PAPERS FOR THE TIMES.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 4872, 26 January 1903, Page 7

PAPERS FOR THE TIMES.

[Aim Rictus Jleseuvjid.]

LOCAL OPTHtiN AMD HGENSiKG. A REVIEW OF THE POSITION. (By Oakley Browne.) Now lluil tho triennial local opUo" campaign for tho colony is over, and tlio sUvt,us ot the x>ublieaouso license ts fixed for Uio ensuing three years, it may not be without, value to review Uio situation generally ami inquire into iim causes which have led to Uio results of the polling on the 25th -November —a day licit will bo long rerenieinbored by the two belligerein. l>arties who measured swords on that

occasion. Tho first great victory achieved hy the prohibitionists was in too adoxmon by herli.M.ieenl- of the principle (.f local option as embodied in the Act ol l-sl/'... The victory to them was enormously enhanced by the shutting 011 1 of nil question of compensation to licensees for their immediate and contingent losses —a question which has up to the present lime v. reeked the holies of tin) no-license agitators in Great Britain ami some of Imr dependencies. The ..■temperance advocates we,-,; not Jong m ''making rbeir power felt and in 1890 itiie.v succeeded in closing ono tlisl riot ' against licensed drink traffic. ’■'They bavn become an orgn.nis. .I body with one fixed object in view—the shutting down et the liquor industry in all its forms. And in this they have the assistance of the enfranchised women of tiro colony who consti( uto a formidable and evergrowing tio-!ic“nso army in hhemselves —probably very much more compact and zealous than tiro male .section of tiro party. All (his should have been patent to thofto of tho “other side” and yet one can hardly imagine, looking to the apathy of Uio publicans and brewers during, let uio say, the last three years, that they were awaro that their enemy wan marching close upon (heir heels, ami taking mite of all their weaknesses and unwatchfiilness. If such an analogy may bu permitted, one might compare tho attitude of tho licensing party in their contemptuous disregard of tho prohibitionists with that of tho British War Ollico in' its unpreparedm-ss to meet llocr aggression. The publican was .stolid, confident, in his ignorance, and unconcerned; tho-prohibitionist was also confident, but by no means uncon. corned, and ho was also slim and silent in his movements as tho Boer. It was only at tho eleventh hour that tho publican, by streunem exertions, managed to save tho position, after leaving a considerable amount of spoil to tho enemy.

