EARLY CLOSING

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 20, 18 October 1917, Page 6

EARLY CLOSING

POSITION OF THE BILL

HOUSE DISAGREES WITH AMENDMENTS DATE OF OPERATION The amendments made by the Legislative Council in tho Sale of Liquor Ee6tnction Bill were considered. by tlie House of Representatives last night. The House decided to disagreo with some of the amendments. , The Prime Minister said ho thought ; members', would agree with him that inany of the amendments made by the Couuoil were important and far-reach-ing. At the same time he did not anticipate much difficult}- in bringing the \ two Chambers to an agreement. Ho moved that the Houso agree with tho amendments, made by the Legislative Council oil with the exception of oertain clauses which lie enumerated. He agreed with the amendment to Clause . 2 postponing tho coming into operation of the Act to December 1. _ Mr. Q. J. Andorson (Mataura): What is the reason of that? Mr. Massey.said he had bean informed by the legal advisers of the Government that' it might be' impossible to comply with all ithe formalities before November 1. The Prime Minister said ho disagreed with Clause la incorporating Section i of the Licensing jket, 1903, in the Bill. There was nothing wrong with tho prin-\ ciple, but he was informed that it did not give effect to the proposals of the Legislative Council. It was proposed io redraft it. Clause 8, relating to provision- for reduction of rent payable in lespsct of "licensed premises, had been struct out, but he disagreed with ihe new . clause inserted by the Council. It would be recollected that wien tho Bill was before the House previously tboro had been a very strong feeling that a licensing committee should not Le the arbitrator. He agreed with tho main prinoiple of the new clause, but he did not agree with' tlie machinery. He had been advised that in order to give effect to what was intended a machinery amendment was necessary, and therefore he proposod to disagree with the clause. ■He disagreed with Clause'3b, which was i subsidiary to Clause 3a, requiring tho \. licensee to 'furnish to the lessor an in-■v-r- ,ventory of the stock-in-trade. Ho dis- • agreed with Clause in relating to the closing of licensed premises during the continuance of the Act. He' was advised that Clause 4b, providing for the restriction of' the sale and delivery of liquor by the holder of a wholesale licence-, would not do. It required to be I redrafted to give effect to what was i intended. Clause -4c,, relating to I of the measure by chartered clubs, was a somewhat difficult one. He proposed to disagree with this. The] ■'..-'-'clause differentiated between i hotels. "We propose to put them on the | 6ame footing in all Tespects," said Mr. j Massey. "The provisions that will apply | to licensed premises will also apply to i chartered clubs." He proposed to dis-1 agrfe with the new clause inserted by the j Council relating to the supply of meals in'hoteja outside the hours fixed for the sale «f liquor. The clause provided that peysons could have meals ;in hotels before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m., but could not have liquor with a meal unless they were boarders. Thus, a man staying at a hotel and inviting some friends to dinner could have liquor himself, but could not invito his friends to share it with hinv' r Thiß was an arrangement that was bound to cause friction. It would be .'- ' very awkward in the country hotels, where drovers and farmers were in the habit of taking meals on licensed premises. Some of these men liked a glass of beer with their .'-meals, and to deny them it would give rise to irritation. The Bill - was intended to close the bars at six o'clock, and that provision should be loyally complied with. But the restaurant side of the hotels required attention, and ho thought the House ought

