THE LIQUOR BILL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2884, 22 October 1895, Page 3

THE LIQUOR BILL.

(Press.)

The Conference of the two Houses upon tie Liquor Bill sat for several hours on Saturday, but arrived at no definite agreement. The meeting has been adjourned till Monday. The managers representing the Council, though prepared to make reasonable compromises upon many of the points in dispute, will not giue way upon the main questions, such as national prohibition, tho position of clubs and New Zealand wine licenses. They maintain thatnational prohibition is a separate question, and should not be dealt with in this liill, and that the people of the colony have not pronounced iu favour of such an interference with individual liberty. Their amendments as to clubs come back to the existin-r law. They contend that clubs are not public-houses, and should not bo treated as such. Additional powers of inspection might, however, be granted. As to the wine licenses the Council managers urge that to stop them would seriously interfere with an industry established with the encouragement and concurrence n* t jje L'-islaturo. Upon most ** tho other points the Couicil is prepared for compromise. The number of proposal:) io he voted on under clause < : might be iucuvasod to two, the irou.;<j having dechired for three and the Oouued for oii e a. s £ 0 theeifectof the reduction poll being caTrie 1, both parties seem inclined to agree upon a .-ort of sli iin:; scale instead of the 10 per cent, minimum caried by Uie House of iicprcscntativcs. A compromise of four miles to constitute a. traveller will prove ;e ... pcaUle, and other h.-sef points can also be. iixed up. Tli-.-n: is a oispo.-i 'ion. hiuon:; i-ei.-t, of tilt) ivpre.M ntativen OL the Lower liousi; i.D .iicct the Cg.im itiers in. a reason:'!>h; -pirit. ae.d .-erne people think the Mill !:.:.;,' yet tiee.oiue law iu a modilied 'Jovia. i lu.vcvcr, the fact remains that upon two ol the hading questions iu dispute, namely national prohibition and lite position of the i-lub.-i, the Councillors t ice a very linn v.. and; and the rep re: cntalivrs of the House mii-t. apparently give way if :.n agreement i, iobii arrived at. Milt there seems but lil.ile prospci.t of this, and the oniy alternative that remains is lie; laying a-ide. of tile measure for the pre-cut res-ion, This, in tiie opinion of many eompi tent judges, will ultimately be Miu rosult ol the Ovni'eroaco.