Had tho licensing party organised themselves after the local option poll of 189 D, us they will assuredly find it necessary to da now, they would have saved themselves much humiliation. and loss. By organisation, Ido not. mean establishing a fighting platform, but one far more efficacious—a platform of : internal reform. It must bo obvious to those who havo watched the trend of tilings that such victories as were gained by tho anti-liconsing party would not havo boon gained by their unaided efforts. They had, as a matter of fact, as allies a considerable section of +ho voters who arc not in sympathy with prohibition—or would not be under ordinary circumstances—but who feel that Hie privileges granted to the licensed victuallers are in a largo number of instances abused to - the public detriment. Those allies are the moderates who wish to l see the licensed victuallers’ business carried on “decently and in order” or not at all. and ns they will soon bold the balance of power, it behoves the licensees of hotels to act up to the ideas nf this swollen of tho community and thus at the same time placate the less virulent, and more judicial portion of the apostles of tomTV'rr>nc r ‘. HOTEL IMPROVEMENTS WHY HOT EFFECTED. Tho unsatisfactory condition of many of tho licensed houses and tho indisposition of some of tho Licensing Lcnehos to adopt tho police reports and insist on extensive alterations as a condition of renewal opens up an important point for consideration. Before tho adoption of local option it may ho assumed that although tho llccuso issued was, as it still is, an annual one. it was recognised by tho Licensing Committee and tho licensee that the temporary character of tho license was a mere matter of legal expediency, and that, provided tho licensee conducted Ins promises and business iu accoi dance with tho requirements of tho law, tho renewal from year to year was a more matter of form. Thus there could have boon no need for hesitation on tho part of tho authorities to insist on licensed premises being kept up-to-date, nor was there valid excuse for tho noglocb to do so on tlio part of t*-io owner or occupier. But oven at this period tho licensing bodies were remiss in their duties and may ho chargeable to some extent for tho condition of not a few of tho hotels to-day. With tho introduction of local option, however, tho position was entirely altered, and altered for tho worse for the publican and tho public alike. Tho clement of certainty which existed up to 1893 ceased and no licensee could thereafter bo sure, no matter how well bis business was conducted, of more than a three years’ tenure. Obviously a tenure so restricted was not calculated to produce, extensive expenditure in improvements. Yet, despite tho curbing tendency of tho new order of things, enterprising and public-spirit-ed mon were htyo a.nd there found willing to face tho bugbear of prohibition, by ©rooting promises which would ho creditable to any town, iti tho Southern Hemisphere, and far in excess of all legal demands. Some of these havo, since tho last November polls, found to their dismay tliat they havo not only lost their money upon their new promises hut their contingent rights in tho old. In two towns alone, two splendid hotels, costing in tho aggregate nearly £30,000, havo been sacrificed to tho Moloch of prohibition just as they were emerging from tho contractors’ hands. It is true they havo had tho prayers of tho churches ever their corpses, but no hope has boon raised of their “sure and certain resurrection.” Nor do tho churches or prohibition party make any move in tho direction of furnishing any counter-at-tractions to those thoy wipe out. It is hardly to ho assumed that prayermootings, not seldom led by those who are “mast ignorant of what they are most assured,” tea gatherings and Y.M.C.A. halls will entirely fill the bill of tho public accommodation, requirements of trade, commerce, tourist traffic and tho many strenuous phases oi life which havo within half a century raised Now Zealand to tho premier position among the colonics this siclo of tho Equator. AN ANOMALOUS POSITION.

Tho position is an anomalous one. Tlio law requires, and tho public dc-

maud, that trie hotels of the* Colony shall be kept up to a c.-rtatu accommodation standard -nece. sitating large expenditure. or limy mav be snmmaro;, closed, Tho local option poll similarly men.ices them every three years, it goes fnrtlrer and says "Even after von have complied with all (ho Jaw's demands you will most probably have to -leg, no three years hone-.” In the fag* of these facts and the absence of any provision for compensation, i- is net to he expected that owners or les-

