NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 662, 12 November 1909, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Tim Budget, should allowed, to overshadow the.significance of the debate that occupied the House during tho whole of Wednesday .' aftor.noon. Uno of the Soloct Committees; of the House found it nooosaary to ; require access to a filo of; the P üblic Works Department in order to investigate a certain petition referred to it for Support. The Departmental officer who attended the sitting of: the oommittce refused to supply the file, and tho committeo accordingly reported the circumstances to: tbij, Houee, asking for.l a_ direction that the Departmental-offi-cials should furnish tho necessary'information, Our readers will have seen from our report of tho debate that the text-. books and' tho Parliamentary /precedents corao overwhelmingly to'-the'"'support of tho. committee in asserting, the superiority of. Parliament and, its .committees ovor the Departmental offices. The Prime MiNistßH realißcd that thia was bo, and he.very quickly realisbdj also, that ho could not count on haying a majority to affirm the supremacy l of the Minister for Public Works and his subordinates. Hβ contented himself, thoreforo, with a speech, irrelevant .to tho issue, concern--ing tho deliflftte character Of much of tho correspondence received. by, the Departments. ' Tho obvious intention of tho Government was that, the motion should bo "talked out," a Parliamentary form of evasion, 1 but tho.mover withdrew his motion, in the belief thad;,a, ruling by the Speaker would.bo ae effoctiyo as a. resolution by the Houeo. : The Speaker ruled that the committeo had^'the. right to the information: sought, arid, it will be in-: tcroßting to boo whether the matter, is nursued and the rights of .Parliament lnsistod'ori. ": .. . ' :

' Some of tho public appear to Iks inclined to scoff at the spcctatile of the .Now Zealand Alliance and cortain of the brdwers putting their heads together and deciding to ■'. tlioir mutual' satisfaction what.is desirable in tho interests of the gonoral public in the mattor of licensing legislation. It ;Would soem that the iiquor interest was only represented, by one apparently ; self-olectcd eection, chiefly, composed of largo browers, while the Prohibition section of the community was represented by: three members of the Now Zealand '■< Alliance, which, so far as the gpneral nublic is conoerned,: inav also

bo rogardod ns iself-clcetcd. . Wo publish a variety of information this mornltig relating to the proposed amendments to' the lriw and some opinions. It'ie impossible, however,- to protend to speak with' any confidenco. as to tho proßablo effect of changes in tho .law in tho directions agreed on botwden the fepresentativos of tho,two oxtromt) partice concerned., The Prohibitionists, no, doubt, havo .gained a decided ; advantage in tho: concession 'thttt-.f1. : .86' per, cent majority will bo Bufflcisntto carry a poll as against tho 60 per i.eont requirod at present.; Tho Liquor' interest, on tho other hand, have been" granted two • years instead of six I months in which to close up their ness interests in tho evont of no-license being carried in any local option district. Tho granting of national prohibition as an issue to bedooidod .at tho triennial poll, which has long been clamoured for by tho Prohibitionists, may- in tho end prove a doubtful gain. There arc many people who; voto no-liceneo who will not yoto no-liquor, and under the proposed amendment every voter ; for no-hcentie also records a vote for national prohibition. Tho difference between no-liconso and- total prohibition-has not received much attention from the average voter, who is inclined to ' regard them as-j synonymous terms; the proposed 'amondmen'te bo_ given effect to, ho will probably; havo his education in this respect improved; In the past the Prohibitionist party has been charged with inconsistency in refusing to endorse the policy of: no' license-no liquor, but this reproach will b3 removed under the amended proposal. It is,a littlo difficultto' understand: why such an amount of Eocrooy should havo been observed in conliection with tho negotiations', the results of which are now disclosed to the public. It is tho general public, and not merely tho brewer or the Prohibitionist, which, has to bo considered in tho matter, and tho '< Government and, .Parliament must bear this in mind when the Bill embodying tho compromise of v the representatives of the two extreme points of view on the lioensing question comes up for. con r sidoration. ;■ .'. . ~.- '.•'. , , .