A "BIG ORDER."

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9037, 2 March 1908, Page 4

A "BIG ORDER."

The Chancellor of, the Exchequer has undertaken a "big order" for the current session of the British Parliament —the squashing of the liquor monopoly and curtailment of the liquor traffic. Centuries of custom and the growth of vested interests make this a knotty question to deal with. The Licensing Bill now before the House of Commons does not go anything like as far as the Licensing law of this dominion,, but it makes a fairly bold attempt to grapple with the drinking evil, and, whatever the opposition to it, it will doubtless meet with the approbation of ali in the country who desire to see reasonable limitations placed upon the. sale of intoxicants. Naturally it will only have a partial approval of the temperance organisations, because it does not —it cannot—goto the lengths they would have the measure go; but they are bound to support i*; as a step in the right direction. So far as existing interests are concerned they are to be conserved for a period of fourteen years, after which the State is to "recover dominion over a monopoly improvidently allowed to escape from its control," as Mr Asquith puts it. Then will come in the control by the people through the prinicple of local option. Meanwhile, the parochial "electors are to be allowed to exercise a local vote in connection with new licenses, the decision of the electors being binding for three years. Compensa- j tion is provided for, but it is to come out of the pockets of the conductors of "the trade," not out of the State Treasury. Clubs are to register annually, to afford an opportunity for objections being made, and uniformed police are empowered to inspect them. The bona fide traveller limit is fixed at five miles. It is stated that a protracted struggle in committee upon the bill is anticipated. This may be taken for granted. , The wealth and influence of the liquor manufacturing magnates will be arrainged against it, and it may be assumed that the members of the various clubs will enter a.very strong protest against the invasion of their private institutions by the man in

blue. The churches ana the Prohibitionists are certain to clamour for more stringent conditions, and the representatives of the latter in Parliament will probably make a determined effort to knock out the provision for compensation for loss of licence. It has always had a hateful sound to them. The "Daily Telegraph" states that the bill has signed the death warrant of the Government. That, however, remains to be proved.