LICENSING LEGISLATION.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 752, 4 August 1904, Page 24

LICENSING LEGISLATION.

(“ Manawatu Standard.”) The struggle which is taking place between temperance organisations and the trade in New Zealand and the Old Country is attracting much attention owing to the determined efiorts both sides ate making to ensure success. The trade in New Zealand are particularly active just now. An influential deputation, comprising licensees, brewers, the wholesale trade, barmaids, and even the aerated manufacturers, will wait upon the Premier, at Wellington this week, in connection with the licensing legislation which is to be introduced in the House this session. Its prayer will be much the same as last year, and among its requests will be the retention of Clause 9, or some similar proviso, the elimination of the reduction vote granting Magistrates discretionary power in the matter of endorsements, Compensation for loss of license, and the bringing (of clubs under the provisions of the licensing law. The liquor party are asking for concessions which, w ill. be hotly opposed by the prohibitionists, and it remains to be seen how far Mr Seddon is prepared to go in the matter. In New Zealand the licensing question is being dealt with on lines for which the Old Country has comparatively little sympathy. Local option and popular control are mentioned in the House of Commons debates as nebulous proposals, and the whole energies of the temperance party at Home seem to be devoted to the task of restricting the privileges of the publicans. A characteristic production is the Liquor Sellers’ Liability Bill, whi< Sir Wilfrid Lawson, the famous temperance advocate, has introduced in the House of Commons. The object of the Bill is to establish the principle that those who profit by the licensed sale of intoxicants should be under liability to provide compensation for certain of the injuries resulting from such sale. The measure follows a precedent said to have been established in Canada and the United States, by giving a right of action for damages to “ certain classes of persons upon sustaining injuries from the acts of an intoxicated person or in •consequence of his intoxication, habitual or otherwise,” against the persons “ who, by selling him liquor, produce such intoxication or contribute thereto in whole or in part.” Further, the Bill provides that compensation shall be specifically payable in cases of imprisonment arising out of intoxication to any dependents of the person imprisoned who may be deprived of their usual means of support ; w cases of fatal accidents or murders arising out of intoxication, to the legal representatives of the deceased ; and in the case of habitual drunkards, to rela-

Lives or others injured by such habitual drunkards. In the case of “ tied houses/' brewers, distillers and others to whom licensed houses are tied, are rendered liable jointly with the licensees of such houses for injuries defined in the Bill, and any compensation awarded is to be paid in shares proportionate to the interests of the parties in the license. This proposal to saddle the publicans with the responsibility of every evil arising out of the consumption of their wares is an extreme step in temperance reform, and it introduces a principle that British communities would be very slow to endorse.

JOHN BRIGHT ON COMPENSATION.

(London “ L.V. Gazette.”)

Expressions of opinion upon the subject of the Licensing Bill continue to be heard, and while- they vary in the quality of the language employed, they are all governed by the same spirit. An intelligent foreigner perusing our daily press would not unnaturally come to the conclusion that the feeling of the country is hostile to the Government measure, for while the Opposition is still ventilating its active disapproval by means of meetings, resolutions, and circulars, and the Opposition journals are giving prominence to every two-penny-half-penny protest that is raised against the Bil], the Trade leaders are still pursuing their policy of masterly inactivity. The temperance orators are vieing with one another in denouncing the measure, and in their laudable dssire to arrest its progress there is no fiction or infringement of the fact that they will not employ. The public, is exhorted to believe that it is an iniquitous Bill,” a Bill “ born in sin and shapen in iniquity.” It is reported that a speaker at the Christian Social Union’s meeting “ proceeded to show by conclusive arguments that it was the public and not the Trade who will have to supply the money for compensation purposes.” Another reverend Cicero declared with equal vehemence that instead of fulfilling its mission and decreasing the facilities for obtaining liquor the Bill will actually “ prevent the reduction of licenses.” We may supplement these extraordinary quotations with the significant reminder that the “ conclusive arguments ” adduced by the Christian Social Unionist are not reproduced, and the clerical logician did not support his statement with facts. The public has become so familiar with the gross exaggeration and mendacious perversion of truth which form the basis of nearly all teetotal oratory that nobody pays any attention to such irresponsible pronouncements, and the sympathisers of the Trade do not consider them of sufficient importance to call for a rejoinder.

