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SEPTEMBER, 1882. *' J /t♦^ SALE OF LIQLTOUS XjIOEDSTSES. THE "CROOKS ACT." TORY BflSBEPRESBNTATIONS DISPOSSO OF. In the first Session of 1874 the laws regulating the sale of intoxioatiug liquors had been consolidated ; and in the Session of 1875-6, the Govern- ment made a further successful effort to grapple with some of the very difficult questions involved. The Act then passed placed the authority to grant licenses in the hands of three unpaid Commissioners for each locality. It limited the number of licenses to be issued in cities, towns and villages, and gave the Commissioners and Councils power to further limit the num- ber. Power was also giveu to Municipal Councils and to the Commis- sioners to limit the number to be issued in rural municipalities. The enforcement of the law was entrusted to a paid Inspector in each License District, also appointed by the Crown. Regulations as to the hours of sale, the qualification required from vendors, and the licensing fee, were also adopted, as well as provisions to secure, as far as possible, the conviction of offenders. PUBLIC OPINION. Prior to the introduction of the Act, the Government were, by influ- ential delegations, by petitions, by the action of the leading temperance advocates, oy temperance organizations — indeed, by the friends of tem- perance of every class and of all political complexions— constantly urged to take the issue of licenses and inspection under their own immediate control ; and since its passage, and after a fair trial, it is safe to say that the Act, known as the "Crooks Act," haa been almost universally approv- ed by the leaders and friends of the temperance movement throughout the Province of every political opinion, and generally by those who, while not identified with any temperance organization, yet look to the Government to regulate and keep withiu due bounds the traffic in intoxicating liquors. , It was in obedience to^e general wish that the Government accepted the duties and responsibilities which the new law imposed on them, and they would no doubt (gladly be relieved of these if the public interest per- mitted and public sentiment would justify their doing so. THE UCKNSKD VICTUALLERS' BIEBIORIAI.. Some of the provisions of the Act were suggested by the " Licensed Victuallers," through an influential deputation of their members, who waited on Attorney -General Mowat on the 6th of January, 1876, and pre- sented an elaborate memorial upon the subject. The memorial stated, among other things, as follows : " We are quite prepared to'concede that the • Liquor Question,' as it has been affectedly called, is becoming a question indeed. People are now beginning to allow tliat it is a question. They confess, and we affirm, that it is a quention which inu»t be attended to ; that it ia one which is growing and atreuffthening and deepening, and which cannot any longer be paltered with or avoided. People of all claaaea and all parties are beginning to aee that aomething is neoded to check the growini; evils of intemperance, und something more on the one hand than mere converaation, and aomfthing else on the other hand than simple attempts at legislation, is required to meet and remedy thia great aocial evil under which we are laboring. This is a tru'h which ia now beginning to apread." And again : "We are agreed in thia, that the Act of the Ontario Legialature known as the ' Crooks Act ' is, on the whole, a fair and just enactment, and if its provisions were strictlv carried out and enforced (with some slight alterations, to which we shall hereafter refer), we think that intemperance would greatly decrease, and the public on the one hand und the tavern keepers on the other, would be generally satisfied." The memorial further urged more rigorous inspection, and that not once but /rc^uen^/j^ during the year ; statutory provisions requiring better accommodation on the part of tavern keepers ; and that the character of the persons applying for a license should be fully considered before the application should be entertained. Further : "That the houses of parties selling without license should be closely watched, and the law strictly enforced." And after pointing out certain grave evils arising from un- licensed traffic, the memorial proceeds to say : " To counteract thia, we think that Government Irupectorn should be appointed. Experience ha» ahown that such officers are far more efficient in aupprpaaing such traffir. and bringing the offenders toiustice than the police force, which is required for the discharge of other duties. This memorial was published at length in the Toronto dailv papers of the 7th January, 1876, and is duly signed by the President and Secretary of the Licensed Victuallers' Association. PUBLIC SATZSr ACTION WITH TBS ACT. That the Act itself gave genoral satisfaction is further evidenced by the fact that in