sees v. ill attempt lo rebuild on a comprehensive scale or that they v>ill. if hy any impossibility tiny can eva'.e (lie obligations imposed upon them by the licensing bodies, even spicnd any large sum upon improvements. Tho unreasonableness of demanding such a co'irse was shown recently in Wanganui, when (he Public Trustee, administering the lint land Hotel in that town, applied to (he Licensing Committee to revoke their order for improvements i-o the establishment in the face of the recent option polls, contending, through his counsel, that “it would b” extremely imprudent for him as Public Trustee (o build an expensive betel under the circumstances.” It is doubtless been use of a feeling that it would rindor existing conditions ho nianifeslly unjust to compel owners to risk their capital upon. the flimsiest of security of business tenure that (tie Wei I: egton (.’ommitf ee iu June ignored '.lie report of tho Police Inspector ns to the condition or licensed house* in this city, ami renewed th- licenses wit hunt ordering t he, necessary improvements to bo made, tl is contended, and not without reason, that when such, an anomalous state of things obtains the time Ims arrived for an immediate and radical amendment of the law. At present it is of (ho “stand and deliver’'" order. Tho licensee must do that which will probably ruin him in the near future, or bo must have it undone and risk being ruin ml bv immediate loss of license. It is aiding and abetting tho prohibition movement i-' 1 an extra-legal manner winch was not contemplated when, local option was granted by Parliament. Til'll) HOUSES. Ohio of the alleged evils which has |awl a. strong bearing upon tho recent local option putts, and may, unless satislactmiiy explained, have a still stronger detrimental elfeet upon tho licensing trade in tho futuru, is Lho growing tendency to “ tic” heeds to brewery establishments and spirit merchants. Rightly or wrongly, the reeling is becoming intensified that tho concentration cl the “ trade ” in tho hands of brewers and spirit merchants is having a pernicious effect upon tho persons bound, and that this has n reflex action upon the community generally. A careful perusal of tho evidence recently taken before flic Select Committee of tho Lt’gts--I::five Council upon (ho Hon Air Rigg’s Tied Houses Bill does not appear lo altogether warrant that feeling. It lias been argued that tho tying of houses is productive of Sunday liquor traffic and, other breaches of the law in order to enable tho licensees to pay excessive rents to brewers and merchants, but no evidence was elicited by tho Select Committee on tho Tied Houses Bill confirmatory of this. Tho hulk of tlio witnesses declared that where a. tied house licensee found his iucmno insufficient to meet his rent and carry on his business, tho rent was invariably reduced. Further, that directions were given in all cases that the law must be strictly observed. Tho inference. from tills is that there is no necessary connection between tho “ tying ” of Ileuses and broaches of the Licensing Act. Tho additional fact is to bo considered that breaches of the Act am emphatically injurious to the owners’ interests. Is not local option, with tho insecurity of tenure it involves, more to bo blamed for this rush on tho part of hotel-keepers to make money by all moans? Under ordinary circumstances, freedom of trade is doubtless preferable to restriction, but *fc is clear that under Llio present state of tho law tho hotel accommodation afforded to tho commercial, tourist and resident sections of the community would not bo as efficient as it is had it not been for tho assistance rendered to licensees by brewers and merchants, and if that assistance is suddenly removed without any alteration of tho law in tho direction of compensation for enforced closure or security of tenure to suitable houses suitably conducted, a worse rather than a better condition must inevitably ensue. It did not need tho evidence adduced by tho Select Committee to demonstrate the fact that apart from the few good houses now to bo found in tho colony, tho erection of houses of the most desirable character will not bo conspicuous in tho future. It is only those persons

■who havo largo financial risks iu the licensing business who aro jlikoly to build at all, or oven adequately .maintain present buildings under a, throoyoars’ tenure; private dr other capitalists would not bo foolish enough to advance tho money upon such insecure ventures. Even the brewers and spirit merchant? will henceforth bo unwilling to incur further risk, and so in a brief space of time the colony will find itself more and more inadequately supplied with hotel accommodation. TOURIST REQUIREMENTS. There is another feature in this connection which appears to bo overlooked, and that is the bearing tho law, as it stands, may have upon the tourist traffic of tho country. The new departure taken by tho Hon Sir Joseph Ward some two years ago in sotting up a Tourist Department for tho promotion of tourist traffic has already proved so beneficial that it is proposed to carry on attractive operations upon a much more extensive scale than heretofore. Tho object is, of course, to advertise tho colony by means of its natural attractions, and many thousands of pounds have been spent, and many thousands more will bo expended, in offering inducements to tourists and others to visit tho natural marvels of this colony and incidentally to become acquainted with its varied and unsurpassed resources. But if wo aro to limit tho accommodations of those visitors and to hedge thorn iu with restrictions in tho simple matter of the refreshments they may choose to take, wo shall diminish rather than increase the number of our guests from beyond seas. Tho indiscriminate closing of a largo number of hotels decided upon in November is in itself a circumstance that will give tho colony a reputation for insobriety which every phase of our national life gobs to contradict, but which tho outsider cannot bo expected fully to understand. ALTER ATION OF THE LAW NECESSARY.

Whafc aro tho remedies that should ho applied to overcome tho growing ohicctiona to the liquor traffic in 'New Zealand, and to moot at onco tho desires of the moderate section of the tomporivrico party and the necessities of tho commercial, travelling and industrial portions of the community? Tho answer would appear difficult, see-

