CO129-400 - Governor Sir May - 1913 [3-4] — Page 153

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in their report of February, 1912, endorse the policy described in paragraph 1(b) of that report. They merely indicated what measures would be necessary to give effect to it if adopted.

4.

The following objections to this scheme render it, in my view, impracticablə:-

(a). If it is intended that the scheme should be of general

application it must be applied to Chinese restaurants where both Chinese and European alcoholic liquors are sold for consumption both on and off the premises. To control the sale of liquor in these houses would be

impracticable without taking over the restaurant business

as well. The number of these restaurants is 37 and the

scheme would collapse by its own weight. The question of compensation alone would be a very large one.

(b). If it is intended to confine the scheme to European

establishments holding licences for the sale of liquor,

it is much circumscribed but is still larger than such

a Trust as is proposed could in my opinion undertake. For

again it would be necessary in order to control the sale

of liquor to take over the management of the various

houses some of which are Hotels or Restaurants with

Adjunct Licences and others Hotels with Publican Licenc-

-98.

(c). If it is intended to circumscribe the scheme still

further and to deal with houses holding Publican Licenc- -es only then the scheme becomes perhaps possible, but again only by taking over the premises concerned or by paying very heavy compensation.

The Committee in paragraph 4 of their report state that compensation to the holders of Publican's Licences would not be large. I have seen figures submitted by one of the Committee in which it was estimated that a sum of $70,000 would suffice for compensation to all holders of Publican's Licences for the non-renewal of their licences. I consider the figure much too low. There are