THE LICENSING ACT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIV, Issue 10708, 18 July 1895, Page 5

THE LICENSING ACT.

ALLEGED LAXITY OP ADMINI- ' STRATUM. ' - [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, July 17. The House of Representatives was'this afternoon prematurely precipitated into a licensing discussion, the lively tone of which may be taken as a foretaste of the bottled-up excitement that is waiting to find vent when the measure to amend the licensing law comes up for debater This afternoon’s proceedings originated in a question put by Mr Pirani as to remarks made by -Mr Justice Richmond in charging the Grand Jury at Blenheim recently, with-reference to police laxity in enforcing the lawfor the control ot the liquor traffic. It had been shown that in a case on the calendar a prisoner, when intoxicated, had been supplied with drink at an hotel, and the Judge remarked that the police were hardly to blame, as there was only one constable, and he had not tho moral force of the community behind him. He (Mr Justice Richmond) looked to the authorities behind the police force, for unless they were heartily in earnest the remedy for the evils complained of would never be forthcoming. The member- for Palmerston wished to know if the Minister’s attention had been called to these remarks, and whether he would cause inquiry to be made into tho alleged state of things. ■

The Premier, in reply, said that the police all over the colony had strict instructions to enforce the law with regard to licensing matters, the same with every other law. Whenever any case had come under his notice in which the police had not done their duty, he had not spared them. If, therefore, the remarks of Mi Justice Richmond were meant to apply to the ‘ Government they were entirely unwarranted. Now that these statements had been brought under his notice he would cause an inquiry to be made into the way in which the police discharged theii duty in the district indicated. At a later stage when Mr E. M. Smith moved the adjournment of the House in order to expatiate upon the reported discovery of natural illuminating gas in Taranaki, members seized the opportunity to disseminate matter more gaseous than illuminating on the subject of the administration of the licensing laws in the colony. The Premier' and the, Minister of Labour each took to reply to implied .imputations; 011 Government, and they warmly maintained that Ministers generally,, and the' one in charge of the Police Department especially, had been most zealous in demanding that the licensing law should be strictly enforced. The Premier deprecated discussion of the utterances of judges by Pariiamept, and Mr Reeves made a good point by stating that he‘recognised rigid administration of--the existing licensing law to be the only alternative to national prohibition. . J jjSMr G. W. Russell made one of his strong declamatory speeches, in which he roundly asserted that wholesale breaches •, of the licensing law were daily committed in every city m the colony. By way of proving his assertion ho said that Christchurch publicans some time ago made a compact that they would close their premises on Sundays in accordance with the law. Tbev kept the agreement for a time, but," finding that two or three of their number were keeping open and securing all the Sunday trade, the whole of them agreed to reopen, and they were open every Sunday. Those things were

known to everyone, including 'the. Minister -of Labour, himself. (Mr Reeves here interjected, "They ar* not,” whereupon Mr Russell said that the Minister’- ■ ignorance must be due to the fact that 1 waa hardly ever in Christchurch, bu spent most of his time in Wellington.) Iu conclusion, the member for Riccartoa declared that the adminiatratiou of the licensing law in the colony had become *• a farce, and a by-word of contempt.” Mr Crowther, who followed, declared emphatically that it waa not so in Auckland, a etatemant that waa received with ■honts of derisive incredulity. Mr J. W. Kelly had a warm word of commendation to= give the present Ministry for its efforts to strictly administer Jks. . licensing law, and- at the same time-a less than lukewarm word to say. of a previous G>vernment that hadimoved a police seigesnt from Invercargill because he was too hard on the publicans. That'aergeant bad at once been replaced in his position by the - present Government. The member for Invercargill blamed Justices and Stipendiary Magistrates for showing undqp sympathy with liquor vendors, and thus discouraging the police from bringing prosecutions. To snob an extent had this gone in his district that a sergeant of police lately declared in open court that :he would not lay another information against any hotelkeeper so long as a certain magistrate occupied the bench. That magistrate had since been moved by. the present Government to a district where he wonld do less harm, i Mr Q. J. Smith raised a laugh by suggesting that Ministers should go to Christchurch, disguise themselves *' and , m ake. a tour of the. hotels on a Sunday. He was sure that they, would find dozens of men drinking in soma hotels. The Minister of Labour, if he went round the iWellington hotels some Sunday—, (laughter)—would see a similar state of things.* It would be well if the licensing law were as strictly administered as the Shops and Shop Assistants Act. (Here the Hon W. P. Beeves interrupted with a statement that not onie shopkeeper in fifty that broke tbe-la w w*» ever —Mr Smith added, that to bis personal knowledge the licensing law waa not properly administered in Christchurch, and he expressed the belief that if the police were given a free band and were simply told to enforce the law a much better state of things would prevail. Mr M’Gowan said that Christchurch was understood to be the most religious city in the colony, and from the statements now made,- it wonld seem also to be the most drunken city in New Zealand. This evoked loud cries of "No.” whereupon Mr M’Gowan repeated that ha was only quoting the statement made by. a Christchurch representative. Mr Tanner said that these statements had reference to breaches of the licensing law. not to drunkenness. Mr M’Gowan said that he neither blamed the police rior the magistrates for the unsatisfactory condition of things. ■Jn his opinion the state of the law was responsible for that, as the police found great difficulty in obtaining convictions. Captain Buseell closed the debate with soma dispassionate remarks, conveying hie opinions bated upon former experience "as Defence Minister, It was reported to V him that there was sly grog-selling in a West Coast dis- ; trick, but the police said they were unable to put it down. He, thereupon, intimated that, unless illegal practices were put down,' he would -have the police inspector and other officers removed from the district, and the result was that within a month, it he remembered aright, there were nine prosecutions for - breaches of the Licensing Act.