WELLINGTON. August 4.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8252, 6 August 1895, Page 3

WELLINGTON. August 4.

At a meeting of the Wellington Prohi* bifcion League, resolutions wera unanimously passed strongly condemning the complicanon of the ballot paper and the neutralising of the temperance vote by the repeal of the provision in the existing; law under wh eh no-)icanse \ote*f are counted for reductions if no license is nob carried, and suggesting that the minimum instead of the maximum reduction should be 6xed At 25 per cent. Strong objec~ tion was also taken to the provision of an ! increase of licenses as retrogressive and unwarranted by public opinion. An anti-Chinese meeting was held last night. There was a large attendance, and delegates from most of the local unions were present. Mr Fraser occupied the chair. Among the speakers was the Hon. W. P. Reeves The following r* solutions were carried: lt That this meeting views with alarm and dismay ihe rapid inroads made upon our social and moral life by Asia- ie and other unsuitable immigration, and therefore urgently requests the Government and members of Parliament to nush on through all its stages the Asiatic and other Immigration Restriction Bill, thereby preventing any further increase of this terrible blot on our civilisation. That m the opinion of this meeting it is imperative that no more letters of naturalisation be granted to Asiatics, and that the poll tax of such immigrants be raised to LlOO. That in order to successfully cope with this serious difficulty, the general pubic be asked not on'y to jcin anti-Chine«e leagues, but also to steadfastly refrain from purchasing goods from any Asiatic. That the foregoing resolutions be forwarded to the Premier. August 5. The Registrar of Patents delivered a decision this afternoon in a case in which the Gassel Gold Extracting Company requested him to fix a date for hearing the application to amend the specifications for letters patent granted to Forrest and M'Arthur. The application was opposed by the Attorney-General, The Registrar held that his powers as to the proposed amendments were suspended by the proceedings for a revdcatim of the patent, , and could only be revived by order of the Supieme Court. The Rev. W. Booth, of Cirtprton, has given LlOOO towards the Wellington Cathedral fund. The Council of the Chamber of Commerce has passed the following resolutions : " That in the opinion of this Council the uncertainty as to the establishment of any trade at all with Cnn^da beneficnl to this colony is such as to render it inadvisable to pledge the col my to pay any subsidy to any hni of stemaers trading with Vancouver, unless in the rearrangement of mail contracts such a course would result in a reduction of the amount of the subsidy paid by the colony for the carriage of mails to England." "He the reciprocal duties. — That this Council re-assert its views on this subject expressed in last annual report " The report in question Rt^ted th-»t the free interchange of ptoductions between the colonies would, in the Council's opit.ion, be a most desirable arrangement. The Council, however, disapproved of the treaty with South Australia, j At a meeting of delegates from the shipping companies and the principal freezing companies in the co'ony a resolution was passed affirming the desirsbility of regulating the shipments of frozen ! meat, nnd increasing the stor ge sp»ce in the colony where necessiry. A deputation from the Brewers' Association waited on the Premier to-day, and laid before him their objections to the Government Bill. The points to which exception were taken were the minimum reduction of 5 per cent, reduction by a bare majority instead of threefifths, and to licenses endorsed by breach «f the Act being the first to suffer, which they urged should b- left to the discretion of the Bench. Thiy also a^k that when population increased, if lictnses were to be granted, it should be in proport'on to one to 500, instead of 700 j that the clause providing for a magistrate acting where no committee wia e'eC'ed be struck out ; that the onus of proof of a man travelling or a lodger be cast on him ; thai the alteration cf the minimum quantity of malt liquor from rwo to four gallons ba not pressed ; that in the c^se of a conviction the immediate landlord, aa well as the owner of the property, should have the power of ejectment. The deputation approved of the proposa's to hold the election on the general polling day, but the Auckland |?rpwerp wore against it.