118 Statistics of Van Liemeji's Land. 



a nursery for a race of liardy seamen to maintain the glory 

 of the British name in the hour of Britain's need ! 



Tables 31 and 32 comi^lete the series relating to Colonial 

 shipping ; showing an addition to the number belonging tO' 

 our ports of 25 vessels, and 3518 in tonnage, or 14 and 23 

 per cent, respectively, since last year. 



Table 33 is a return of the number of publicans' licences, 

 as well as of those issued to wholesale dealers in wines and 

 spirits : the latter are fewer in number by 6, while an addi- 

 tion of 9 has been made to the retail class. On a former 

 occasion the evils incident to an indiscriminate issue of 

 Licences were touched upon.* It were to be wished that 

 the Legislature had introduced a declaratory clause in their 

 recently amended Act, defining the extent of the magistrates' 

 powers, — as there exists diametrically opposite opinions on 

 the Bench in this particular ; some advocating the principle 

 of free trade broadly and unrestrictedly — others merely 

 qualifying it with the two conditions (the only ones imposed, 

 as they say, by the Act of Council), that the applicant shall 

 be of fair character, and his house possess adequate accom- 

 modation — while others, again, claim for themselves the 

 right of judging whether the locality is suitable, and of 

 rejecting any house evidently not required by the neigh- 

 bourhood. Most desirable is it that a question involving 

 such conflicting opinions should be authoritatively set at 

 rest ; for the discussion upon the abstract point of the 

 powers of Justices upon every successive application is most 

 inconvenient, and injurious alike to both private and public 

 interests. 



Table 34 states the number and character of public- 

 houses, as well as the ratio of population to each, in the 

 several districts. Sixteen per cent, of the houses licensed^ 



* See Tannanian Journal, vol. 3, part 2, page 449. 