■ leg that our legislators have found no modus vivendt by which to reconcile -iicause of trim temperance with "eat legitimate public convenience, bun nave rather played into the hands of Uic ‘Temperaecu” extremists. is the answer really so difficult as it appears? Local oj.licn itself has given the means of intensifying some ot the evils v.Tiich us severest/ votaries —the projubUiunisis—wish lo sweep away; and it is unjust in its drastic opera non. By limiting the security ci tenure it has caused the neglect of repairs to licensed premises, and it is doubtless responsible to a great extent for tli; conduct of hotel business on tho lines or “make hay while tho sun shines'’; it has tended to stifle enterprise, and Us baneful influences —baneful in so far as It is indiscriminately exorcised —ialis upon tho juso as well as upon liio unjust. It is. however, not probable that the principle of local option will be entirely set aside, but it may bo possible to modify it with public advantage’, by giving encouragement to houses of a certain standard and sweeping away those which fail to come up to it. The standard should apply to equipment in ail departments and to conduct as well as to the building itself, and these being without reproach, should bo beyond tho reach of local option, except upon payment of the fullest compensation, to bo mot hy the districts demanding their closure. The mere partial demolition of tho trade is illogical, is ineffective so far as stepping drink is concerned, and inflicts a hardship on hotelkeepers in one district to tho benefit of tho licensed victuallers in another. Take Newtown, for example. No sano man can suppose that the person who lias been accustomed to Jiis glass of beer will become n total abstainer because ho is put to the inconvenience of going a little further afield for it. Option, to he logical, should bo general.

Tho drink traffic should bo decided upon a colonial basis, and not upon a system of mutilation and torture such as wo now adept. But whether local or general option rules, tho intervals between tho polls should bn increased. Threo years is too short; six would be none too long an interval with the slightest regard to even an approximation to fairness. Tho recent poll, where reduction or prohibition has boon carried, gives only six months’ grace, and all concerned, directly or indirectly, in tho closed houses or the business rain ili cat ions relating thereto, whether brewers, merchants, employees, shareholders, or the Public Trustee, holding licensed estates in trust for the widow or orphan, aro to bo suddenly reft of their belongings and expectations accruing to them by legal or legitimate process. If compensation of these losses was made a direct charge upon the licensing districts, it is not unreasonable to assume that greater discrimination would bo exercised by those who now so glibly drop their prohibition papers in the ballot-box and rejoice that doing their “duty” has cost.them nothing. SUGGESTED REFORMS. Tho licensed victuallers themselves have suggested an amendment or the law, which from its reasonableness should 11 ud general acceptance. They recognise that local option has come to stay, and seek a means whereby the principle may be exorcised with some regard to justice. A Bill which the licensed victuallers have drafted proposes to .substitute general for local option. Tho machinery under which tho poll is now conducted is left intact, but the time of taking the poll is extended from three to nine years, and the questions to bo submitted are: —• (1) Whether tho number of licenses existing in tho colony,is to continue. (2) Whether no licenses are to bo granted in tho colony. If, the licenses aro swept away entirely, then they or any of them.cannot bo restored unless nine years thereafter, at the poll to bo then taken, the electors by tlmir votes, desire to restore licenses. In this case, “tho committee in each district of tho colony, at its first annual licensing meeting thereafter, shall grant licenses (if applied for) in tho district to tho extent of not more than tho number, nor loss than' fifty per centum of the

number of each description of license that existed in tho district at the time

when the grant of existing licenses in tho- colony was last prohibited pursuant to a poll taken under tho Licensing Acts.” This is going a long way to meet tho objections of the temperance reformer. All tho claims of tho latter ara met, except as regards tho time limit, and that is warranted as a matter of justice to those who have embarked largo sums of money in hotel property. It would give tho prohibitionists their chance of prohibition anil the Licensing Committees an opportunity of periodically weeding out undesirable bouses to tho extent of fifty per cent. Tho Bill under notice amends the law in certain other directions. It provides, “inter alia,” that every person concerned in or party to any offence committed by tho publican against the provisions of tho Licensing Acts shall bo liable to tho same penalty as to fine or imprisonment as tho publican so committing the offence; it provides for a five years’ lease, which cannot bo arbitrarily terminated, and bars any owner or landlord of licensed premises from receiving any fine, payment, bonus, premium, or consideration for consent to any assignment, sub-1 ease or transfer of tho licensed premises by tho licensee. These provisions may bo held to be distinctly in tho nature of reforms.