THE LICENSE ISSUES.

North Otago Times, 9 December 1910, Page 2

THE LICENSE ISSUES.

: :;A ; GL^NOE.:AT;;raOBi^TL^ ;;suMMARy;op;:THB mults.:: • ,;Sir;'Joseph-/Ward.':furnished.; a dramatic .'opening; of the '-'License' y. No- . ; jjice)ise?bafctlen .; .whea'he, annoyed Wat the Government Had decMed.,to : substitute threenf'th's -for; : the' proposed t fifty-five hufc dwdths; majority tt) : :determine, the 'cessation of local^.^licensesi^or' : :naiilohal 'prohibiti6n'j';:and to. separate the issues;-Some'members, knew that this bomfo was to he: thrown;in but others, were surprised; and the .Prime. Minister'sjspeech was inter-'..', riipted for, some moments;by. a . of,brisk conversation.-.,/ p .- The.. ,iii the, evening. ; ; . showed t:; ; ah ■ of ::,seventv•seven of f and>,* .- they were all ''Keeping:-jr keen eye and; ■ ear-on the trend oftthiugs. ~ too, had;rmiStMdjrpw. upon. row.' Privileged 'magnates, of- the liquor: and were at attention/on the floor '-pi; the House, weighing the Words..-The.:New Zealand Alliance was entrenched on the south side of the. Speaker's throne, and the Licensed, Victuallers' Federation held a fort on. the north side. The public '•galleries were 'ablaze with interested faces of both sexes, and. the cohort of ladies rani rigflit around . two walls.' The hats, of all orders, and the whispers, the sewing, and the knitting,;added: .some! liveliness to the scene., The rally oi ladies exceeded a hundred, and some of them stayed on till after 11 o'clock. The men's 'quarter was thronged till midnight.- : '■; iJ! ■ -How Fares the Law ?-

Majorities last.night decided thus-' Local option and Dominion prohibition or restoration are to be distinct issues,. • on separate ballotpapers," The majority, in each case is to be three-fifths: instead of the fiftyfive hundredths originally proposed in the Bill; • The reduction ißsue is cut out. , If no-license is carried in a district, the hotels will be closed at the end of the licensing year, following the date of the poll. • This means that the fountains will run dry at the end of June, as at present. If ■ national prohibition is. carried,it will not take effect till four years have elapsed from the date of the POIL '■'',"

If licenses are restored in a■■ 'district,. they will be on. a basis'.of not more than- one to every 500. electors, and not less than 'one''for every 100Q electors. (The Bill stipulated for 400 and 800 -respectively,') National prohibition entails the banishing of liquor except for medicinal, industrial, scientific, or, sacramental purposes.

Existing barmaids are to: be licensed; .and the names are to to gazetted. "Licenses will not be,issued to barmaids unlesß they, show that ' within the year prior to, tbe, passing of the Act they have served, in a bar, .. for at least three months. The wife vor daughter of a licensee will. Wallowed to serve in a bar without a' license, and a similar privilege is to hi enjoyed ißy a licensee who is a woman, '''Fade away and gradually die" is Representatives', decree against the 'barmaids. .'..•.'..' A controversial section, No. 84, remains to: be put in. final shape. This clause concerns the locker system, and the use, generally, of premises (not licensed.) as "places of resort for the consumption of intoxicating lipor,- 5 :■ __ ■'*':■ Brewers' dcpotsAe not to foe ■ established withiJPe miles c! no-. - license-.districts."' The provision' is "! not to apply to bottling warehouses established.prior, to. thccarrVing of no-license. . The House has also to consider the; schedules, and some amendments of which an important one is a proposal by Mr Jennings requesting a poll on licensing issues in the King Country.