. (Evening Post.) It will be of interest ut. thifl Btage of the Lu:i.':]sj ug Mill's progress through committee to lioint out exactly what ainuiuiiiMits have been made, and what tiie ell'tn t oi those amendments is,

Clause a, which proposed to eliminate uie reduction issue at local option polls, was struck o ut ol the Dili, so that tho questions submitted to the electors inmain as under the existing law—no-license, reduction, Continuance. The striking out of clause was foilowud by the excision of clauses 4, o, 0, a"*l .which dealt with the method of counting Urn votes, tihe form of declaration of poll, tUKi the ell'ect of polls in liCMise and no-license districts. Clause M was amended to road, as follows "The result of every valid licensing poll (whether taken Ixuore oi' alter the passing oi this act) shall ha><' etfect until superseded at a aubsoque... valid licensing poll." Clause 9, p. uvidLug for a referendum on the question oi "no-license, no liquor," was struck out without a division, as was also clause .10, which was merely consequent on clause D.

Clause 11, deaAhig with the effect of no-license, waft considerably altered, and even now will require to be ro-couinuttod for further amendment. In its altered form it provides that it Bhall not be lawful for any person u> solid't orders for liquor in u. nolicensc district, and wlmn any liquor is sent into the district notification of the quantity and quality, and tiie name of the recipient is to be forwarded to the Collector oI Customs, who is to lie tiie judge of whether the person to whom it is being sent is a lit |ier»on to receive it. Clauses 12 and 18, dealing l with the changes of boundaries of districts, have bean postponed. • in clause 14, which is Ute lirst of a series relating to disputed polls, tiie u'oiiimittco altered' from three days to ;even days after public notice of the result has been given the period within which application for a re-count can be marie. The application, it was also provided, may bo maide in writing. In clause 15, providing for a petition (or, inquiry Into a poUt i*. ..wafl declared that the deposit of £2O shall be forfeited' to the Crown it in the opinion of the court the petition is not sustained.

Clauses 22 and 28, dealing witih a fresh poll, were postponed. Clauses 24, 25, anid 26, providing for a leferendum on tho question of State control, were struck out.

In clause 27,, dealing with the King Country, it was provided that in regard to that district section 25 of tho Licensing Act, 1881, shall ' apply. That section provides that "the Governor, on tjie application of Uie owners of any ibluck, or area of land on which 110 publican's license has been hitherto granted, may, by proclamation in the Gazette, declare that no license shall ibo granted within Eiuoh block or area, and it shall not be lawful for the licencing committee to issue any license to take effect within any block or area so proclaimed. When such a proclamation is made the provisions in the present bill prohibiting the importation of liquor into the district will apply. New clauses were also added providing that it should not be necessary, as proving the sale, to show that money had passed, and U[tt the onus of disproof of exposing or keeping liquor for sale shall be on the accused.

In the clauses relating to the Cook Islands, the provision in clause 81 that liiquor may be sold by the Customs official for "household purposes" was struck out, and Kiava was declared not to be on intoxicant.

In clause 38 the date for tho election of licensing! committees was altered to the second Tuesday in March. Clause 39, dealing with lapsed licenses, was postponed.

• CHIPS FROM THE DEIIATE. ' It appears to me that this is a dead marine."—-Mr M'Lachlan on the Licensing Bill. "The changes proposed in clause 11 are so numerous that , I cannot follow them."—Mr Moss.

" If you can't follow them you've got no brains."—(Laughter,).—Mr Fisher.

Tha Premier (decisively) : "If I say I'll agree to recommit that particu-' lar clause "—Mr Lewis; "You will forget all about it.','—Mr SedI don saiid that his woiid was to be taken as readily as that of the raeml>er for Courtney, whoso remark w»n uncalled for.

'llhc Premier was quoting Mr J. G. Woolloy in support of clause 9, when Mr Mander interposed r. "Members have up their minds ; let thimi vote." Mr Stick] on shocked tones) asked''Am I addressing a prejudiced and a. biased jury not prepured to li&ten to arguments 1" As he was popularly supposed to to "kicking into touch" at the time, the House only sjnilud. "No license will never ibe a success until it siiells no-l»)Uor."—Mr A. L. 1). Fraser,

Mr "Alphabetical" Fraser, in the courso of Ms speech last nigiht, remarked, "They say ," when Mr M'Lachlan interjected "Who's they?" —Mr Eraser : "If 1 were addressing the member for Ashburtan I should prohoMy refer to him as "it."—Mr M'Lachlan rose to a point of order, but the chairman ruled that lids persistent interjections had brought their own reward.

Mr Wilford' (when Mr Millar protested against Mr J. C. Thomson's persusteot interruptions) ; "He can't help it, sir; he goes off at halfcock."

"Who wants to stop people having liquor ? Tho Premier and half a dozen cranks, and no one else. When liquor is worth having It's worth taking the trouble to get."—Mr Moss on clause 9. The Premier ~ "The more considerate l a m the worse I am treated. I ahull liave to go back to the hobnailed boots." I

"I have heard you Say that the electors could not vote intelligently on one issue," remarked Mr Buchanan.—"That was when they returnod you," retorted the Premier. "Tho Auckland W.C.T.U. only protested agiainst two clauses of the bill." said the Premier.—"That's ail they could get in a sixpenny Mogram," explained Mr Duthie. The Premier : "This protest from the Temperance and Morals Committee comes from Itunediji."—Mr Aitr kefl : "Truo blue."—The Premier : "My friend claims that everything good comes from tho Presbyterians, | lmt ho is wrong this time. It is from tho Temi>erance andt Morals Committee of the New Zealand Methodist Church. So it does not come from the Presbyterians after

"if tho member (or Pahiatua will lvfrnin from interrupting me, he will told himself better off," and the Premier silenced Mr Hawkiins.