THE LICENSING BILL.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XII, Issue 714, 12 November 1903, Page 24

THE LICENSING BILL.

The following are some “ chips ” from the debate on the second reading : — “ The Premier seems quite happy because in his estimation the Bill pleases nobody.”—Mr Aitken. “If the Prohibitionists are consistent they will not rely on those who keep grog in their private houses?.” —Mr Hogg. “In V/estland the pubs, are open all day. If a man spoke about a licensing law there he would be a curiosity.”— Mr Lewis.

“ W'e are getting so much Governor-in-Council in our legislation, says Mr Aiken, “ that the best thing this Parliament can do is to pass one short Act referring everything to the Governor-in-Council and go home.'' “ I have been in districts where there were no licenses,” said Mr Hogg, “ but there was unlimited drinking.’ “ When were you there ?” queried a member on the opposite side of the House. “ The whole of our licensing legislation is of a deceptive order." —Mr Duthie. “ The Reduction vote is coquetting with the cjuestion. Let us have Prohibition or no Prohibition.” —Mr Milford. “ It is when the police fail and the Government do not do their duty that ihe Moderate party step in and give their votes to the Prohibition party."—Mr Duthie. According to Mr M ilford the . difference between a traveller and a bona fide traveller is that the one travels to drink and the other drinks to travel. “My opinion is that no man in this House would be more delighted to see this Bill lost on its second reading than the Premier.” —Mr Lang. Under the Food and Drugs Act, the county authorities in Glasgow have recently prosecuted ia certain firm for selling spurious or adulterated brandy. The trial took place in the Hamilton Sheriff Court, and some rather singular evidence was given for the defence by commercial witnesses. They testified that no one can buy real brandy for 8s a bottle, because since the phylloxera destroyed the vines in 1876 it cannot be made for money : that liquor imported from France as brandy is now a mixture of grape spirit and other spirit, in what proportion and with what other spirit is not known except to the producers. They testified that they are satisfied if liquor looks, smells, and tastes like brandy. A Mr Gemmell said that brandy was spirit distilled from any fruit, grain, or root, as rye, potatoes, or maize. In other words, any spirit distilled and do’etored so as to resemble brandy is brandy. It was also given in evidence that, besides grain, rotten figs and black ants were used to distil brandy from. The Sheriff, in givingjudgment. said that the prosecution had proved that brandy is a spirit derived from grapes ; that the liquor in quesition is not distilled from grapes, and therefore could not contain the medicinial qualities that brandy ought to possess ; and that when the public asked and paid for brandy they ought not to be cheated by an imitation, however clever, made from potatoes, rotten figs and black ants. The above exposure, it, is said, occasioned considetable excitement in Glasgow.

A short time ago a New York wine merchant paid £lOOO for a single cask of wine. It is called “ Napoleonic wine,” because it was preserved especially for Napoleon I. It is of 1767 vintage, and none has been sold before except a small quantity to the King of Spain. Napoleon was so busy making war that he had little leisure to drink it, and thus it has remained to become the oldest sherry in the world. This sale has drawn attention to other old wines and their present market value. The same dealer possesses some wino which once belonged to Admiral Nelson. It is worth £BOO a cask, and was vintaged by a gentleman of the name of De Castro de Palermo, of Herax . The other day a Spaniard presented him with one bottle of Marsala, made in 1801 for the Duke of Brente, who was then acting for Napoleon in the Tuileries. He has also another wine in his collection which once belonged to the Duke of Mellington, and is now worth £5OO a cask. He considered these speculations in such liquid curios profitable, inasmuch as, properly preserved, they increase in value yearly.

Dr. Julius Stoklasa, an eminent chemist of Berlin, Germany, is attracting wide attention by his lectures on alcohol as a source of life and energy. He contends that alcohol and carbonic acid are products of the breath of animal and vegetable bodies ; that fermentation is going on in all the organs' of the human body, especially the liver, muscles, lungs and pancreas, producing alcohol, which is the breath of plants and the source of life and energy in the human body. Stoklasa is not prepared to say to what extent the use of alcohol aids life and energy oi’ retards it, but he is making experiments, the result of which are to be reported to the next international conference of applied chemistry. ’ * * *

A short measure relating to the punishment of habitual drunkards has been introduced into the Legislative Council of Victoria by Mr Balfour. The bill proposes to amend the Police Offences Act by making the following clause portion of Part HI. of that Statute “ Any person who is an habitual drunkard, and who within the preceding twelve months has been twice already convicted of an offence, either under section 25 of the Police Offences Act 1890, or under section 153 of the Licensing Acti 1890, shall on a third conviction under either of said sections be deemed an idle and disorderly person within the meaning of Part 111. of the Police Offences Act, 1890, and shall be liable to imprisonment in any gaol for any time not exceeding twelve months, with or without hard labour.”