The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1883.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4408, 19 February 1883, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1883.

The Licensing Act which was produced after much labor on-'the* part of the teetotal party and on that of the publicans, is likely to become a difficulty with us, at least as far as that part providing for the election of Licensing Committees is corij cerned. - The Act provides that in cases where the district may fail to elect a com* mittee, the appointment of such shall Test in the GoVernor-iO'Council; the system which appears to obtain is not strictly in accordance ;i with the < letter of this law, butit appears to be with, the spirit of it. In : eases where one, two, three or four nominations only bare been made, ' the persons nominated have been declared i elected; and the Balanftß of the conimif-iftft

left to be apfointe^ by the Governor. .Thit'ia-looke3- upojrby the Minister in Vho»e>?dep»rtilient le admicistrations of k .tlie.^Aeesi|\eß|tusffifl to, as wrong, he that where oaly' liir^gersons are nqjminated, the persons j iD.^hosOjbaidf^tie^ower of election-lay .have': failed .to eleijt a committee;, and therefore'the^tfty oV selecting the whole committee rests with the Government. If the strict letter oj" the law be carried "out"'this view* Is correct! for where there are only four nominations /for,ifivp'vacancies the election of a- committee cannot be said to hare taken Jlace; yet, we hold, that the intention or\lhose who passed the Act was to place ih the hands of the people the power to appoint such commit-" tees, and that having been the desire, the Government should' accept the nominations made by the people, and fill up the vacancies left. ' This would appear to us to be the nearest way out of the difficulty; at the same time, it is the nearest approach to the spirit of the Act passed.