PARLIAMENTARY.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12480, 17 September 1904, Page 4

PARLIAMENTARY.

i For Press Association. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. WELLINGTON, September 16. ' The Council met at 2.30 p.m. THE COUNCIL AND THE HOUSE. New managers were appointed to confer with the managers from the House in reference to' the amendment made in the Police Offices Bill. HOKITIKA HARBOUR BOARD BILL. Mr Holmes moved the suspension of .the Standing Orders in order to allow the Hokitika Harbour Board Empowering Bill to be proceeded with. ' Mr Rigg pointed out that- the committee to which the Bill had been refecrei had a doubt" as to whether the Standing Orders' had been complied with. . : Mr Pinkerton admitted that the Standing' Orders had not been strictly complied with, but the committee recommended that the Bill be allowed to proceed. The motion was carried.

The second reading of the Bill, which is to enable the Hokitika Harbour Board to. dispose of certain of its endowments to raise - money to pay off principal and -interest to the GovernmAt for moneys advanced to the Board and to place any surplus to the Board, was read a second time on the voices. " THROUGH COMMITTEE.

• The Education .Acts Compilation Bill, Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act Compilation Bill, and Marriage Acts Compil-ation-Bill were passed through committee unamended. The Council rose at 3.15 p.m.

- HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THE LICENSING BELL. After the telegraph office closed' at 2 o'clock this morning the discussion on clause 11 of the Licensing Bill proceeded. ,Mr Kirkbride declared that there; was astrong party im the House which had determined, that the caluse should not go through unless the Premier's amendment were put before them in black and white. At 2.10 a.m. a motion by Mr Herdman, that thi Chairman leave the chair, was lost o nthe voices. Mr Massey raised a protest against legislation by exhaustion, and said' that _ it was not going to take place this session if he could prevent it. ' Mr Alison saidi the House was not going ; to bejdriven by the Premier in the wayhe had done last year. He moved at 2.'50 a.m. to report progress. Lost by 45 votes to 28 votes. The Premier Ihen agreed to.report progress at clause 24. Clause 11 was amended as proposed by the Premier early in the evening, and on a division the clause_as amended was added to the Bill by 52 to 21, it being understood that it would come up for revision later, on. Clauses 12 and 15, relating to change of boundaries of districts, were postponed. At' clause 14, dealing with disputed polls, the period within which application for a "recount may be made, was altered -from three to seven days. The other clauses dealing with the same subject were agreed to with machinery amendments. Clauses 22, "Fresh poll," and clause 23, "Repeals," were postponed. Clauses 24, 25 and 26, relating tp Stat* contr.ol, were struck out on the voives. Progress was then reported. ■ The Premier stated that consideration of the Bill would- be resumed at 2.30 p.m. The House rose at 4.30' a.m. iThe House met at 2.30 p.m. After a few minutes of formal business, consideration of the Licensing Bill in committee was resumed. At clause.27, which prohibits the sa]e of liquor in the King Country, Mr Jennings moved an amendment providing for the'taking of a poll on the question whether licenses be granted in the King Country, and that if license is carried the number of licensed houses shall not exceed one to every 1000 of the population. Last year, he said, more than 600 people residing in the district petitioned for the conidderation he now proposed to give them by his amendment, and he contended thatthe * present system of illicit sale there should be put a stop to; and the inhabitants of the district ought to be allowed to vote on a question that immediately affected their welfare. The chairman ruled that the amendment must be brought in as a new clause at the end of the Bill. Mr A. L. D. Fraser urged tthat the European residents of the King Country should be allowed to vote on the question of license or no license in that district. Mr Hone Heke said that there were vast areas of Crown lands in the King Country, and it would be a great wrong to deprive the European settlers on that land of the privileges in regard to liquor ■which their fellows enjoyed in other districts. It was impossible to keep liquor out of the district, and he suggested that & trial .should be given to State control tjiere.