Meanwhile, the Opposition has been exercising its wits for some means by which their blundering over the timelimit clause may be rectified, and the Notice Paper now contains an amendment which it is thought will meet the case. This amendment will make Clause 11. read as follows : —

“ Where the Quarter Sessions refuse the renewal of a license under this Act a sum equal to the difference between the value of the licensed premises, calculated on the assumption that the license will expire on the last day of March, 1918, and the value which these premises would bear if they were not licensed, shall be paid as compensation. In this form a proposal to impose a fourteen years’ limit with compensation on a descending scale as the end of the period approaches may be accepted by the Chairman and be voted upon. In that event, it will extort a definite expression of opinion upon the question, and the Trade need, we believe, regard the result with no feelings of apprehension. Mr Balfour’s dictum that if there is a moral right to compensation at all that right will not be affected by the passage of time,is the only logical and just conclusion that any unbiassed person can come to, and it is simply unthinkable that all the ultra-zealous outpourings of the fanatical anti-Trade orators can influence the judicious mind of the House on this point. Among the seven hundred amendments which are to be moved when the Committee stage of the Licensing Bill .is resumed is a characteristic contribution from Sir Wilfrid Lawson. r I hat ancient jester will move to provide that no compensation shall be payable unless the publican has entered into a bond to pay such compensation or damages as may be awarded by a Court to any husbano, wife, widow, child, parent, guardian, employer, or other person who may be injured in person, property, or means of support by any intoxicated person whose intoxication was due to drink supplied .'

the publican ; and where the premises are a tied house, the brewer, distiller, or spirit merchant financially interested is to be liable jointly with the license-holder for three-fourths of the aforesaid damages. Sir Wilfrid’s amendment is only remarkable as demonstrating the limits of impracticability to which the . teetotal faddist can attain when he is fairly put to it. , It is a curious commentary on the condition of affairs in this connection that the week’s papers have produced only one fearless pronouncement in favour of reform on the lines of the Licensing Fill and that this unexpected blow for the Opposition should come from that great Liberal statesman, John Bright. The Quaker politician was venerated for his

high principles, his personal integrity, his broad sympathies and strong temperance views. There is probably no member of the Liberal party to-day who is more widely and sincerely esteemed, or whose pronouncements are listened to with more respect. Mr Bright in a speech delivered on the occasion of the opening of the Cobden Coffee-house at Birmingham, thirty-one years ago, expressed his opinion that “if a trade in this country is permitted by law, that trade has a right to be defended by law. The trade of the licensed victualler is a trade that has been permitted, and is now permitted, and I think Parliament and the law are not justified in inflicting upon it unnecessary difficulties and unnecessary irritations. I think that so long as it is not condemned by Parliament it has a right to demand that it should not be subjected to passionate and hasty legislation.” Mr Bright agreed that it would not be expedient to increase the number of existing licenses in proportion to the population, and in the event of refusal to renew licenses he would provide compensation for evicted publicans —not out of the - pockets of the Trade, but out of the taxes paid by publicans to the Government. • With the funds available for this purpose —it was calculated that at that time the taxes paid by the Trade of Birmingham was £15,000 a year —the Corporation would be able “to suppress houses by paying a fair compensation to all those who are interested in the property connected with them.” This “touch of a vanished hand,” this “ sound of a voice that is still,” was and is still regarded as expressing all that is sound and true and just in Liberalism should giye pause to those passionate and hasty critics who denounce the principle of compensation as a proposal “ born in sin and shapen in iniquity.”

A LEADER OF THE GRADE.

MR ALBERT GEORGE SANDEMAN. (“ L.V. Gazette.”) History of commercial enterprise has no more striking example of well-directed energy and skill than is furnished by that of the well-known house of Geo. G. Sandeman, Sons and Company. It js scarceIv to be supposed that the original founder, Mr George Sandeman, when he started a small wine business on November 29, 1790, with the very modest capital of £3OO, ever dreamt of its developing into the important firm that it became during his lifetime, or of its assumihg the magnitude it subsequentlv attained, or its growth into the very largest of houses engaged in the wine industry, with establishments at London, Oporto, Jerez, Lisbon, etc. Nor can we suppose that he ever imagined that one of his descendants

