LIQUOR WRANGLE.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 10451, 5 December 1927, Page 5

LIQUOR WRANGLE.

DISPUTE BETWEEN THE Two - -7 b ; , HOUSES. ’ ■ EACH SIDE SETS FORTH, ITS : . CLAIMS. ' , WELLINGTON, Dec. 3.' ,On the House. resuming after the luncheon adjournment,- Mr Coates suggested .That the House plight pro? icefed To. consider the. amendments made by -tile : Legislative Council in the .Liceifsing.Apienclpient '.Bill, which was received, with v amendments from “another;place.”/; (•' .' Mr Lee (Oainaru) said the Council had made amendments eliminating the bafe majority and. substituting a 52| r 47‘i majority, There were .consequential amendments affecting restoration, strength of wine, ’• and establishing a poll every six years instead of every three-: - years, lie therefore moved that tlie House agrees to'amendments proposed by the Legislative. Council -frith the exception of clause IA, the amendments made in clauses three, four and live and the clauses JL6A and - 168, and that the following managers b‘e appointed to draw up reasons ibi* disagreeing with the Council’s amendunents—Messrs C. E. Bellringer, Jt. A. , Ransom and J. McCopibs. This was agreed to and managers were appointed. The.manager’s' appointed by tlie House submitted reasons for disagreeing with the amendments made in the Licensing Amendment Bill by the. Legislative councillors as follow : That the proposal -to substitute <> six-year poll lor a three-year poll is objected to on the grounds that the extension of the period . on which the poll is taken is a serious curtailment of the power of tlie people to control the granting of licenses. , “That the proposal -to substitute an artificial majority for the present law of decision by the bare majority, which' has been in existence for nine years, is not warranted on the grounds (1) there has been no expression of public opinion that there should be any curtailment of the popular will; (2) that, at none of three general elections held since the enactment of the bare majority in 1918, has there been any mandate for an al-. tpration in the, present law, winch provides for a decision by an absolute majority. “That the proposal to alter the law to allow -wine shops to sell wine up to 4(1 per cent, proof spirit is distinctly retrograde as it would in effect turn a wine license into a spirit license.'’ lu the Legislative Council, k notice of disagreement ot the House with the amendments in the Licensing Bill was received, and the reasons for insisting on the alterations wore drawn up as follow: (1) ' The majority proposed by the Council is a reasonable substitution for the issue of State Control which this Bill excludes lrom future ballot papers on the licensing question. (2) During the nine years referred to in the reasons presented by the House tlie issue of State Control has been included in the ballot papers. The existing law does not provide for an absolute majoiity on the two issues. ’(3) (Vitli regard to the amendments providing for the extension of the period between the licensing polls the Council considers that whichever party succeeds on tlie two issues now proposed as the sole issues that party should have a longer interval than the present law allows from, the disturbance o. its position.' (4) With respect to new elapses I(5A’ and IGB, those clauses do hot permit of a now or higher percentage of proof spirit in New Zealand wine than is authorised by the existing law. FAILURE TO AGREE. NEW SETS; OF MANAGERS APPOINTED. When the House resumed al. i .oo Mr Bellringer presented tlie report of thp manager^/ 1 on the Licensing Bill. Ho said the managers of the House had met the managers from _ tlie Legislative Council and. had failed to •come to an agreement. • He. asked for. a fresh conference and nominated Messrs Lee fOainaru). Sullrvan a.nd Harris as managers. This was agreed to. - In tlie Legislative Cotuicil, when tho failure of the first, conference was reported, the . Council agreed to a proposal from the House form second conference and' appointed Sir H. Rhodes, Hon. J'. Barr and Hon. G. Garland as-its managers— P.A.