^ 



334 



Ths Review of Reviews 



October i, 1906. 



one of the worst administered laws in the whole 

 world. 



The law in Victoria as regards Licensing laws is 

 one of the most miserably ineffective, both as re- 

 gards popular power and administrative efficiency, 

 to be found in Australasia. 



Still, properly administered, it could be used to 

 do some good work. 



But the existing law, bad as it is, is practically 

 a dead letter. 



Sly-grog selling is carried on. 



Many Public Houses are simply Gambling hells. 



Many others are little more than brothels. 



Many others are resorts of thieves and vagabonds. 



The law as to the detection of Sunday -trading is 

 notoriously inefficient. 



Even this inefficient law is most laxly adminis- 

 tered. 



Sir Samuel Gillott has neither insisted upon pre- 

 sent laws being administered, nor has he personally 

 initiated new legislation to deal with necessary re- 

 forms. 



In both cases his private property would h)e ad- 

 versely affected. 



Even so, nothing could or would be said if he 

 administered the Act fairly and faithfully ; but he 

 does not. 



It is obvious that his own property would be 

 aflfected if he insisted upon, say, the law as to Sun- 

 day-trading being carried out. Some of his own 

 tenants would in all probability be affected. 

 Convictions would probably lie against some 

 of them, and his own houses would therefore 

 suffer. It is so easy, therefore, to be simply lax, 

 and have counted against him as his only crime 

 the fact that he does not administer his Depart- 

 ment vigorously. It is easy to assume the role of 

 a benevolent, quiet old gentleman whom it is a 

 shame to speak ill of. But what troubles me is not 

 the amount of hurt which Sir Samuel Gillott feels 

 at the disclosure of his miserable methods of 

 government, but the hurt that is wrought to the 

 countr\, day by day, the corruption that is possible, 

 the block of the popular will which is caused by his 

 woeful negligence. To extend the Local Option 

 principles of the Licensing Act so as to give the 

 people full control of the traffic would in all pro- 

 babilitv mean the closing up of a great many of 

 his houses. He evidently, therefore, does not 

 initiate Licensing reform. The closing of Pub- 

 lic Houses by popular will without compen- 

 sation would mean that his exchequer would 

 not be so large. He, therefore, does not in- 

 troduce Liberal Licensing legislation. Sir Samuel 

 Gillott sits to-day, head of the Chief Secretary's 

 Department, with his cannon of political power, fur- 

 nished him by the people, turned upon the people 

 in their attack upon the citadel of evil. 



PEOPEETY VEESUS MEN AND WOMEN 



He sits there the representative of propert\- against 

 the interests of men and women. Mr. Bent is to be 

 highly congratulated upon the fact that, in face of 

 his colleague's personal interest, he has introduced 

 legislation which may affect that interest in days to 

 come. Mr. Bent would have done much better even 

 had he regarded the interests of the people and put 

 over the Chief Secretary's Department a strong, ac- 

 tive, aggressive man, determined to administer the 

 Department in the interests of the people. In last j 

 morJhs issue I dwelt upon the necessity of the en- 

 forcement of laws or the repealing of them. Sir 

 Samuel Gillott has not enforced them as they ought 

 to have been enforced. He has allowed them very 

 largely to be a dead letter. 



A GLAEING INSTANCE OF INJUSTICE. 



Here is an illustration of the wav in which S.r 

 Samuel Gillott has served the interests of the liquor 

 traffic, in which he is interested, and worked an in- 

 justice to the people. The law in 'Victoiia has for 

 vears provided for Local Option within certain 

 limits. A licensing district may, upon a petition, be 

 granted liberty to take poll for either increase or 

 decrease within certain limits up to or down to a 

 statutory number. A few months ago, something 

 like twelve or fifteen districts petitioned for polls 

 to reduce licenses. At that time the Government 

 was being bombarded to bring in a more complete 

 Local Option Bill. The petitions were refused by 

 Sir Samuel Gillott on the ground that legislation 

 would probab.v be introduced dealing with the 

 liquor trade, and he stated that the petitions 

 would be held over. Two or three months ■ 

 later, petidorvs for polls were initiated by in- 

 terested persons who desired an increase of 

 liceiises, and the very man who had refused 

 polls for decrease immediately and without any 

 pressure granted polls for increase. Where is 

 the fairness of this? Common justice is derided. 

 It is more than evident that the man who sits in 

 the Chief Secretary's chair in the person of Sir 

 Samuel Gillott is swayed in his administrative acts 

 bv the fact that he has interests in, and his sympa- 

 thies are with, the liquor traffic. If polls for de- 

 crease had been granted, nothing could have been 

 ' said against the granting of polls for increase, but 

 to give three districts facilities for increasing li- 

 censes, and to refuse over twelve districts the op- 

 portunitv to decrease, savours so strongly of political 

 corruption that I have no hesitation in applying the 

 term to it. 



Sir Samuel Gillott is largely interested in the 

 liquor trade. 



Sir Samuel Gil'.ott is in the position in which he 

 can grant to the people control over the number c' 

 licenses amongst them. 



Sir Samuel Gillott could administer the law so 



