AMENDMENT WANTED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11027, 16 March 1914, Page 6

AMENDMENT WANTED.

LAWS LET YOUTH DRINK. PECULRR ANOMALY IN LICENSING ACT. One of the most important provisions in the Licensing Act is directed towards the prevention of drink reaching young people, and the Legislature has placed heavy penalties at the disposal of Magistrates to punish licensees who serve people under the age of twenty-one years. At the same time, however, the law _ does not prevent young hoys obtaining liquor and getting drunk. On Saturday night, ""the case of a youth, aged twenty, came up to show the weakness of the legislation, which only deals with the supply of liquor for consumption on licensed'premises. .'■ ' Children of tender years often procure iquor from hotels, and Christchurch within a year or so has known cases of boys under sixteen who have been intoxicated. They obtain drink by buying it for consumption outside the hotel. It has been urged that amendments to the law are required to meet the .special cases that step through the original measure.. A provision by the Legislature that no one under twentyone years should be permitted to have intoxicants in his possession would go a long way to meet the difficulty. .Steps should be taken to prevent young people getting intoxicants at all. The provision, it has been stated, would lead to a cessation of the practice of sending children to bottle and jug department's for beer, which has a harmful influence on the small kiddies. The Act at present is faulty, and does not accomplish in this direction what it was actually designed to do. It is understood that efforts will be made next session to secure the amendments required.