Mr Fowlds said that there was pw.ticaßy no control at all in the King Country. Section 33 of the Act of x 895 oid not apply there, and until it was spjlied it -Was too soon to say that they could not regulate matters there. The Premier asserted that if a vo e were taken the majority of the Maoris would oppose the presence of licensed houses jr the King Country. Discussion on the clause lasted the whole afternoon, and was interrupted by the 5.30 p.m. adjournment. The House resumed at 7.30 p.m. The-Hon. Mr Carroll contended that the natives who had been instrumental in having the area proclaimed as a no license district should be consulted before any change vas made, and he asserted that the natives in the Wanganui district did- not desire that liquor should be allowed there. Mr Kaihau said he had 'been elected to the House by tie Maoris in the King Country, and he did not see why they should not be given a voice in regard to licensing matters. He pointed out that although liquor was prohibited there, the Europeans despite the law introduced liquor, nr.il the natives suffered. Mt Duthie was in favour of prohibiting the sale of liquor to any Maoris, male or female ; but the increase of European settlement in the King Country was so great that the licensing question would sooner or later have to be dealt with. The Premier moved an "amendment bringing the King Country under the provision in the principal Act which- enables the Governor on the application of the owners of any block of native land to proclaim that block a no license area, and that when: tnich proclamation was made the provisions in the present Bill prohibiting the importation of liquor for sale in the district shall apply. , Mr Herries said, that this would be no iielp to the people in the King Country, who at present were not allowed to votelicense or no license. „ Mr James Allen could not see that - the

white people in the King Country were in any worse position than the white people in any other no license district. They could'get liquor, the only difference being that tliey could not vrfte on the question of license or no license. Mr Baume said that the circumstances had completely changed since the arrangement was entered into for the exclusion of liquor from the King Country, and he honestly believed that the House would be right to give the residents local option powers. Mr Taylor said that there were almost insuperable difficulties to getting a license in the King Country.. Even if local option were given to the people, and they voted in favour of granting licenses, it could only be done by an illegal transfer of a license from another district. Hft thought the clause sliou,ld be given a trial. Mr; Jennings expressed his satisfaction with the amendment proposed by the Premier.

At 10.35 p.m., after nearly 5£ hours' discussion, the Premier's amendment was carlied on the voices.

The Premier then moved to add a new sub-clause to provide (1) that, in . a prosecution it should not be necessary, in proving the sale to show that money passed, and (2) that the onus of disproof of exposing or keeping liquor for sale shall be on the accused.

This was agreed to, and the clause as amended was added to the Bill.

At clause 28, dealing with prohibition ol liquor in the Cook Islands, Mr Taylor contended that the clause was not in accordance with the Premier's promise that there should be no liquor in the islands; The Premier stated that all liquor would be imported through the Collector of Customs, 4nd that there would be only one port of entry (Raratocga), -while liquor could not-be sold to Polynesians or Asiatics." . This clause, he added, would supersede the ordinance recently passed by the islands .Legislature, which has already been cancelled.

The clause was agreed to on the voices. Clause 29, " Collectors of Customs to take possession of all liquor in the Cook Islands," was passed by 44 votes to 22 votes. ' - j, Clause 30, providing for importation of liquor in the Cook Islands through the Customs officer- and forbidding the manufacture of liquor iri the group, was agreed to. The Other clauses relating to of liquor in the Cook Islands were agreed to; except that the committee struck out the provision in clause 31 providing that liquor 'may be sold by a Customs officer for "household" purposes and also declared " kava" not to be ah intoxicating beverage. The clauses relating to prohibition of the sale of liquor in the Cook Islands passed with immaterial amendments. At 12.55 a motion by Mr McLaclilan to report progress was lost by 27 votes to 26 votes* The Hoiise_...proceeded to consider the miscellaneous amendments of the licensing laws, beginning with clause 38, dealing 'wiih licensing committees. A test division on the constitution of licensing, committees resulted in. the reten- ' ion of the present system by 38 votes to 25 votes, and the clause was agreed to with .mipot amendments.

" Clause 39, which provides that lapsed licenses should not be transferred to another part of the district, gave rise to rcmsiderable discussion.

The Premier agreed to postpone the and on his motion progress was *eported. The House rose at 1.50 a.m.