LICENSING LAW.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1511, 6 August 1912, Page 4

LICENSING LAW.

THE COMPROMISE BILL. The determination of the licensing 1 issue; by a fifty-five per ceilfc, at the next and" every subsequent poll is proposed bv a Dill introduced in Parliament by Mr.'A. S. Malcolm (Clutha). Jlw measure ivill probably como before tlif House of Representatives for its -second reading on Thursday evening. r "I am a hare majority man, ?aiq «j r ' Malcolm last evening, in discussing the measure, "but I recognise that there lino chaiu'o of carrying the bare majority in this Parliament. I beliovo there is a very fair prospect of securing the passage of a Hill providing for the 55 per cent, majority, for on an analysis of the House I fuul there arc 4fi members in V*y om '.'J tho proposal and 34 against it. Ihe Bill does not represent tho demand of the rso\v Zealand Alliance, but I am sahshed that if I succeed in putting it upon the Statute-book I shall be doing n very great service to teiuperauce reiorm 111 New Zealand. It is not the fall woasure of reform desired by the prohibition party, hut X have been guided hy circumstances, and have decided that it is uupracticable to seek a greater reduction. Mr. Malcolqi added that the Government had promised to give reasonable facilities for the parage of the Bill, and without I hat it would bo impossible (o hope for siKTe-ss.