HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLVII, Issue 12283, 17 September 1904, Page 8

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

WELLINGTON, September 16. After the Telegnaph Office closed, clause- 11 of tihe Lioeni'Jing Bill Avias discussed at great length.. , ' Reference w'asi made to a conterence on the Bill between ithe represemtatives of the no-license *and liquor sections of fhe House that had been 'held during the evening. -" • Afo Seddon. the suggestion lor ia conference on t!he Bill did not come from {him, 'buto'was an. honesit endeavour to ai"irive tat a soixition of t^6 diffiiculty. He agreed! ito take claus© on the voices. He knew fe would :b© ibe!aten on it, and She 'had fought too many 'battles to get "scars where tiney could be avoided. Eventually tne sub-sections providing tlli'aib'all liqiior sent into a prohibited district must be congigned to a Custom's olhcer, and itha't. su.ph officea* must not deliver any liquor to any person unless he is satisfied it is required for consumption and aiot for sale,Tvere struck out. • The clause was .amended to provide ftliiait notification of liquor having been senlt into a no-licemse district should _be given .to the Colledtor of Customsi, who nrould judge Whether the person to whom it was being sent was 'a proper person to n-eceive it. T!he clatise. as amended was added to .the Bill fey 52 Uto 21, it being understood it Avould come up for revision later on. ■ , , n • Clauises 12 and 13, relating to the change of boundaries of districts, were pceltponed. • •.-,.'. i Clauses 14 to 21, dealing with disputed pioTls, .were ■ 'agpeed to with an'achinery amendments. ■ . Clauses 22 and 23 were postponed. _ Clauses 24, 25, and 26, relating to S:fiate controls were struck out on. the voices. > • Progress -Was reported, and the House rose 'at 4.30 a.m. ■ = .'House met at 2.30.

THE LICENSING BILL.

After a few ra!inutes' iformal business, t3ie consideration of tlhe Licensing Acts Amendment Bill in committee was re- , Sfumed. At clauiie.27, -n^hioh prdhibits the sale of (liquor in. tha sing Oounitry, Mr Jennings moved un providing for the taking of :a poll on the questlion -whether liceaises ;be granted in the King Country, and.d.ihait if license is carried the number -wf 'Ecensed 'houses shall noit exceed one to everylooo of the population. ■ Last .year,-hesialid, over 700 people residuig^n. *he districti petitioned foa- the considerate he now proposed to give fcheini by Ms amendment, and he contended that the present 'system of illicit sale there sßouM.be put a stop to and the inihabitantis of the district ought to 'be allowed to vote on a question that immediately' Effected tiheir welfare. Tlie Chai'rmia.n ruled tHiat the amendment must he broughit in ac anew clause at the end of the Bill. ' Miv A. L. D. Fraser urged that the European residents of the King Country should be..'iaiMWed to rote on the question of license 'or no license in that dlis-' ■%rict;-'- z'-' ■ ■■"■"Jv;-i ■■■

