THE LICENSING POLLS BILLS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12905, 10 September 1907, Page 9

THE LICENSING POLLS BILLS.

CRITICISM BY MR A. S. ADAMS,

(special to" "thb pbess.") DtINEDIN, September 9. Mr A. S. Adams, President of tno New Zealand Alliance, interviewed on tho Licensing Polls Bill, said:—Clauses 1 and 2 (the latter providing wncn licensing polls! are to be tnkeh) are very desirabloj and cannot, I think, 00 objected to by either party. The real difficulty is about cluuse3, which merge* tho fcur electoral .districts in each 01 itho centres, into one licensing district, Th« effect of this will be that in Auck-* land, Groy Lynn (now a No-license district; will disappear into the larger district which has been created by xne Bill, and, consequently, lioons.es may »-c ro-cstai)liah«l there Dy transfer. t Wn in Wellington, tho district or Wellington South (or Neirtown), which carrio 1 No-lioensa in 1903, and, in spite of an enormous increase of about 30CO names on tho roll, nearly carried the same issue in IIXJo, will l>o merged into a new district (along with the three Wellington City electorates). This will, ot course, bo it ecTicus matter for our people in that suburb, in Christchurch the district of Avon is being similarly dealt with, and I notice that strong 00----jeetion is being mad© locally to tnat. As to Dunedin, we are to have toiir electoral districts—Dunedin Nortn, West, Central, and South. Ido not know whether this moans taking in Cavorsham on tho 50u..., or North-east" Vailey on the north, but in either case it means that one of the suburbs, which is hearer to carrying a Nolicenso vote than is the city, is to oe added to the three city electorates. This, of course, means disappointment to some of our people Ido noc understand tho reason lor the proposal, except that it mny bo contended tnat it is better to have the whole popiiiation of a city and suburban areas controlled by ono vote. Our party have always preferred tlie contrary—that is, t3 have the suburbs with independent votes.

(PRESS ASSOCIATION TKtEGBAM.) PUXMDIN, September 9. At n meeting of the'Dunedin United Teinperancp Reform Council this evening, a resolution whs carried heartily endorsing tho second clause in the proposed JJill to amend the licensing poll regulations, but emphatically protesting against tho inclusion of extra suburban areas, such oe Covershain, within the city licensing district.