PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE LIQUOR ACT.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VIII, Issue 379, 28 October 1897, Page 14

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE LIQUOR ACT.

Mr Guinness, the member for the Grey, has given notice to introduce a Bill to amend the Alcoholic Liquors Sales Control Act of 1895. The Bill has not yet been circulated, but it proposes to take the poll for licensing matters once in three years, but not on the day of the General Election for members of the House of Representatives. Like many other public and private men in this colony, Mr Guinness objects to the mixing up of two great questions, and he has expressed the opinion that large political principles have been lost sight of under existing circumstances at a general election for members of the New Zealand parliament, and the all-absorbing question has been the fight between the prohibitionists on the one side and the supporters of the Trade on the other. With his customary courtesy, Mr Guinness has supplied our representative with a copy of the Bill he intends to introduce, and with his permission we publish the full text of the measure, as follows : — (1) It is proposed to repeal section 4 of the Alcoholic Liquors Sale Control Act, 1895, which provides that the Licensing Poll shall be held on the same day as the General Election for members of tbe House of Representatives, and to enact in lieu thereof that the Licensing Poll shall be held once every three years, on a day to be fixed by the Governor in Council. (2) To reduce the quorum of Licensing Committees from 5 to 3.

It is more than probable that the Government will oppose the Bill, but there is very little doubt about Mr Guinness obtaining large support for his measure; we are also creditably informed that if the Bill reaches the committee stage an amendment will be moved to extend the period at which the poll shall be taken. There is a large section of the House which realises that the poll taken at the last General Election was definite and decisive ; that the fanatics went down all along the line, and hence it is altogether unnecessary to agitate the public mind every three years on the settlement of a question which has already been settled by the mighty power of public opinion. Mr Guinness has been elected to the House of Representatives as a supporter of the so-called temperance party, but he possesses the political acumen which enables a statesman to realise that everlasting agitation is detrimental to the State, and in an equal degree to the individual, and we believe the results will show that the hon. gentleman will accept any amendment in his Bill which has a tendency to accept the verdict declared at the last General Election as the will of the people, and that he will endorse the opinion that it is unwise to retain a provision in a statute which at short intervals “ upsets ” the people and renders insecure great and vested interest. Our own opinion is that the great and decisive verdict given against prohibition at the last General Election should be accepted as “ good” for the next seven years, and we venture to express the opinion that if a plebiscite of the nation were taken there would be an overwhelming majority of votes in favour of abstention from elections on liquor questions for a quinquinnial period. We shall watch with interest the proceedings of the House in connection with Mr Guinness’ Bill, and the said proceedings will be all the more interesting in consequence of the moderate views the hon. gentleman holds on

the liquor question, such views, however being somewhat canted in the direction of prohibition.