.Mr Hone. Hekcl 6laM .there were vast areas'-of Grown liaiids in the King Country/and it would; be a great -wrong to deprive European, settlers on tihat land of the privileges in regard to liquor which . itheir' fellbi^'' enjoyed in oilier. districts. It was impossible to keep liquor out of the district, and/he siiggested that a trial should be given to State ©cntrol . there. ■■ ■■:■- ~i-;-A-^ :;■ ■ •Mr Fowlds- said there was practically no control.at iaill dn the lying Country. Seotion 33 of the; AiOt 0f.1895 did not apply there;: and until it was applied it . ...was to'o.e^onstoigay ttefc th\ev u c.ould. not ;■; m^egiilatefniVit'ter® jthere. '^@-'^is^":'■•■•'. ■•*"., rrvrMr . Seddicat ?."i|p9serted tihaiKalffa^%ote; ■' Tw^:t»keip jEfijefii^iiajority ;of ifehle^l^oads .'v'.v-.'TfQul-i.toppttose 'the presence <)f^li^^9ed j-£^p/a^: Hj/jtfeiKipg Counitay. J"^|i^: B (IvT|iie:;di^M'ion on the clause lastedj': the : wh*ole afternitfon, and was interrupted by tihe 5.30 'adjournment. The House resumed at 7.30. In committee onl the licensing Bill, The Hon. Oiiicroll contended that the natives who !had tj^en instrumental in having the area proclaimed as a "noIcense" district is'hbuld be consulted before any change was "made, .and She asserted that the n'ativee' in the Wanganui ; district did riot desire that liquor sliouM . Jbe allowed .tihere. -•■•-■ Mr Kai'hau said he had Taeen elected ': tifo the House-iby the Maoris in t)he King Countjcy, and as their i-epreeentative Hie ' could not see why, they should nob be given a voice in' regard to licensing m'attsrs. 'He jioin'ted iouifc that although liquor was iprohiJbited there the Bui'opeans. despit^ the law, introduced liquor and the native© suffered. Mr Dntihie wan in favoinr of prohibiting "the sale.'of liquor to any Maori, male or female, but the .iaicrease of European settlement in tihe King Country was so great that the licensing question would sooner or latter have to he dealt with. The: Hon. fSeddon, moved an amend■memb bringing the King Country under ilie provision, in #ho principa;! Aot wiliioh enaWes the Goveraor, on the application of the owners tof any blosk of naitrve land, to. proclaim that block a "nolicence" ai-ea7"Snd that when such proclamation was made the provisions) in the present Bill prohibiting ithe« importlatiion of liquor for sale, in tihe district shall ' Mr Hei-riesisaid^'this would <be no help -to the people iii the King Country, who

at present were japb allowed to vote ililcen.se or~tib-license. '

~ "Mr Jas. Alleaiibould'iibt see tliat the yvMte people in the Kitfg Country wore iv any worse position "than tth.e white people in any other no-license district. They could get liquor, the only difference Being that tiiey could not vote on the question of license or no license. Mr Baume said the oireuimstances had completely changed since the airrangemcttKb Wals entered into for the exclusion of liquor from the King Country, and he honestly 'believed the House would be right to. give the residents local option powers. Mr Taylor siaid there ware almost msupera'ble difficulties to getting a license in fhe Kinig Country, even if local option were given Ito lihe residents! and they voted in favour of granting licenses. It could only he done by an. illegel transfer of a license from another district. He thought 'the clause should, he given a trial - l ■', Sir/'iepnings expressed his satisfae±\joii\xfMi''sp amendment proposed by ' the !P>eMeßl /• ? ' , _. ■ , , : fiTAlt'lo.3s p.m.—rafter nearly 5£ hours' '■ 'discussion—Mr Seddon's amendmenlt was carried oil'tthe voices. Mr Seddon then m'ovtid to add a new sub-clause to provide (1) that in a prosecution it Should not be necessary, iln proving the sale, to show that money had passed; >and (2) that the onus'of .disproof of exposing or keeping liquor for sale shall be on the laooui'ed. This ■was agreed to, and the clause, als amended, was added to the Bill. , ■■■ , . At el'ause 28, dealing With the prohi•biftion of liquor in .the Cook Islands. . Mr Taylor contended that the cause w:ais net in accordance with, the Premier's promise rtihat there shWld be no l:quor in, "the (islands. . ■ . Mr Seddon stated that all liquor would be imported through tih 9 Collector of Customs, and that there would be only one port of entry (Raratonga), while liquor could xfiot be to Polynesians or Asiatics. This clause, he added, would supersede the ordinance recently washed by the Island's' Legislature, which has already been cfancelled. The clause was agreed to on tine voices. „ _. , Clause 29—''Collectors, of Customs vo take possession jpf all liquor in the Cook Islands"—was passed by 44 to 22. Clause 30. .providing for the importation iof liquor in the Oook Islands through the Customs officer, and foribrcLding the manufacture of liquor in the group, was agreed to.