LOCAL OPTION POLL SUGGESTED LEGAL DIFFICULTIES.

Evening Post, Volume LCCVI, Issue 126, 26 November 1908, Page 7

LOCAL OPTION POLL SUGGESTED LEGAL DIFFICULTIES.

A CURIOUS POSITION. A statement has been circulated about "a forgotten issue" in connection with the licensing polls recently taken. Briefly, put, it is to the effect that Continuance, Reduction, and No-license are not the only issues that may be put to the elecj tors upon a local option poll. " These issues," it is stated, " fail to provide for the possible increase in licenses required by a growth of population," and that if the population of any licensing district*' has increased by 25 per cent, since the taking of the last poll, "under certain, circumstances, the voice of the people must also be taken upon the following proposals : — "That the number of licenses in the district be increased. "" That the number of licenses in th«l district be not increased." It is not quite clear, however, whetheU some action on the part of electors prio* to the taking of the poll is ndt required , Clause 14*, for instance, provides that 1 When tho population of any riding iff a, county ... or any road district ou£ side of any such county has suddenly, increased in a large degree, and a peti^ tion signed by not less than 100 resi-i dents thereof, respectively, has been presented to the Governor praying thatf power ir-iy be granted to the Licensing Committee to issue a publican's licensed or licenses therein, the Governor may w unless the determination of the electors has been previously made that no Ik censes shall be granted, by Order-in-t Council grant such authority, and there-t upon publicans' licenses may be granted m the said riding ... by the commit* tee at the ratio of one licensed house tos every seven hundred persons residing, within a radius of two miles from such licensed house. Clause 145 says : "Except as provided! m the last preceding section there shall ! not be granted any increase in the number of licenses in any district until after the taking of the next census. (2) If the results of such census prove that the* population of any district has been in1 creased by 25 per cent, then a propopaj as to whether there shall be an increase of licenses granted or not shall be subi mitted to the electors for their determination . . . and ... (3) ifi cuch proposal is carried by a majority of three-fifths in number of the total votes recorded at the poll, and such, number of total votes recorded be nob leas than one-half of the total number o£ electors on the roll of the district, then, and in such case only, the com-< mittee may grant additional licenses in such district at a rate not exceeding on% license for every seven hundred people, of such increase in the district." It will be noticed in each instance that the question of granting increased licenses is entirely in the discretion of the licensing committee. The Act says "may," not "shall," grant increased licenses, and in any event the possibility, of getting a three-fifths vote for increase of licenses would appear to be remote, \ taking the results of the last poll' throughout the country. While in Wellington population ha&. increased at a rapid rate it is difficult to say whether an actual 25 per cent., increase in a particular district could be shown. The boundaries have been altered, and some people are prepared to argue that the present districts, inasmuch as thd boundaries ha^o bjen detered, did rot exist at all at the taking |of the census prior to the last, and I tbat therefore they are entirely new for j the purposes of the taking of tho local i opt»on poll, and had no existence until I i-hey were constituted by notice in the i Gazette on 7th February, 1907. The whole question is reported to ba under consideration, and will provide a harvest for the lawyers if any definite i steps are taken to solve the pointy involved.