would occupy the proud position of governor of the greatest financial institution in the whole world —the Bank of England. Hailing from Scotland, and belonging to a well-known Perthshire family, Mr George Sandeman came to London to seek his fortune, and, shortly after commencing business, associated himself with Messrs Gooden and Eorster, at St. Swithin’s and Sherborne Lanes, where at the former address the London branch of the business is still carried on with all the spirit and energy of its original founder. This is saying no small thing, for the rapid progress made testifies to exceptional industry, whilst the correspondence in the archives of the firm shows him a man of great conscientiousness, kindly thought, and affection. In a letter to his father, written at the time of his entering into business, he expressed much concern on account of the £3(-0 advanced to him lest it should embarrass the family in their trading, or, in the case of non-success, should be lost. Afterwards, when prosperous, and travellingin France to gain a further knowledge of the wine trade, his father, on August ■ 1802, writes thanking him for his affectionate letter, and says : "A our kind mother, and 1 in particular, as well as your sister Jeanie, are much obliged to you for your many and various particulars of the different parts and places of the country you have travelled through, groups of anecdotes concerning them, the agreeable descriptions of the country, so much cultivated everywhere, the days you walked many miles through the vineyards, seeing the vatious preparations for the vintage, wine, grapes, etc.” And after dealing with other matters connected with his travels, the long letter ends with many affectionate messages and remembrances from all members of the family. His brother also writes, on August 26 of the same year, in a similar strain, congratulating him upon his return from so long a journey ; and, after dealing with various business matters, says : “ I trust in time you will reap benefit from your peregrinations,” etc. We simply quote these to show the man and the stock from which the house of Sandeman sprang and has been built. The following extract from “ Recollections of Old Country Life,” by John Kersley Fowler, V.D., Quartermaster of the Bucks Volunteers, is worthy of notice :—“ When the British Army was encamped and protected in the masterly lines constructed by the Grand Duke at Torres Vedras, in or about 1809, Mr Sandeman, the then head of the great wine house in Oporto, was a frequent guest at the Duke’s dinner table, and the conversation once turned upon fine and noted vintages. Mr Sandeman said he thought the vintage of 1797 was the finest port wine ever known, and that

vintage was as much talked of then as the 1834, ’47, or ’5l vintages are talked of now. General Calvert, as a great favour, requested him to send two pipes of this celebrated wine to England. Mr Sandeman did so, and the General made •a present of one to the Duke of York, at 4 hat time Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the other he had bottled for himself.” It will be remembered that Cl eneral Calvert was the father of the lat<Sir Harry Verney, who relinquished the name of Calvert on succeeding - to the (. laydon property. It seems . that Sir Harry would not drink this wine, as, he maintained, it had become decayed ; but Mr Fowler says he minutely examined it. It was in curious, old-fashioned bottles, was of a beautiful colour—a light rue? . siot tawny—and he pronounced it perfectJy sound. Later on some of it was sold to a large London firm at £2 per bot 1 On October 12, 1797, Mr George Sandeman was presented with the Freedom of the City of Perth, as representative of the Mercantile community of the City of .London. He was succeeded by his nephew, Mr George Gias Sandeman, who married the daughter ot Mr Forster, one of the original partners, and their eldest son, Mr Albert George Sandeman, is the present head of the old house, which still continues to flourish under his auspices, his co-directors being his brother, Air Fleetwood Sandeman, and his sons, Walter Albert and Ernest Albert Sandeman. In its early days the business of the firm was not so closely confined to dealing in wines, as the records show other considerable mercantile transactions and shipment ol silver from Mexico, etc. Still, their chief end and<; aim was 'then, as now, the importation of wines of the finest description and quality, both for home consumption in this country and to all the markets of the world. Their name has been well known for more than a century, and has become so familiar chat the bare announcement that the port is ■“ Sandeman’s ” is sufficient guarantee of its excellence and quality —so much so, that we fear that too often the unscrupulous have taken advantage of its reputation to palm off other inferior "wines upon unsuspecting consumers. Port was much consumed in England at the time of the establishment of this business, yet there is little doubt but that

the enterprise of Messrs Sandeman considerably added to the popularity of this generous wine ; and so their firm has grown until it is now considered to be the headquarters of the British trade in this commodity. Port has been favoured from time immemorial by the medical profession on account of its recuperative properties, and is particularly recommended for invalids, it being both exhilarating and digestive. But it has also been the favourite stimulant of some of our greatest men. It has been said that it made Pitt a statesman, Fox an orator, Nelson an admiral, and Wellington a great captain. Prince Bismarck drank it habitually, and it was also appreciated by Dr. Johnson, one of his famous sayings being, “ Claret for boys, port for men, and brandy for heroes.” As, however, the great lexicographer hardly aspired to being a hero, port was his favourite alcoholic drink.

