The Evening Star. WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED "The Evening News," "The Morning News," and "The Echo." SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1877.

Auckland Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2296, 14 July 1877, Page 2

The Evening Star. WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED "The Evening News," "The Morning News," and "The Echo."

SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1877.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the -Tong that needs lesistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we c_- do.

THE liquor luav is hedged round Avith a host of difficulties, but it is apparent from tho agitation ou both sides that the approaching session of parliament will be asked to deal with some of them. In JDunedin, the ball Avas opened by Mr Stout, aviio succeeded in eliciting a strong expression of public opinion in favour or his Local Option Bill. From there the agitation spread North to OamUru, Christchurch, and Wellington,

where, though less decided than in j Dunedin, there was a sufficient response to shew that the Permissive principle in licensing carries a large amount of public sympathy. The great mass of intelligent people, alive to the terrible evils arising from the abuse of drink, which obtrude themselves into notice on every side, feel that some check is necessary, and are gravitating towards Local Option as the only practicable remedy that is offered. Temperance organisations— aided by their best friends, badly conducted grog-shops—have worked a change in the commonly entertained views on the subject. They have very successfully disposed ot the cry that Local Option involves a destruction of the liberty of the subject iv any greater degree than all other laws enacted for the well-being of a community by the will of a large majority are an infringement of true liberty. The Permissive principle now rests simply on the question whether it is desirable, and would effect the purposes for which it is designed. We shall not be very much surprised if Mr Stout, who last year gained a majority on second reading, succeeds ill carrying his measure though the House. He proposes that the power of granting or witholdiug licenses shall be transferred from the Licensing Commissioners to a majority of two-thirds of the male and female residents in any licensing district. An official poll shall be taken every three years, and in the event of the majority being against hotels, no licenses shall be issued in that district. We do not believe that the passing of the Act would accomplish such a complete revolution as some of its supporters anticipate. The majority of people take and enjoy their little drop of tipple, and as they would be ranged on the side of a powerful interest, it is not likely that many districts would declare for absolute prohibition. Towards this goal, however, tlia efforts of the temperance reformers will be persistently directed. The Licensed Victuallers, on the other side, are by no means destitute of grievances, and arc preparing for an appeal to tiie Assembly. With the proposal for open hours on Sunday we have absolutely no sympathy, but there are other matters in which the legitimate hotel-keeper does undoubtedly suffer injustice. The indefinite state of the law, for example, exposes him to perpetual harassment and intermeddling with the internal management of his house, even ■ when the hotel is generally well-conducted. The Auckland Licensed Victuallers also have ground of complaint against the unequal license fees and the irregular working of the Sunday prohibition, which places the publican who observes the law at a disadvantage compared with one avlio does not. A still more serious wrong has occupied the attention of the Otago Licensed Victuallers' Association. It is said that in Dunedin between fifty and a hundrc i sly-grog shanties do a rearing trade, and such establishments abound in every village throughout the province. Auckland sutlers less from the evil; owing to the absence of grocers' bottle licenses, which are issued in Otago at a small fee. The Association has had several interviews with Mr Donald Reid, and at his request, has prepared a bill, which Mr Reid promised to introduce,for the suppression of the illicit traffic. The Act prepared by the Association discloses a practical acquaintance with the difficulties of dealing with the trade, and if like stringency had been applied to other breaches of the licensing laws, the outcry for suppression would not attract much sympathy outside the ranks of total abstainers. The Bill creates a Revenue-Officer and subordinates, themselves liable to heavy penalties for corruption, whose sole duty it would be to descend like wolves on the back parlours of evaders of the law. The powers with which it is proposed to vest these minions of justice are very large. Clause seven provides that "It shall be lawful for any chief revenue officer, upon reasonable grounds of suspicion that fermented or spirituous liquors arc kept_ or exposed for sale iv any house or premises not licensed, to enter said premises and seize and remove to the nearest police-station or custom-house all such fermented or spirituous liquors, together with the utensils containing or used in selling (ho same, and arrest the person selling or in possesssioioi such liquors and utensils; and as soon after as possible, bring such offender, together with the said liquors and utensils, before two or more Justices of the Peace or a Resident Magistrate, to lie dealt with under the Acts or Ordinances then in force for the prevention of such offences." Further provision of the same sweeping character is made for detecting offences, and when it is added that the onus of proving that the liquors seized were not intended for sale is thrown upon the person accused, it will lie seen that the proposed law is tolerably searching. From these preparations we may safely calculate upon an interesting tuzzle over the grog question in the Assembly this year. That the contest will end more satisfactorily than it has done before is perhaps too much to hope, but the discussion will unquestionably bo of value in ventilating one of the most knotty Questions of the day.