The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-05-23

is that the number of licensed houses Is much in excess of public require ments. This assumption. In the larger States. at any rate. fs certainly cor rect. All the Acts. therefore. provide, first, limitation or an absolute prohi- bition of any increase in the existing number. and. secondly. method for reducing that number.
 As to the first point, the Victorian law prohibits the granting of any new licenses at all. In New South Wales they may be granted only a petition by a majority of the electors residin 6 proposed to be licensed. who must show that the population has substantially increased. and that the existing accom- modation is insufficient.
 In New Zealand there are even more stringent limitations on the granting of new licenses. The second point. the method for reducing the existing num- Der of licensed houses, brings up the most dificult problem the reformer has to solve.
 Local Option Act.
 Two different principles are disclosed by an examination of Australian leg islation. In New South Wales. as in New Zealand, the full local option prin- ciple has been adopted. The erectors of each district periodically say at the polls, whether they desire continu- ance of the existing number of licenses. or reduction or the complete aboli- ton of all licenses in their district.
 In South Astralia, the Labor Gov ernment was not prepared to trust t-e people quite so far as this. The only issue submitted at the local option poll under their new Act Is the issue or reduction.
 In Victoria an entirely different principle has been adopted. Parlia- ment fixed the number of licensed houses. for each district, at one for each 250 of the first thousand inhabi- tants, and one for each 500 after that The number of licenses In Victoria, on examination, was found to be about 1000 in excess of the limit thus fixed. A Board of three persons was, there fore established. styled a Licenses Reduction Board. with a life of ten years. and with the obligation. within that period. of getting rid of the re- dundant licenses This Board has an absolute discretion to deal with any dis trict, and with any licenses in that district. It's proceedings are. of course. in the nature of judicial proceedings, so that no Iicensee runs the risk of being condemned unheard
 Systems Compares.
 The first local option polls under the New South Wales Act took place in September. 1907, and their total results are now available. The Victorian Board. at the time of the West Austra- Han Commissioners visit, had been at work for nineteen months. and the re- suits of it's operations for that period were fully investigated by him. He was, therefore able to compare with some precision the operation of the dif- ferent systems.
 In New South wales the electors voted for reduction in sixty-flve out of the ninety local option districts. This was, however, only an assertion of the principle of reduction. Its ap- plication was left to special courts established under the act. These courts had to determine. according to cer- tain principles laid down for their guidance, how many, and which. li- censes should be cancelled in each dis trict Their investigations lasted some twelve months. Tn the end, they de- creed the closing of 292 out of the3,o00- odd hotels in the State, or g. 66 per cent. This does not, mean the immediate colsing.
 Hotels of good character, although theis closing has been decreed by the court may. under certain circum- stances. remain open for periods which vary from six months up to three years, and, in certain exceptional cases, eight years, this time of grace being allowed in lieu of monetary compensa- ton. No further poll can now be taken until 1910.
 Tn Victoria, during the first nineteen months the License Reduction Board Twas at work 1t actually closed-not