THE LICENSING BILL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 14, Issue 1158, 3 June 1870, Page 2

THE LICENSING BILL.

Sir,— -Any one who has seen much or little . of New Zealand, cannot help coming to the conclusion that there is np lack of public houses, and from the existence of so many he might infer that the law was. sufficiently favourable to — shall we saythat particular line of industry. Ifc would seem, however, that the Province of Hawke's Bay were an exception, though by the way, there are localities where the public houses crop up at shorter distances than every second mile; and there are villages in which the public houses number one, two, three, or four, among the few houses there. Yet, notwithstanding all this, it would seem as if the publichouses were to be indefinitely increased, and as if in their management there were to be the most unlimited license. Imagine a Publican's Licensing Bill, and in the measure introduced into the Provincial Council last week, you have it. Indeed it is worse in some of its features than some publicans I know would draw up by themselves. It strikes me as being an improvement on the old Act or Acts very much for the worse. I use bufc mild terms respecting it, when I say it is one-sided, defective, pernicious, and retrogressive, if not oppressive, especially to those who should be farthest from oppression. I judge of it by the draft in the last issue of this paper. Ifc would seem as if there were such haste in the introduction of the measure that there was not time to arrange the clauses numerically, or make it otherwise available for reference in writing, or speaking. Ist.- — There is no provision whatever in the bill for the amount or kind of accommodation to be provided for travellers, any more than if the professed object of the public houso were to sell drink and that only. There is nofc the slightest protection aflbrded to the decent portion of the community, against the shocking sights and sounds of the bar room. This is certainly a very one-sided measure. , 2nd. — There ia nofc the slightest allusion in the bill to any restriction on, or prohi-; bition of gambling in public houses. There is no provision against drunkenness or disorder. There is no provision against the supply of drink to miners or Maoris. In. these respects it is defective and pernicious. 3rd. — The present bill permits the public house to be open on a portion of Sunday, while according to the old and former Acts the public house was to be shut on Sunday. Now in England the public houses are closed during tbe greater part of tbat day ; and, in Scotland, since fche passing of the Forbes Mackenzie Act they, are closed during the whole of Sunday. Statistics and experience have proved that the most beneficial effects have resulted in both countries from such a line of action. The present bill progresses in quite a different way from this. Ifc may well be termed retrogressive. 4th. — Hitherto it has pretty generally been entertained that it was for the Bench of Magistrates to consider whether or not a license was to be granted for a public house required, but from the provisions of the new bill it would seem as if the magistrates had no alternative but to issue the licenses applied for, be they ever so many, independently of the requirements of the locality altogether, or state reasons which may probably lead even to litigation. In short this clause of the bill is such that any one who has not made up his mind to licensing public houses ad infinitum cannot sit upon the Bench and exercise his functions with any otber feeling than that of legal oppression. Last of all, the voice of the inhabitants of a locality where a public house is to be planted is ignored ; not even the former four or five signatures of householders are now required. Verily, if the inhabitants of the province can sit quietly under such legislation as this, they deserve to have public houses planted down at their very doors, to drain away the commercial lifeblood of the community till there be none remaining.-— I am, &c, x. y. z.