Mr Sandeman had scarcely been in business a dozen years before he opened large stores at Villa Nova-de-Gaia, a transpontine suburb of Oporto, the original and largest place of shipment, from which city the wine derives its name. It is situated on the River Douro, occupying a commanding position, at the same time affording facilities for the transport which is continually in progress. The building is of unjassive granite, and 1 imposing, though slightly antiquated in appearance, forming, with its open arches and ornate elevation, a conspicuous object on landing from the ferry boats from Oporto. It comprises a fine set of offices in the front, and, adjoining and at the rear, some fifteen large lodges or stores, where the unrivalled stock of the firm is kept. In them are stored over 10,000 pipes of fine wine from the Douro district alone, and many large vats holding from 4000 to 10,000 gallons each of other wines used for blending purposes. All wines are racked from their lees periodically, every three months at first, and less frequently as they mature, once a year being sufficient after three years. A cooperage is also attached to ihe buildings, as Messrs Sandeman make all their own casks, and a very large number of hands find employment at this one establishment. When these immense stores were first opened, port was the favourite dinner wine, and the success attending the firm’s enterprise was well earned, for they were boldly catering for a public

taste and a public demand, whilst their foresight ensured to their successors a reputation for all time. By their great holdings at Oporto the name of Sandeman has been ever upheld, and their position is practically unrivalled and unassailable in the port wine market. Sherry, as most of our readers are aware, is likewise a wine to which this firm has given special attention, and for this business they have a large branch at Jerez-de-la-Frontera (the centre of the sherry-producing district). They originally were the agents for Britain for the old-established and historical house of Ppm ar tin, and on the dissolution of that firm acquired their extensive premises, their stock of rare old wines, and. the stately Louis Quatorze Palace, built of white stone by Don Julian Pemartin, situated in most charming grounds on the outskirts of the town, now used as the residence of Mr Buck, the resident partner. The offices and stores form two large separate blocks, accessible from four streets, with a large cooperage and workshops, for the whole process, from the making of casks to the rearing, blending, and shipping of the wine, is here followed from beginning to end. Through one of the bodegas (or cellars) access is gained through a pleasant court, planted with orange and acacia trees. This contains the offices, where wine-brokers may be seen with their samples, waiting for an interview with one of the principals ; or wine-growers who, having sold their vintages to the firm, are taking their turn at the cashier’s office to be paid. Here also is a large room containing samples of all the shipping orders executed, each bearing a label setting forth the exact details of the blend and the date when the wine was shipped, so that when the order is repeated it can be matched with scrupulous exactness. Sherry has for generations been a favourite wine in this country, as the following quotations testify :— “I charge you with a cup of sack.” —Shakespeare, “King Henry IV.” “Here’s to sack, old sack, boys, to make the muses merry • The light of mirth and the joy of earth Is a cup of good old sherry.” —Pasquil’s Palonodia (1619).

It is not, however, drunk now so much

as in former years, doubtless owing to other Spanish white wines with less character and flavour being sold under that name, the sherry district proper being only about twelve miles square, situated in Andalusia, with Xeres (or Jerez) in the centre. Here Messrs Sandeman, Buck and Co. have their stores, right in the heart of the district where the wine is made. The chalky soil of the country is particularly suitable for the best varieties of grapes ; some produce “vinos finos” (pale, soft, delicate, freshtasting wines) ; others attain the dignity of Amontillados, gradually getting deeper in colour, stouter, drier, more pungent, and possesing marked etherious flavour ; others develop into “oloroso” and “palo cortado,” the true classic wines of Jerez, having a very elegant and fragrant bouquet, and a distinct nutty, rich, mellow flavour. Stowed away in Sandeman, Buck and Co.’s stores may be seen row upon row of butts, black with age, containing wine of a vintage as early as 1816, their sherries generally being kept up to a uniform standard of excellence on the “Solera” system —namely, continually filling up the cask when only a portion has been drawn out, with similar wine, mostly from the same vineyard, always of the same style and character, and, though younger, of an equally good vintage, the wine being left untouched until the new combination has had time to assimilate. Besides these large establishments at Oporto and Jerez, they have other branches at Lisbon and at Sydney (New South Wales), as well as agencies in nearly every quarter of the globe. In Oporto they trade in the name of Sandeman and Co., at Jerez as Sandeman, Buck, and Co., at Lisbon as Sandeman Brothers, and at Sydney as Sandeman. They are agents for Messrs Barton and Guestier, of Bordeaux ; Messrs Champy Pere et Cie, of Beaune ; Messrs Leacock and Co., of Madeira, and of Messrs Jas. Hennessy and Co., of Cognac, for Ireland.

