THE LICENSING LAWS.

Evening Star, Issue 9786, 16 August 1895, Page 4

THE LICENSING LAWS.

At the City Hall last night a public meeting was held to discusd the Government Licensing Bill now before Parliament. Mr A. C. Begg occupied the chair, and seats on the platform were also occupied by the Rev. C. H. Bradbury, the Rev. W. Ready, Mr J. W. Jago, Mr F. Graham, and Mr A. S. Adams.

In opening the meeting the Chairman said that the question of temperance reform was one of the most “ live ” questions in politics in New Zealand at the present time. If instead of having squandered two millions sterling in drink last year the people who so squandered it had kept the money 1 1 themselves there would not bo the amount of poverty and stagnation now seen in the colony. To give some idea of the value of that sum he mentioned that it was sufficient to supply the population of New Zealand twice over with bread in one year. The result of this drinking was an increase of pauperism, lunacy, and every other evil under the san.

Mr A. S. Adams said the other side had stated that Mr Seddon’s Licensing Bill was an honest measure of liberal reform. _ That was a good definition but for three things—that the Bill was not honest, it was not liberal, it was not ft reform. He had this resolution to move—“ That this meeting protests against the proposals of the Government Licensing Bill on the following grounds :—(1) That it complicates the issues to be placed before the electors; (2) that it places serious obstacles in the way of the expression of the decision of the electors, and thus in many cases will destroy the effect of the poll; (3) that it does not give complete effect to the no license vote in licensing districts ; (4) that it denies the right of the majority to rule.” In 1894 a nn j jrity was polled for no license, but the contusion at that poll through three separate issues being placed before the electors resulted in 2d per cent, of the votes recorded being informal. Immediately that was made evident strong representations were made to the Government that it was absolutely necessary that the ballot papers should be simplified, but in the Bill now before Parliament four issues were submitted to the electors. The only reason for the Premier seeking to complicate the issues could be that it was in the

