THE Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1893. PUBLICANS’ LEASES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2562, 30 September 1893, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1893. PUBLICANS’ LEASES.

Selfishness is undoubtedly the domi- | nant characteristic in human nature, and | it is this which has rendered our laws ] such a complex mass of incongruities. The protection of property is the ruling feature in our laws, for every measure which in any way trenches on vested interests is so hedged in by nullifying provisions tat the object sought is hardly ever attained. The sacred rights of property come first and foremost, and all other considerations take a secondary place. This can be seen by following up the discussion on the Liquor Bill. In that Bill a provision was inserted to the effect that whenever a publican lost his license the lease he held of his premises would immediately become null and void. The object of this provision was to relieve the publicans of continuing to pay exorbitant rents after they had lost their licenses. Something like three-fourths of the rent of any public house is paid in consideration of the license attached to it, and once it lost that license it would of course deteriorate in value, and it would be unfair to compel the tenant of it to continue to pay the high rent to the landlord. In all fairness the landlord ought to bear the loss of rent consequent on the loss of the license. This was the aim and object of the Government in providing that all leases of public houses should be cancelled the moment they lost their licenses, and the Lower House passed it, but when it retched the Legislative Council it was thrown out, as it was held that the State had no right to cancel agreements entered into by private citizens. The Liberal Government backed up by a Liberal majority in the Lower House, voted to set the publican free of his leaße when his license was refused; our Tory Lords voted for securing to the landlord a continuance of his rent, quite regardless of the deteriorated value of his property. Could anything be more unjust or unfair than to continue to extort from a man rent for property which no longer existed—that is, a license yet that is what the Legislative Council tried to do. On this the Otago Daily Times has published a leading article arguing that the State his no right to interfere in agreements subsisting between individual citizens. It says that the State has a right to cancel a license, because it is granted by the State, but it must not interfere in private agreements. One would think that common honesty would auggeat the reasonableness of the landlord releasing his tenant from all obligations under such circumstances, and that nice questions of State functions would not be raised. Our opinion is that the'State has a right to do whatever it thinks advantageous to the people, but it is not our purpose to discuss that point. What we desire to direct attention to is the tenacity with which Toryism works for the sacred rights of property. A compromise was eventually arrived at, and it was agreed that the landlord and tenaut should submit the question to arbitration, with the view of reducing the rent of a house which had lost its license. In this compromise all principles are cast to the wind, but the poor unfortunate publican is tied to the house until the expiration of his lease. This is wrong. The publican who loses his license ought to be set free at one, and allowed to earn his own livelihood in some other avocation. It is hard enough on him to be deprived of his means of living, but it is a terrible wrong to tie him to the house, even at a reduced rent, after he has lost his license. This is a provision which the new Parliament will have to amend, although it appears to us that it will be difficult to do so. The Legislative Council is fearfully and terribly Conservative yet, and we are greatly afraid its membership must be increased before it can be brought to its senses. It has thrown out or mutilated almost all the policy measures of the present Government, and thus spoiled all the work tha representatives of the people have been doing for the last three months. This cannot be j allowed to go on, and the sooner strong measures are taken to reform the Council, the better.

THE FEMALE FRANCHISE, A very peculiar reason has been given by a certain lady for refusing to register her vole. She said she certainly would not register her name, because she would not voe for closing the public houses, as she wished her husband to be in a position to get a glass of beer if he wanted it when he came to town. Now she ought to register at once, and vote often, too, for j there are a great many ladies registering j their names who will vote for closing the public houses, and if she refuses to vote for keeping them open, the other ladies will close them, and her husband will not be able to get his glass of beor. This is all nonsense about opening or closing public house. The election of a member of Parliament has nothing to do with opening or closing them. That must be done by the local vote, which will be taken text March, and that will settle the question according to the Bill now passed for the next three years. Now this is the point which women ought to look at. If they do not register their names and vote, other women will, and they will carry all before them. The woman who believes in a certain line of policy, and neglects to vote in that direotion, does a great wrong to herself and the community. The very thing she believes in may be lost through her negligence. Let us suppose it to be a case of public houses, if those who believe in keeping them open do not register, and vote, the other side will close them, and thus a minority might rule. Iu tho same way lot us suppose it to be a case of cutting up large estates, and those who believe iu doing so neglect to vote, large estates will not be cut up. There are many women who would like to see them cut up, so that their sons and daughters might have an opportunity of making a home for themselves ; yet these mothers will not go to the trouble of voting, and thus will do a great wrong to their own children as well as to to the whole community. Every woman should register and vote as she thinks fit, and then we should be fairly represented, But if the voting is all oft

one side, then of course minorities will J rule. We shall of course be perfectly j satisfied if all vote. Let the majority j rule. I

LAND FOR SETTLEMENT. Fob the last twenty years Canterbury people have been crying out against large estates and demanding that they should be cut up. Several measures have been introduced having this for their object, but none of them were carried until last year the Land for Settlement Bill became law. This, however, proved ineffectual. It gave the Minister power to buy land, but it did not compel owners to sell. The result was that the Government could not find land suitable for settlement, and consequently they introduced a Bill this yeir under which they could compel owners to sell to them at a reasonable valuation. This Bill passed the Lower House, but no soouer did it make its appearance in the Upper Chamber than it was thrown out. The Conservatives now are getting up a cry concerning it, and making it appear that it was contemplated by the Government to take the lands of small farmers under the Bill. The Press says "It placed every land-owner, BUiall and large at the mercy of the Government without reservation of any kind," and so it goes on in the hope of frightening the farmerai Now anyone who is not insane altogether knows full well that no one has the slightest intention of interfering with small farmers. What is wanted is the large estates, and it is time something was done in the way of breaking them up. Here we are in South Canterbury with our population decreasing instead of increasing. The moment a young man thinks of settling down for himsef he sees nothing for him here, aud he immediately clears away to the North Island. Fathers and mothers ought to Bee to this. Is the land never to be settled 1 and are their sons and daughters never to have any prospect of settling down at home 1 This is one of the questions which the electors will be called upon to decide at the coming election.