THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3071, 22 March 1892, Page 2

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC

On Friday evening last the Rev. Edward J Walker, nf the New Zealand Alliance, addressed a public meeting in the Hamilton Mnthodist Church. The Rev. J. Thomas opened the meeting with prayer, and, after a few introductory remarks, retired on account of indisposition. Mr Henry Faulkner, a visitor and a member of the Manchester Committee of the United Kingdom Alliance, then occupied the chair, and in a brief interesting speech introduced Mr Walker. After speaking of the marvellous recent progress of the temperance reform movement and the encouragement it gave to all who were working to relieve tho country of the curse of the drink traffic, Mr Walker pointed oat the utter inefficiency of all tried methods of regulation and the unsatisfactoriness of anything short of power conferred upon the residents to veto the liquor traffic in their several localites, by direct vote at the ballot-box, without the intervention of licensing committees, tie then addressed himself to the compensation question, which he said was settling itself by Act, legal decisions (as that in the Sharpe v. Wakefield case in the Home country and the recent Wanganui case) having been given in which it was made clearly evident that no licensee has any vested interest in his license beyond the twelve months for which it is granted—in other words, has no claim whatever for a renewal if the public welfare is judged to be better served by a non-renewal; which, of course, means that if a license is not renewed there is an end of all obligation betwenn the erstwhile licensee and tho licensing authorities—in other words, there is no legal claim lor compensation. Mr Walknr proceeded to say it was evident there was no such claim in either law or equity. According to British and colonial precedent any person who could show thai he had an equitable claim f<.r any imagined hardship he had suffered by the operation of the law and chose to present Ins case, either in person or by counsel, he would receive, not merely a patient, bat a generous hearing at the bar of the Legislature. Ihe reason none of the persons who in years past had been refused the renewal of their

icenses had presented or substantiated such a claim was, therefore, obvious lo go and create a claim by special legislation where such a claim dues not exist would be of the nature of gratuitous endowment of the publican at the expense of his fellow citizens and would be a gross injustice to the New Zealand taxpayer. If when a new line of railway is opened, rendering coaches, horses waggons, and stables no longer profitable, no une proposes to compensate their proprietor. Why this outcry about compensation when it is discovered that the public interest can be better served without the vending of intoxicating drink ? livery reform involved the suffering of some class by whose privileges other, classes had been sufferers, and publicans had no claim to be an exception to the rule. That they have no claim, Mr Walker said ie evident from the following considerations:—(l). i>o licensing committee ever asks a man to provide a house, and no man can legally get a license until a suitable house is provided. If a speculator erects such a house, and —as in many well-known instances—fails to get a license, no one thinks of compensating him for his biul speculation. If another erects a similar house and gets a license for one year, he has farnd the better of the two, and is still less an object, of consideration if after that his license is not renewed. But if his license is renewed 1 again and again, the longer its renewal is continued the less and less his claim be- • comes. If, therefore, it was nothing at the 1 start, it becomes less and less than nothw? —or in other words, his obligation increases to compensate the public fat the special ; benefit he has roceived above his equally 1 deserving fellow-citizen. (2). If a property 1 costing, say, £500 obtains a license, and 1 then, because of the license, is valued at, 1 say £5000, the additional value is not due ' to anything the proprietor has put into it; ' and therefore, if the license is not renewed ■ and the property falls again to its "«B«nal i value, the proprietor has still got all that 1 was his own and has no claim for compen--1 sation for having had the temporary privi--1 lege of a share in the liquor-selling mono- ' poly. (3). If a man buys a property at the - enhaiiced value during the currency of an 1 annual license, he buys at his own risk of • the license being renewed, and has no claim ' for compensation from the public u Ins . i.i.:.._ f»:i ia\ A Hi-onnn iH nsuallv

speculation fail. (4). A license is usuauy granted on the conditiou that the house is needed for public accommodation. If the representation in this respect is correct, there still remains a livelihood for the proprietor though his liquor bar is taken away. If in respect of much-needed accommodation the license was got under false pretences, this constitutes no claim for compensation when the license ceases to be renewed. (5). Every license is granted for one year only, and the Licensing Act provides that a sufficient reason for non-re-newal at any time is that if, in the judgment of the licensing committee, the license is not needed in the neighbourhood., Ji-very house built or improved for licensing purposes is subject to the risk that any licensing committee may at any time decide against renewing the license upon this ground, (l>). The granting of a license frequently reduces the value of adjacent properties, but the property owners get no compensation. (7). The drink monopoly entails upon the community a great.burden of taxation for the pauperism, crime, and other evils resulting fmin it; and, over and above this, to ask the taxpayer to oompennate the traffic lor ceasing to be a public burden would be outrageous. (b).^ lu.extinguishing licenses no British, Oanadian, or American law has ever admitted -uv\ claim for compensation, nor does tho existing law of this land m case of present nonrenewals. The Capo Colony » recently passed a people's local veto , y the attempt to get a compensation cl:iu»e was defeated by 40 votes to 20. Tho meeting closed with a vote ot thank* to Mr Walker for his instructive address.