A GENERAL ELECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1917, Page 6

A GENERAL ELECTION.

LICENSING PROPOSALS MAY' FORCE IT.. Writes the Elthnm Argus' Wellington corres])oiide]it: Let me deciu. that' a general election is possibly closer than people imagine. Of course I am not in any sense predicting that there will be one; I ant merely pointing out possibilities. In the "Sale of Liquor Restriction Bill" the Qovernment has proposed that eight o'clock shall be the closing hour for hotels during the continuance of the war with Germany, and for sis months after. -Although eight o'clock is proposed by the bill, it is 'generally believed thatimembers of the Cabinet, at least tlie majority of them, v:ould not be exactly brokenhearted if the House, in its wisdom, saw fit to substitute seven for eight; in fact, this is the compromise that has been generally anticipated. But the "forms of the House" may have a most unexpected effect upon the position. When clause two is in committee, some members, as a matter of course, will move "that the word eight be struck out" in order that six may be substituted therefor.. When the chairman puts tho question it will be in this form: "That /he word proposed to he struck out stand part of the question." And on the result of this, division there hangs a. great deal. If the division results in the word eight being retained, then that is tho "end of the penny section"; neither six o'clock nor seven o'clock could afterwards be proposed, for the House would have already decided upon eight o'clock. Given that eight o'clock should be retained, then the fun would commence. The six o'clockers swear by every hair in their fathers' beards that if eight o'clock is carried Mr. Massey will instantly receive a requisition such as he asked for the other day, signed by a majority of tho members, demanding a general election. It will be seen from the above how really interesting the political situation now is. If tho Government and a majority stand by eight o'clock there are breakers ahead. If. on the other hand, an "inspired whisper" should get into circulation that the Government is not very keen on carrying eight o'clock, then six o'clockers and seveh o'clockers would combine to knock out the eight o'clockers, and afterwards get back into their respective camps and fight out,, on separate sides, the six and seven o'clock issues. 'To defeat the eight o'clock proposal is the only way to prevent serious political complications. To change the business hours of hotels from the present hour 3 to nine a.m. to seven p.m. would be a tremendous reform, from the temperance advocate'spoint of view. There was a time when the hotel hours were from six a.m. to eleven p.m., and by payment of a merely nominal extra fee the publican might keep open till midnight. Then came' a change, and ten o'clock became the closing hour. To alter the hours now.to from nine a.m. to seven p.m;, it must be admitted by all, is wonderful- progress, from the temperance point, of 1 view, and if those hours become the law of the land—as they probably will—the teetotallers of the Dominion will be jus-, .titled if they celebrate the occasion by. all getting oil the spree. Some members of the House makins an effort to knock out the anti-" shoutiiig regulations, which, they say, are entirely foreign to the general .wishes of the people. Although many people have been fined in considerable sums under the anti-shouting regulations, the regulations are difficult to enforce, and in many cases are ignored and defied. An attempt will be made to r»> peal them. The bill does not deal with this question. The bill makes no provision for ad- ' justing the position as between landlord and tenant in the event of the shortening of trading hours being carried. If tenants who are now paying stiff rents are deprived of six hours a day of busi- ■ ness hours their cash takings must dim- • inish considerably, and they cannot con- ■ tinue to pay their rent.- This must be; 1 so; to argue otherwise would be to ad--1 mit that there is no virtue in early clos-

mg. According to the hill now before the House the shortening of hours is only to prevail during the war, and six months after. But no one need imagine that once the shortened hours come into operation the former hours will be eventually reverted to. Notwithstanding the wording of the bill, it is a generally accepted opinion that once the bill 'passes tire restricted hours have come to stay..