•iHereats of the party he served. The result <jf the arrangement in the Bill introduced by Mr M‘Nab would he that the local option poll would be taken at the time of the elections of licensing committees, and thecolonial vote at the time of the general election, and thus two simple issues would be submitted to the electors. Supposing that 10,000 people went to the poll in Dunedin—of whom ">,999—a majority and 598 over—voted for no license, 4,001 voted for reduction, and not a single soul voted for continuance, what did they think wj.s carried under the provisions of Mr Seddon’a Bill? “ As you were. The votes of the 5,999 were nullified because they were one short of a three-fifths majority, and the votes of the 4,001 were nullified because they were not a majority. [At this stage there was an exodus from the back of the hall, and a good deal of noise «,nd confusion took place, the explanation of which was at first not understood, but a communication having been made to Mr Adams he said that some contemptible fellow hj id come into the hall and pul seeds at the back which were smelling badly, but that was just the sort of trick they expected from the other side.] Continuing, the speakeraaid that supposing 9*ooo voted for no license and .‘5,000 voted for reduction, but 3,500 of those who voted for uo license also voted for reduction, so that while there was a three-fifths majority for no license there was a greater majority for reduction than there was for no license, he defied any judge of the Supreme Court or member of the House to say what the effect would be under Mr iSiddon’s Bill. That was a miserable trick (applause)— and it was no acoidept. A nun who in the face of the community could, year after year, in such a scandalous way mislead the public aud insult their intelligence was not worthy to occupy the position Mr Ssddon occupied to-day.—(Ap-plause. ) Referring to the question of wholesale licenses, he said that not only had \yholesale licenses been granted in the Clulha •district in spite of a no license vote, but Mr William Quin, of Tapanui, had sold in the •district as agent for a wholesale liquor merchant in Dunedin. In the Court of Appeal the proposition was definitely accepted -that wholesale liquor licenses granted, say, at the Bluff would justify the holder selling in Auckland. The Government were aware of that fact, and the only provision in their Bill was that in the case of a no license being carried the Committee might not grant wholesale licenses. That was simply a delusion, for the Committee an the next district might grant a dozen wholesale licenses and these were colonial licenses. At the last election over 300,090 votes were recorded in New Zealand, and in order to obtain the necessary majority the Prohibition party must poll 60,000 votes more than their opponents. That meant that in the country districts they must poll man for man and woman for woman with their opponents, and that in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin they must poll every man and woman for mo-license oe they would not gain the required majority. Such a proposal as that was illiberal, and was a disgrace to ft Ministry calling itself liberal.—(Applause.) It was more than that—it meant that a premium was placed on vice and crime. It saeant that the Liberal Government said to the people of the colony that if they placed a man like Mr Justice Williams, who stood higher than any other man in the community for probity and wisdom—(applause)—at the ballot-box, and if they placed Tom bong, the hangman, beside him, and the former voted for righteousness and truth and the purity of the home and for the protection of the widow and the orphan and the miserable and the wretched, and Tom Long, the hangman, voted against him, the latter’s vote counted one and a hit against the former’s vote. It meant that the vote of the woman of the street, the poor miserable wreck of humanity, the wnscjt which the trade had {eft, counted one and a bit against the vote of the most virtuous and heavenly-minded woman that God ever made. The virtue, industry, intelligence, wisdom, and righteousness of the country were handicapped. It was a scandal and a disgrace and a shame that such legislation as that should be proposed in a demoeratin country.—(Applause.) Mr F. Graham seconded the motion. He said that the Premier knew full well, and the liquor trade knew full well, that they could not face the Temperance party on l-,vel terms on this question, and so the Temperance patty were handicapped by the measure which gave three years’ continuance of license to the publicans—an innovation for the first time in the issue of licenses. As a result of the last licensing election there were through the half poll twgptythree districts in the North Island ana thirty-five in the South Island in which the election was void. There were distinct majorities oa the great question before tbs electors, and yet through the half poll the elections were rendered void, and the liquor traffic continued on in its evil way. The motion was carried unanimously amid Appl&Uß6« Mr J. W. Jaoo mo ved—“ That this meeting calls upon the members of the House of Representatives for the City to support the principles of Mr M’Nab’s Bill, introduced by Mr M‘Nab to the House at the request of the Temperance party, and to endeavor to have the Government Licensing Bill amended in committee so as to embody therein the principles of Mr M'Nab’s meaeure.” Mr M’Nab’s Bill, he said, sought to present principles and to obtain results much more satisfactory, he believed, to the great body of the people than the Government Bill would. He explained the main provisions in Mr M*Nab’a Bill, and said that they wanted to urge upon their representatives, who were elected by the votes of the Prohibition party in Dunedin and suburbs, to comply with their election promise and endeavor to obtain for them what they wanted in the way of temperance legislation. The Rev. C, H. Bkadbuby, in seconding the motion, said the intentions of the might be laudable, but he was certain that the methods by which they were seeking to realise those intentions were .exceedingly questionable. This Prime Minister of ours was endowed with a large cumber of qualifications that were of a con-

siderable. order.. There was nobody in the colony endowed with self-assurance at all comparable with that of Richard Seddon. — (Laughter.) He had confidence in himself that he could fill the highest office in the universe. The Prime Ministership of the colony sat on his shoulders like a feather, and he would step into Gladstone’s place without a single blush or tremor.— (Laughter.) He would control the affairs of the universe and never have his sleep disturbed.—(Laughter.) There was, however, one thing which Mr Seddon could not do; he could not draft for New Zealand a Licensing Bill based on reason and common seuse, and that would be satisfactory. The main difference between Mr M‘Nab’s and Mr Seddon’s Bills was that in Mr Seddon’s Bill there was a departure from the democratic principle of government by majority, and there was a dividing of the forces of those in favor of reduction and those in favor of prohibition. Arbitrary and fancy majorities would not work, and were never intended to work.—(A Voice; “Like the unemployed”; and laughter.) If that principle of arbitrary majorities had been put back fifty or sixty years, there was no democracy on the face of the earth whose course would not have been entirely changed. Let the power of government be vested in the people, and they had done forever with anything but the rule of bare majority. The motion was carried unanimously.

On the motion of the Rev. W. Ready, it was decided to send copies of the resolutions to the City members and to the Premier.