THE CITY LICENSING COMMITTEE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 135, 8 June 1906, Page 4

THE CITY LICENSING COMMITTEE.

Our criticism of what we regarded as a betrayal of its trust by the City Licensing Committee evoked a protest irom its two senior members, for which wo wore glad to find room yesterday. As we contrasted the . attitude of the present committee with that of its predecessor, Messrs. John Smith and R. A. Wright, who have served on botn, were specially qualified to speak, and we have no occasion to complain of the tone of the remonstrance which they addressed to us. Our criticism was based upon the statement, made more than once by the chairman, that ''the committee La not going to force anybody to rebuild." Coming as it did at the very opening of their term of office, this statement was taken by us, as it was taken by the inspector, nnd, we believe, by the public generally, to bo a declaration of policy intended to govern the wholo of that term, and to mean that they preferred to leave all the licensed houses of the city in their present condition rather than insist upon the rebuilding of the worst of them. Wo are pleased, however, to be asbured by Messrs. Smith and Wright that "any declaration of intentions that was made at the meeting : on Tuesday related solely to the procedure at that meoting in view of the inspector's report then before it" ; but we are bound to add that if there has been any misunderstanding in Iho matter, the membera of the committee have only themselves to Blame. A judicial pronouncement upon the evidence then before them would of course have been harmless and strictly proper, but the general and ambiguous language* used was naturally given a wider interpretation, and the inspector's criticism clearly showed that he also took this view There is, however, no reason why tho inepector's report should be taken as conclusive, and a personal examination would surely satisfy the committee that the present condition of affairs is far from satisfactoiy. As to the policy of the laic committee, the general statement quoted by our correspondents is not very convincing. Tho fact remains that the fear of what the committee mighttdo induced a. general eagerness, to rebuild, and, to say the least, the committee — very wisely, as it seems to vs — refrained from discouraging that feeling. A directly opposite impression Was created by the statement under consideration, and we are glad that Messrs. Smith and Wright havo partially oxplained it away. General pronouncements of policy from the Bench have become quite fashionable on the part of Licensing Committees, but both now and in 1903 the city committee would have avoided misunderstanding and heartburning if it had been content to disregard the fashion.