The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1879.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 296, 22 October 1879, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1879.

The Local Option Bill introduced by Mr Saunders, entitled The Licensing Laws amendment Act, 1872, has been printed. It contains thirty clauses and one schedule, giving the form of the proposed yoting papers, The New Zealander sums it up very clearly and in a few words. It says that it repeals all licensing enactments contrary to its provisions and the interpretation of " licensing laws" is-all Aets of the Assembly and Provincial Ordinances in force at the time of passing this Act which regulate the sale by retail of intoxicating or alcoholic liquors, exclusive of any Acts relating specially to the sale of spirits to natives." It proposes to abolish all existing licensing districts, and to substitute new districts, to be conterminous with boroughs, ridings of counties, and road districts outside counties, as well as other districts outside of the foregoing, Power is given to the Governor to group, as thought convenient, any number of ridings or road districts into one district. It is proposed to grant new licenses only once a year, viz,, at the quarterly licensing meeting held in June, and none are to be granted till sanctioned by a vote of the ratepayers of the district. In order to obtain this sanction the Chairman of the Licensing Court is to appoint a day for taking a poll, hut this only in the menth of March, in the year 1880, and in March every third year, so that intending licensees of new houses would have to wait three years between each polling, and then have to wait till the following June. As soon as the result of this triennial polling is known, it is to be publicly notified by the chairman whether the proposal has been carried or rejected, but even in the case of the issue of a license being affirmed, it is not imperative on the Licensing Court to grant the license. Where there is no ratepayers' roll in force the clerk of the .District Licensing Court is to make one out of the roll of electors for the House of Representatives, and this is to be deemed a ratepayers' roll for the purpose of the Act. The costs of taking these polls are to be taken out of license fees. At any licensing Court if two-thirds of the residents or ratepayers present any petition or memorial against granting any license, whether new or renewal, the Court must refuse to grant the application, Each signatiue to the memorial shall have the age of the person and the distance he or she resides from the house whose lisense is opposed, and the petition must be lodged at lest seven days before holding the Court, with the clerk, The Court is also empowered to define what sliali be deemed " the neighborhood," It is satisfactory to find the new measure does not purpose to inflict personal injustice by shutting up houses without compensation. The 20th clause on this subject we quote entire" The owner of and every person having any beneficial interest in any public house, the license for which shall be taken away or abolished under the provisions of this Act, shall be entitled to full compensation for all loss which he or they may sustain by the exercise of restrictive sections of this Act; and it shall be the duty of the Licensing Court to cause such compensation to be assessed in .such manner as such Court shall think reasonable." A mode of assessing the compensation is provided, and the amount is to be paid out of consolidated fund and local revenue respectively. Under the head of "general provisions" it is provided that no one shall sell liquor excepting between six in the morning and ten o'clock at night, except in boroughs, where extension of time to twelve o'clock may be permitted, The annual fee is set down at £4O, with £lO additional for a twelve o'clock license, Penalties are provided for not keeping a lamp burning, and for selling liquor on Sundays, the latter to be not exceeding £lO, with double fines for a second

offence within twelve months. No person is to bo deemed a " traveller" who resides less than five miles from thd house where he is supplied with liquor, and he must have travelled at least that distance to enable him to be supplied, whilst anyone falsely representing himself to be a traveller or lodger is also liable to a penalty not exceeding £5,