PASSING NOTES.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume I, Issue 31, 16 July 1892, Page 2

PASSING NOTES.

The; re-opening of the question ofj compensation to publicans, ,*. whose! licenses are refused," is undoubtedly theoutcome of the grossly nnfair^action of the I Sydenham non-Licensing Committee. This most intemperate temperance* body, swhp mr~all probability compounded}.. X JL JL t'°"~), s. !I —"for sins they were inclined to, By damning those they had no mind to," has raised a Btorm of indignation throughout the Colony by its arbitrary action in closing up all the legal pubs in their district, and no doubt the Licensed Victuallers party were chiefly moved by this in their endeavour to obtain protective legislation. # The first thought that" arises is—?; what is this compensation for P Indeed what does "compensation," in its essence, mean. It means payment for damages done—it means a quid pro quo —it means a balancing of accounts, an equalising, a straightening up, an act of justice. , i V . ! It must and will be admitted, by all { but the bawling brotherhood and.thei shrieking sisterhood, that hotelkeeping, is a valid business so long as it is carried on as ordered by the civil law. In all conscience it is under enough Btate snperveillance. In many places the publican is looked after and treated almost as though he were a ticket-of-leave man, and he is drastically compelled to carry on his business as by law laid down in all cases. . . *#* If then, his is a valid trade, and he carries it on legally, it is an arbitrary and an utterly wrong act, for a prejudiced committee to be allowed'in malice aforethought, to stop that publican of his means of livelihood' without giving him something in return. , Take a case. A man reads and digests the Licensing Act intending to become a publican. He erects large and expensive premises, often unfit for any other buisiness; he complies with all the drastic provisions of the law and pays a! large license fee for the privileges, and, does nothing which he is not legally entitled to do. Enter to him a " Temperance Licensing Committee'l^ who tyrannically and rembrsely closes him op. V We say that man is, without any doubt, entitled to state compensation. If the State allows an Act to remain in the Statute book which permits such an injustice to be done to a person acting perfectly bonajide, why then the state in all moral equity should pay for its false position and crude legislation. .Certainly, if a publican breaks the law.laid down for bis guidance, and breaks it to the extent of the forfeiture of his license, why then on his own head be it. -In any case no compensation should be paid to him for he is entitled to none. ~ ' The flaw.lies in the Act as at present. Too great a power is placed in" the hands of irresponsible / Committees whose personnel is often none of the cleanest. Indeed it will shortly come about that none but interested -parties on the one side and fanatics and cranks on the other will accept office, so distasteful is it, and we would ask, is it to such that the law should delegate' a power almost equal to that of the Supreme Court in this connection. v One of two things must happen. Either compensation mus^; be granted to bonajide sufferers or the law must be radically changed. If the former, there mast be a fund from which the payment mast be made. This would probably mean that license fees, already high enough, would have to be raised and with the additional money received a sort of compulsory insurance fund formed. This would be empirical, and moreover would lead to endless complication and corruption. The owning of so many houses by great : brewers and merchants as at present would not tend to aaiist equity, and altogether that eoorw is inadviftbi*.

What is needed is a reconstruction of the : constitution N> ' of J', Committees. y Whether the Committee' Were mia^e/' elective or nominative —injany "case,-**\ the Resident Magistrate kof the district' should be the Chairmanl^and there should also be a cheap Court of Appeal available. As at present these CommTttees^are ~an~javrant failure. Their areas are tod small, they are too subject to local control and are in a general way pitiable exhibitions of democracy run mad. If hotelkeepera were snre that they would be treated justly and .fairly, they .would not and conld, not ask- > foe.compensation:; Batf-whil^thejjiyai \ on the verge of a precipice^—while not' only the extreme prohibitionist party are ready to push them, over, buttherjl Jsalso a possibility of opposition 1 publi- , cans, brewers and merchants" acting in"* collusion, with the extremists in the push,—they feel rightly that they are,inf / a false position, and desire, as citizen! of the State, that'they .should 4>e/set ? right. : ! We'have had" some^ very- irrigating weather this week as Mr, Malapropf would say. Denizens of the Junction and the lower portions of the township are <rapidly. getting web-footed. There " was a narrow escape from a fresh, on Sunday, when.several firms rushed the wharf store for their goods.-*'-' ' i V Chunk of pie from the Gazettr last week. We hope nobody saVit? >'Tlie Adeline is being preceeded against for new workers. Keep in Wilson 1." Tell us what it is and you can have it. *#* Mr W. H. Stead,; editor, of the " Review of Reviews," has published a statement to the effect that Pope will shortly issue-^an encyclical, asserting that the discovery of America was divinely inspired, and using the contention as an argument' in favour of canonising the discoverer Columbus, „ London '" Troth* says:, . "On f tbV application of a bankrupt* named Enriget for his discharge.at, Bangor the other day, the Official ,Receiver -re-;. marked that the bankrupt,, who. had only paid Is BJd in the £, was not fit to trade asrain. To this Mr' Enriget replied that, he had no desire, tojrade, again, as he had"taken Holy Orders' Jitt ; the Anglican. Church since-his banlcrnptcv, and been appointed to a enraey at £ 120 a year. Of such; is the King, dom of Heaven !" V A telegram from. New .York gives particuWs of a sensational tragedy in court. A man who was accused of having outraged a girl "wa¥ being! tried' for the crime, when the girl's brother entered the court and shot the prisoner through the heart. ; , - , V ■' There are to be more changes in the translation of the bible. . This time America takes the lead, but England, the Continent and Australia takes part. Prof. Andrew Harper, of Melbourne, translates Obadiah. It will be instructive to take the old version and the new and contrast the two Obadiahs. \<" " V 'The'- new ;translations lean toward temperance principles. It is said that a well-known and ranch admired text will now read as follows: "Take a little sarsaparilla for thy Btomach'a sake."