.■to- provide for it. He would disagree -with the clause in older that something might be inserted that would not cause inconvenience to people taking meals. His own idea waa that a man should he allowed to take a glass of liquor with his meal. Members: /What is. a meal? Call it not less than two sausages. Mr.'Massey said that a slight amend- ."-■- nient. to the definition of licensed premises would he necessary in order to meet such cases as the annual dinners of Bocieties, which might wish to entertain •. - some-guests. - • The Scrap of Paper. . ■ : ."Mr. T. M. Wilford i(Hutt)_ said he was a great believer in "keeping- 10 the Bcrap of paper." The licences had been issued to run till the end of June next. If the people had carried Prohibition this year the licences would still run ;' until June 30. The 'Bill had ' proposed originally that the early closing should operate from November i. fftie Council had altered the date to December 1, and ■ he-- thought the House \ should now give the hotelkeepers a square ■ deal by letting the old trading hours stand until the expiry of ihe present licences. Six o'clock closing was going to ruin some men completely. The people i who had caused early closing had nothing %, to lose. They did not even lose their s\ beer, because In most Cases they did not '$ enter hotels in any case. They were ef¥s\fecting ii reform at "other, people's ' exi ,-pense. He moved as an amendment to !\the. Prime Minister's motion that the : i'4House should amend the date-to June m>-?«.■'-The Speaker ruled that this would be out of order. The House could not amend the Bill at the present stage. It could merely disagree with amendments made by the Legislative Council. Mr. Wilford moved as an. intendment • that the Hoiio should disagree with Clause 2. cffntaTning the date of operation of the Bill. H" said the <Mo could then b* considered-by the conference of the i ■ two House?.. . J Amendment Rejectod. Mr. L. M. lsilt (Christehurch... North) said the Council had already given the liquor trade an extra month,/'with the advantage of Cup week in Canterbury ' and Show Week in Auckland. The people who had demanded six o'clock closing were prepared to yield a point in this respect, but to set back Die date to June 30 would' destroy the value of the Bill altogether. Mr. P. C. Webb (Grey) said that-carly closing meaat absolute ruin to many men, particularly small men who had invested their capital in. hotel property and leases in good faith. He wanted la see the time extended. The Prime Minister said the effect of disagreeing with the date proposed by the Council probably woTTld bo a return to (he original date, November 1. Mr. G. Witty (Biccarton) appealed to the Prime Minister to give the House a fair run on the question of date and accept June 30 if a majority supported it. Mr. Massey said the House had already decided by a large majority that the hotels 6hould close at (i p.m. after November 1. The extension x>f the time by one month had been deemed to be ncces-eai-y in order to allow the machinery of the Bill to operate, but he did not think lite clfcct of referring the clause to a conference of tl.o two Houses would be to secure a further extension. He thought the question could be settled at once by Y vote. Mr. J. Payne (Grey Lynn) suggested that since early closing was going to cost tho State iSOO.OOO a year in reduced revenue, it should bo abandoned in order to provide funds for the payment of increased allowances to married soldiers. The amendment was defeated bv 50 rotes to 2-t. The division list was- as follows:— For Amendment: Bollard. MaeDonald. Brown. -Myers. Buick. Pa rata. x Carroll. Payne. Colvin. Scott. ■ Fletcher. ' "' Smith, R. W. Forbes. Statham. Glover. Thncker. Herdman. Ward. 1 Hudson. Webb. Jennings. Wilford. M'Callum. Witty. ■ v Against Amendment: Allen. Mander. .Anderson, - Massey.

Anstey. New-man, A. K* Buddo. Newman, E. Craigie. Ngata. ' Dickie. Nosworthy. DicK6on, J. M. Okey. Dickson, J. S. Parr. 211. Pearco. Field, T. A. H. Poland. Field, W. H. Pomare. Findlay. Po6le._ Eraser. Bhodos, B. Hi Guthrie. Bhodes, T. W. Hanan. Eusscll. Harris. Sidey. Honare. Smith, E. H. Eerries. Sykes. Hindmarsh. Talbot. Hornsby. Thomson. Hunter. Voitoh. Isitt. • Walker. Lee. Wilkinson. M'Combs. • Wright. Malcolm. Young. Markers Appointed. ■ Mr. Massey then moved that the House should disagree with amendments made by the Legislative Council, and that Sir John Findlay, Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, and the mover should be a committee to confer with tho representatives of the Couuoil. Mr. Wilford said the Prime Minister had picked a committee of six o'clock supporters. Mr. Massey: Tliat is tho Bill. Mr. Wilford said' the amendment he had moved had been disposed of, and could not come up agnin. The House was not_ divided regarding tho rest of tho Bill,' and he did not flunk the composition of the committee was fair. Mr. Massey said he would bo glad to add Mr. Wilford or Sir Joseph Ward to the committee. Sir John Findlay said he was not a Prohibitionist, but ho had supported early closing as a war measure. He was prepared to withdraw from the committee. * Mr. Massey added the' name of Sir Joseph Ward to tho committee, and in the amended form his motion was carried.