Mr Albert George Sandeman was born on October 21, 1833, being the eldest son of Mr George Gias. Sandeman. In 1856 he married Maria Cariota Perpetua de Moraes Sarmento, the daughter of Viscount Morcorvo, Portuguese Ambassador to the Court of St. James. He is Grand Cross of the Order of Villa Vicosa and Commendador of the Order of Christ in

Portugal, one of His Majesty’s Commissioners of Lieutenancy for the City of London, Commissioner of Income Tax for the City of London, and J.P. for Herts. He was President of the London Chamber of Commerce in 1898, High Sheriff of Surrey for 1872, and Chairman of the London Dock Company. In 1866 he was elected a Director of the Bank of England, and was Governor from April, 1895, to April, 1897. The house of Sandeman has given to Great Britain many brave soldiers, sailors, and distinguished men, and the traditions of the family really form part of our national history. The “ Times ” correspondent, under date Calcutta, February 1, 1892, said : “ The death of Col. Sir Robert Sandeman, which occurred at Lasheyla on Friday, is a serious blow to the Government. No frontier officer of recent times was better or more deservedly known.” This was the son of the late General R. T. Sandeman, of the Bengal Army. Col. John Gias Sandeman, M.V.0., Sub-officer of the Hon. Corns of Gentlemen-at-Arms —a partner in the old firmt—as Cornet in the Royal Dragoons, had the undying honour of having taken part in the charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaclava down the valley that, a few minutes afterwards, proved so fatal to the Light Brigade. His eldest son is Major of the 17th Lancers, and was severely wounded in South Africa, and his younger son is Commander in the Royal Navy, now serving on the Pacific station. Mr Edgar Sandeman, who for many years has been connected with the firm, and is a grandson of its founder, served with distinction with the Middlesex Yeomanry in the South African War.

Very general regret will be felt throughout the Trade (says the London “L.V. Gazette”) if Sir Thomas Dewar should carry out his expressed wish of retiring from the representation of St. George’s in the East at the close of the present Parliament. A staunch champion of the interests of both the wholesale and the retail trade, he has proved a decided acquisition to the House of Commons, and his colleagues will be very sorry to lose him. Bui, unfortunately, Sir Thomas does not enjoy the best of health, and there can be no doubt that the strain of representing such a large and important constituency as St. George’s-in-the-East, with its divergent interests, has told upon his constitution. The deputation which waited upon him on Monday evening assured him that if he would reconsider his decision the Conservative and Unionist Association which they represented would endeavour in every way possible to lessen his duties in the division, and would not look for such close personal attention! to the constituency as he had hitnerto given ; but Sir Thomas really finds his Parliamentary duties too much for him, and should the trip round the world which he is taking at the end of the present session not restore him he will have to seriously consider whether his health would permit of his undertaking further Parliamentary work. Just at the present Sir Thomas is devoting much time to advancing the interests of the'Licensed Victuallers’ School. Having accepted the invitation to preside over the Anniversary Festival, he is naturally desirous that the function should be in every way a success, and his many friends are exerting themselves to the utmost. It is hoped that a record subscription will be the result. Sir Thomas has broadened the field of work, and districts which have not been appealed to before, such as the Midlands, Scotland, and Ireland, have been worked by his own travellers, with, I make bold to say, beneficial results. He has also put the claims of the institution before his friends in America, and very interesting indeed should be the subscription list when it is published. When Sir Thomas undertakes a duty, and especially a charitable duty of this kind, he puts his whole heart and soul into it —hence his unvarying success.