European Voters In King Country Are Disappointed

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1949, Page 2

European Voters In King Country Are Disappointed

(P.A.) NEW PLYMOUTH, March 10._ “L am. grgatly difeappomted .af the result of the Ring Country licensing poll,” said the. Mayor of Taumaruhui (Mt rt. H.- Hall} today. “There is only one 'iiist solution for our King Country licensing problems, namely open licences.”

Th’dfeStilt of the poll and method by which .itwas brought, about were expected, sajd.Mr Hall..lt was recognised beforehand that advantage would be taken of the split Maori and. European polls by prohibition interests and that concent ration on the Maori voters would be the means adopted by anti-liqtiof interests. In the end, a handful of Maori votes from-the. northern end of the King Country had determined the licensing issue throughout the King Country, said.Mr Hall. In spite of an overwhelming European vote iri favour of licensing and what appeared to be a substantial Maori majority in the south arid .crihfral are&s; the King Country was to continue dry. The. King. Country recently secured from the Government a last-minute concession of charters for. King Country clubs in the event of the European poll being passed. Procrastination by the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr W. E. Parry) on the granting of temporary charters to King Country clubs had already deprived the district of one of the benefits that Parliament intended it to have.

“I hope that a more liberal view in the spirit of the recent Licensing Amendment Act will be iri. evidence if arid when the inatter of permanent licences for King Country clubs comes up for consideration,” he added. “Chartered clubs, whether few or many, will yiot, however, solve our liqpor problem.” King Country residents would not rest content with the present condition and he had no doubt that in due course all those interested in the licensing of the King Country would rehew the fight. There were possible solutions of the problem which in the light of the results of the poll might be adopted as temporary expedients, sb that iri the meantime the wishes of the great iriajority Of the King Country residents would at any rate be partly fulfilled. The following are amended figures for the polls'in the King Country:— Maori For licensing . . • • 1310 Against licensing .. . ■ 1404 European For licensing "103 Against licensing 1899 “PEOPLE OBJECT TO BOOKMAKERS,” STATEMENT CLAIMS

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, March 9. “Those who want to see the sport of racing develop to an even higher standard than it enjoys today will be gratified at the result of the pool,” said Mr W. Claud Motion, vice-presi-dent of the New Zealand Racing Conference, this evening. “The result indicates that the majority of the people in this country appreciate the need for some effort to be made to remedy the state of affairs Which for so many years has been an open disgrace. They have said iri definite terms that they object to the illegal bookmaker and the system of off-course betting which is carried on through him. It is a clear direction to the Government that offcourse betting must be diverted from illegal channels to a legal method of investment on the totalisator.

“In anticipation of Parliament putting into effect the wishes of the people, the Racing and Trotting Conferences cah now proceed with all the vast initial preparation which will be necessary before the scheme can be put into effective operation. We have never pretended that the organisation can be developed at once. There is much to be done. It is proposed to establish totalisator agencies in the major towns in the first instance and, in due time, New Zealand coverage will be complete. I would ask people to be a little patient with us. and to appreciate that before any concrete proposal towrifds setting up an actual organisation can be put into effect we must know what rights and powers Parliament will give us. “The public will be kept fully informed of developments and offcourse betters, no matter where they live in New Zealand, can look for ward to the day when their requirements will be frilly catered for.” WAIMARINO VOTE (P.A.) NEW PLYMOUTH, March 10. “I could not possibly answer that question,” said the Prime Minister (Mr Eraser) when he was asked if the Government would consider granting licences to the Waimarino electorate, which is part of the King Country. In the King Country referendum the Maori section voted against licensing, so that the proposal was defeated, but provisional figures shoWed that licensing was carried by substantially more than 60 per cent, in both Maori and European polls in the Waimarino electorate. “I airi hot a prophet and I cannot foretell what the Government’s attitude might be,” said Mr Fraser after this result had been pointed out to hirn. When asked for his personal views of the suggestion of licences for Waimarino, Mr Fraser declined to comment.

Waimarino County is in the south of the King Country. The principal towns are Ohakune and Raetihi. Taumaruriui, the . centre of the King Country,- lies well to the north.