WAR REGULATIONS BILL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2836, 29 July 1916, Page 10

WAR REGULATIONS BILL

THE LIQUOR ISSUES NO EARLY CLOSING AND NO REFERENDUM After The Dominion went to press yesterday, the House of representatives continued its discussion in Committee on the War .Regulations Bill. The proposal for hotels to close at 9 o'clock was defeated by 36 votes to 35, the division list being as follows:— Against (30)" Bollard Massey Brown Myers Buick Nosivorthy Coates l'arala Colvin Payne Dickie I'omare Dickson (T'arnell) Rhodes (2) Field, W. Russell Fletcher . Scott Eraser Smith Glover Statham Guthrie Stewart Ilenare Thacker Herdman Veitch Jlerries Ward Jennings "Webb M'C'allum Witty Mac Donald I'or (35):— Allen. 11' Nab Anderson Mander Anstey Newman (2) Buddo Ngata Craigio Okey Dickson (Chalmers) Penrce EU Poland l'ield, T. l'oole Forbes Sid«y Manan Sykes Harris Talbot Hindmarsh Thomson Hornsby Walker Hunter Wilford Hudson Wilkinson Isitt Wright M'Combs Youug The Referendum. Mr. Anderson next moved that the Governor ungnt appoint a day lor tue taking of a reiereiiuuiu on uie aubject ol liquor control. Mr. Wiltoril raised a point of order that this mjuireU ail. appropriation. Tho cliairman pomteu out that the clause as arm ted was innocuous, for it merely provided for tlie Uovernur naming. a "uay" 'for a referendum, witnout giving ixHver to tulio a retoreiiduui. it wouiil uierefore be allowed. .\lr. Anderson said lie wanted a vote on the ijiiesiion, anyway. ilr. Willord said that the real object of the clause was to put some men in an. awkward position. This was not a real reloreiidum clause. Air. isitt, at 2 a.m., speaking for the second time on:y during toe evening, made an impassioned pleu lor the .graining of this vote, if the people really could make their voice hearu, tney would snow the liquor trade unucr tlirefe times over. They now had the position of thi National bovernmcut acting as a buttress between the Trade and. tue people. \'oices: Don't get angry. Jlr. Brown: Take your licking like a sport.

Mr. Isitt: I am not angry, but 1 speak with a good deal of ieeling because I feel that it is needed in tlie wider interests of the Empire. I hope that we shall have this vote, and the members who feel that this matter ought to be decided by the people will support this vote.

■ Mr. Glover occasioned laughter by his bathos in following Mr. Isitt, and opening by remarking that he had once read a hook called "Barriers Between."

-Mr. R. A. Wright said he regretted the attitude of the National Government to this liquor question. In spite of the demands of the people the Government had set its face like flint against liquor reform, and he noticed this position with deep regret.

Mr. Wilford asked Mr. Isitt if .he expected Cabinet, after it had decided upon a measure, to split ils numbers in voting upon a Bill to which they had agreed in private. Ife challenged Mr. Isitt to accept a referendum of the people upon the question of Stale control' of the liquor'traffic.

The referendum was defeated by 41 voted to' 1:6. Following was the division list:— l''or the clause (2G): Anderson. Br. A. K. Newman. Anstcy. 1 IJ. Newman. Bitddo. Ngata. Oi;cy. •T. Xi'C. Ilickson. Poland. Ell. , Poole. T. A. H. Field. Sidey. Harris. fykes.' JTindmarsh. Talbot. Hunter. Walker. 1 >i It. /Wilkinson, M'Combs. . "Wright. Miimler. Young. Against the clause (•!■!): Allen. > Massey. Bollard. Myers. Brown. Nosworthy. Buick. , Parata. Coatcs. Payne. Culvin. Pearce. Dickie. Poiunre. J. S. Dickson. ]}. XI. Rhodes. W. H. Field.. T. AV. Ilhodos. Fletcher. ■ Russell. Forbes. . Scott. Fraser. Smit'h. Glover. St-Jtham. Guthrie. \\*. Stewart. llanan. Thacker. Hurdman. Thomson. Tfwries. Vejtch. Hornshy. "Ward. Hudson. AVpbb. Jennings. AVill'ord. M'Callum. .Witty. Mat Donald. M'Nab. At a.m. Mr. Wilford moved that hotels should onen at 8 o'clock in the morning, bufc flio pfonosition was rejected by .18 votes to 31. Mr. A. Tl. nindmarsh next moved that lb" hour for opening be 7 oYlock. '['lis clause was defeated by 38 votes to 31. A new clause. moved by the Minister, to give the police power to call upon any licensee lo show cause why his li:»ensn should net be canceled for misconduct. was agreed to on the voices. The Bill was reported with amendments. The ITnuse'ro c e at .7.?1 a.m. The names of Mr. TC. M'Callnm and Mr. G. ,T. Talbot were transposed in the division list on the antbshouHng clause sresterday. Mr. Pi. M'Callun l .ifiuiO'v '-ot"d !>Tair=t the clause, a-'d Afr. 'l'!ilbot\fT- it. Tn the lists as pub. lislie'i Mr. Tall" nf was shown as having voted "No" and Mr. M'Callum "Aye."