The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1908. LICENSING.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13533, 2 March 1908, Page 4

The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1908. LICENSING.

In their forecasts for the present session of the imperial Parliament', ihe Home papers unanimously referred to the factthat the Government were committed to an "enormous legislative programme." Two of the chief measures, the. Education, and Licensing Bills, are now before tha House of Commons. The cable messages this morning relating to the Licensing Bill are full of interest. The Bill is in keeping with the Prime Minister's promises '• that, the difficult- and thorny question of temperance reform will lie grappled' with comprehensively, with a view to putting our complicated, confusing, and largely ineffective licensing lawti on a. sound and permanent basis." Seeing that no Liberal Government has for the last 35 years succeeded in carrying through a Licensing Bill, it is not difficult, to believe that there will be ii protracted struggle over the present measure. It lias long been recognised at Home that there are issue.': of g.) eat- importance to be considered. Among these stand out most prominently, the questions of compensation, resumption by the nation of complete control over licenses, the powers of licensing authorities, supply to bona, fide travellers, and. control 1 of clubs. lit will be. around those that i-he struggle in committee will be the fiercest. Then there are such minor proposals "as the closing of hotels on certain days, exclusion of children from ba.is, and the personnel of licensing justices. From the cabled summary, Mr Asquith appears to have embodied all the more important proposals in his Bill. The reduction of facilities on the retail side for the sale of liquor is for instance startling, for 32,000 licenses are proposed to be suppiessed. No wonder that "the brewery share markei ie. paralysed." With reduction is inseparably bound compensation, round which many a. fierce struggle. has occurred in the House. The new Bill, however, .so far as we can gather, marks quite a new departure on the question of compensation, which gives licenses at- Home a very substantial market, value. Tn connection with this it- is also important to note fiat the area, of the- levy has been widened' to " cover England and Wales." At present compensation is levied over quarter sessions areas, and it is left to the discretion of the licensing justices to de-ile how much it shall lie. We are left a good deal in the dark, however, as the summary of the new Bill is manifestly incomplete. The Government party warmly supports the Bill, additional: details of which and its passage in the House 'will be watched by the people he-ie with lively interest.