The Daily News. MONDAY, JULY 31, 1922. LIQUOR TRADE REGULATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 July 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, JULY 31, 1922. LIQUOR TRADE REGULATION.

The report of the Special Parliamentary Committee, appointed to inquire into and report as to what alterations in the present licensing laws are advisable in the event, of prohibition not being carried at the ensuing licensing poll, is sure to form the subject of much controversy. At the same time the recommendations made may, on the whole, be regarded as an honest endeavor to remove at least soine ot the main features of the liquor trade that have met with adverse criticism. The report asserts that no more licenses are required, but that there should be a redistribution “in accordance with the needs of the population.” What is meant by “the needs of the population” appears open to question. Presumably tlie object of the readjustment is to distribute licensed hotels on a population basis, excluding the nolicense areas, and although there is a certain principle involved in a change of that character, an equitable scheme will be by no means easy to determine, and there is the probability that hotels may be planted at places where their presence will be strongly resented. At the same time, it is well recognised that in some of the towns, particularly those of comparatively small populations, the number of licensed houses is greater than the needs of the people justify. The outstanding difficulty of a. change like that now proposed has been that reducing the number of hotels in any particular locality meant making those retained a present of a substantial amount of “goodwill.” To meet this objection the Committee proposes that no premium, or- ether valuable consideration, shall be paid for the goodwill on the granting of a transferor renewal of licensing leases, the penalty being £5OO for the first breach of the regulation, and the cancellation of the license on the second bread'.. The question is whether those penalties will suffice to prevent the traffic in licensed houses continuing. That some means of evasion will bo devised is almost a certainty. At any rate the lessees will be at the mercy of the owners, and it seems likely that the proposed regulation will be the means of rents being raised considerably. so that while the licensees will still have to do much as they have done in the past in order to secure high returns, the landlords will grow more wealthy than ever under the new system, and this will be facilitated by the proposal to base license fees on the percentage of liquor sold. This latter provision appears on the surface to be a more business-like method than a flat rate where the hotel in a scattered country district pays the same licensing fee as the hotel in the middle of a, city, but it appears desirable there should be some step taken to treat the rents of licensed houses on much the same basis as is proposed for the license fees. This matter is important, for the reason that presumably the abolition ot goodwill and the proposal as to the lees are both brought forward tn order to secure the better conduct of hotels by removing the incentive to illegal trading pad adulterations which have been responsible for harm, hence the furtlwr recommendation for more effective inspection of liouor and licensed premises. If hotels are to continue, (then it is most desirable they should be closely supervised, and that the accommodation provided sheuld be in every way adequate

and satisfactory. The committee evidently thinks that if large expenditure has to be made by licensees to provide the extra accommodation that they should be assured of a reasonable tenure to recoup the outlay, and it suggests four years after prohibition is carried. On this point there is bound to be a good deal of difference of opinion. The Prohibitionists will doubtless oppose giving away any ground, won after many years’ work, without obtaining some concession in other respects. With regard to the King Country, the question of giving the people of that district the right to vote for license or no license, is one that demands very serious consideration in view of the pledge given by the 'Government in the Treaty of Waitangi. Admitting that the circumstances have largely changed, it would seem that it is the Maoris who should decide whether or not that portion of the treaty should be abrogated. That the committee should be against allowing women to be served with liquor in bars to which the public have access, or in any room opening on to a bar, is not surprising. It should have been in force long ago. The other recommendations appeal- to be fair and reasonable, but as nothing is proposed to be done this session in the matter, the report will probably not have much effect until after the next poll.