THE PERMISSIVE BILL.

Colonist, Volume XVI, Issue 1664, 29 August 1873, Page 2

THE PERMISSIVE BILL.

The occupations or amusement b selected to relieve the monotony of retirement by men who have for many years been; actively employed in public life display the greatest possible variety. So many illustrations will occur at once to the mind of every reader, that it would be mere idleness to repeat a number of stale anecdotes, and bo we proceed at once to the measure now being forced,- with little gentleness or concern for the opinions or prejudices of others, on. the Parliament of this Colony. Mr. Fox found it expedient, after a loug career of varied usefulness, to withdraw himself from the number of those who are by themselves and others always considered Ministers in expectation, when they are not actually in. possession, and he then felt the necessity i for some pursuit iv which he could employ W*giH tUt ttaft M fata* t9 *Ute,

Many 6? bit t&Br & judicious Mafiai fctfloAl perceived his interest in politics becoming less, and lamented the waste of power and dignity when from the platform he thought fit to put forth. the threadbare commonplaces of teetotalism while he still occupied the high postj of Premier. Some sense of the incongruity of his political duties and iphilanthropical pleasures must have, prevailed with him. In what his followers would perhaps call* touching language he expressed his gratitude to Mr! Creighton, for having in two past sessions, while Mr. Fox was trammelled by * unbelieving colleagues, introduced to public admiration-the child of his soul, the famous Licensing, or, as:it. is commonly called, Permissive Bill, and he rejoiced that, bursting the bonds of | office, he could at length avow Ms paternity, I and endeavor by dvery Parliamentary art to induce others to admire his ricketty offspring, and impose v on the people of New Zealand. Mr. Fox haa found his amusement, and it would really seem he may for the term of hia natural life be certain of never wanting the excitement of conflict which is so congenial to his combative disposition. His anxiety for the suppression of drunkenness is no doubt sincere, but, little as he will believe it, the most consistent opponents of his pet measure desire fully as much to advance the moral and, social state of the people, only they differ as to the means proper to be adopted. To enable a correct judgment- to be formed between ; opinions so wide apart it may be well to notice some of the leading novelties. Mr. Fox proposes to introduce?, and to consider how far they are likely to effect his object without unduly trenching on the liberty, of the people. Passing over the sixth clause, which proposes to put every officer appointed for local purposes, either in virtue of an Act of the General Assembly or Provincial Council, under the control of the Resident Magistrate to assist iv carrying out the. Act, and rendering him in default,.liable to a penalty of £20, as too absurd for serious notice, let us turn to Clause 18, which provides for electing a Licensing Court by the ratepayers of the, district." Any man who had paid the least attention to public affairs ought to have, seen that those interested in the composition of the Court would actively canvass in favor of persons likely to Berve their views, and' so the applicants for licenses being alone directly and permanently concerned, the: transient efforts of a teetotal society would avail little against the, efforts of men :>whose :very^ livelihood was at stake. - This absurdity was got rid of by Mr! J. L. Gillies 'moving an amendment to authorise tfce appointment of licensing justices to act with the Resident Magistrate, and the change, if it ever becomes law, may be found possibly to be an improvement on the .present system, which imposes no special'liability on any magistrate. Clause 23 may be considered the gem of the Bill. It provides that every unfortunate applicant, not only for a new license, but, we ask our readers to remark, for the annual renewal, shall produce to the Court a memorial in favor signed by- at least one-third of the ratepayers of the district, and with the signatures verified on oath by the persons in whose presence they may have been written, before he can even be listened to. Let us fancy the. position of our most respectable Nelson innkeepers.; A steady canvass of months would be required every year to insure a sufficient number of names, and it is not going too far to suppose _ the refusals would come, not from those who freely, indulge, but from people averse to any places of resort for the temperate consumer. Who can doubt the tippler demanding at least a glass for his name ?. The annual fine on each publican would be considerable-, and the tendency must inevitably be to promote drinking. The mode of bringing into operation the prohibitory clauses, that is, the absolute cessation of the sale of any alcoholic liquor, either by wholesale or retail (our merchants should take warning), ia one of the most curious perversions of justice and common senße we have ever seen.; 4 On the requisition of any twenty persons, male or female, and* if married, the mature age. of eighteen entitles them to act, the Resident Magistrate'is to poll the district, and Ton ■ the ■ requisite number of votes being.:obtained, all salesJF must cease for at least three years, as within that time no second vote can be taken, nor then, Eave on the requisition of fifty persons. Mark the fine.spirit of equity pervading the measure. Should the vote,be \ agpintt the adoption of the prohibitory clauses, another attempt may be made in a year if any twenty fanatics again demand it, so that:the country would be kept in constant turmoil wherever twenty, intemperate, temperance advocates lived, and that too without one farthing of expense to themselves, as Clause 42 directs all payments to be made out of the Provincial Treasury ; truly a cheering prospect for the guardians of our local funds. To go through the clauses one by one, and point out the absence of all recognition of right in the publican would occupy more space than we have at command. As a final' sample, we may direct attention to Claiisp 79, providing that whoever may be injured by any intoxicated person shall have a right of action against the seller of the liquor, the consumption of which may be presumed to have"' produced the state in which the damage has been inflicted. The. force of folly can no further go. A merchant sells a cask of spirits, and from that moment be is liable for any mischief done by the purchaser when drunk, provided his condition has resulted from imbibing the contents of that particular cask, We have felt it our duty to say thus much about this most arbitrary and tyrannical measure. Petitions in favor of a Permissive Bill ate freely ; signed, though,-we believe, in entire ignorance as to what is proposed. Drunkenness is a vice as odious to the respectable publican as to anyone, and no difference of opinion can exist as to the evils it gives rise to. It is one thing to amend the, ways of. the evildoer by moral influence, and another to coerce by provisions that possibly might be submitted to in a barbarous and despotic tfale, buti that no focfotj o| (jm bon* m WQ^wduwfwadaj, ,