the summer of 1877 petitions signed by over 5,000 of the citizens of Toronto, including all or nearly all the hotel keepers and other licensed victuallers, licensed grocers and brewers of the city, were presented to the City Council, in which, referring to the License Law, it was deliber- ately stated that " the Crooks Act has been the most succes^td measure so fan' adopted. " HOW THS ACT WOBKS. The healthy influence so far exercised by the Act is shown by the fol- lowing illustrations of the working of the Act : Number of licenses (Tavern, shop, &c.,) issn|^ in 1874, under former Acts 6,185 Number issued in 1876, under the " Crooks Act" 3,936 " in 1877 3,676 " " 1878 3,715 " " 1879 4,020 " "1880 4,048 " "1881 4.119 — (See License Report, 1881, page 17). Number of Tavern Licenses issued in Toron^ in 1875, with a population of 70,000 t99 Reduced under Crooks Act in 1881, with a population of 86,455, to 104 — (See License Report, 1881, page 16). •'^il^'' THS MBASUAK AN BCONOIUCAL ONK. Reckless charges as to the expense of enforcing the Act have oooa- ■ionally been made by the Opposition, but the following figures show them to be without foundation : Actual expenses of the Licente Conimisaiouerei for the Province, and Halaries of the Inspectors, for the license year 187(i-7 $46,007 01 From this sum 4hould be deducted the fines collected for the year, and wiiich are by law to be applied towards these ex- penses 27,910 49 Leaving the actual cost for above service at, but |18, 186 52 — (See License Report, 1878, page 58-9.) Or average cost for the year for each License District or Riding of, only 213 9(i Or average cost for the year for each Municipality in the Pro- vince of, only 35 95 Similar expenses for the Province in the year 1 877-8 46,547 39 Deduct flnes collected 24,142 54 Leaving actual cost for the Province f22,404 85 — (See License Report, 1878, page 58-9. J Or averafte cost for each Biding or License District of, but 263 58 Or for each Municipality in the Province of, but 35 96 1878>9. Actual expenses of the License Commissioners for the Province, and salaries of the Inspectors, for the license year 1878-9 ,$45,717 53 From this sum should be deducted the fines collected for the year, and which are by law to be applied towards these ex- penses 20,036 24 Leaving the actual cost for above service at, but $25,681 20 Or average cost for the year for each License District or Riding of, but". 302 13 Or average cost for the year for each Municipality in the Pro- vince of, but 41 08 —(See License Report. 1879, page 62-3.) 187d-M. Similar expenses for the Province in the year 1879-80 $46,417 58 Deduct fines collected ,. 18,613 60 Leaving actual cost for the Province $27,803 98 Or average cost for each License District or Riding of, but 327 10 Or for each Municipality in the Province of, but 44 48 —^ See License Report, 1880, page ^(i-7.) 1880-81. Similar expenses for the Province in the year 1880-1 $46,449 96 Deduct fines collected 18,937 00 Leaving actual cost for the Province $27,512 96 Or average cost for each License District yc Riding of, but. .... 328 08 Or for each Municipality in the Province of, but 44 02 — (See License Report, 1881, page 74-5.) It will havu been seen that tlio uli^^lit increiiHe in tiic net ixpeiiMH Itotween the years 187U-7 and 1880-1, itioltiiivo, im not ovviiig to a porouptihle in- crease ill the codtof enforcing thu laM', hut to n i-eiluction in the amount of Hues collecteil. It would bo iinpossibio to have a more economically administered uHicient Licouae Law. MORS MONEY lUBOUVBD BY MUNIOIPALZTIBS. The statement has been recklessly made that the Government have taken from the municipalities tlie fees which the latter received, and were entitled to under the old Act. The statement is false in every particular. The municipalities are entitled to and receive more under the present Act, having regard to the number of liceuHes issued, than under the old Act. The Government was entitled under the old Act (see Act of 1874, sections 22 and 23), to a proportion of the fee — a proportion as great within a frac- tion as that to which it is entitled under the pr<)sent Act. While the municipalities receive much more than under the old Act, the amount to which the Government is entitled is but a small fraction more than under the old Act. The following table shows (1) The number of licenses issued in the pro- vince from 187(>-7 to 1880-81 inclusive, of all kinds ; (2) The amounts the municipalities would have received under thu old Act ; (3) The amounts actually received by them under the present Act ; (4) The balance in favor of the municipalities under the present Act ; (5) The amount the Govern- ment would have been entitled to under the old Act and uader the present Act respectively. Year. 1876-7 Add li *, . I Total. 22fc s -o o.g a S 4) 3 E 8768 U7 I 8910 exceHB over Statut ill! posed by Mu nicipal 1S77-8 1878-9 1879-80 1830-81 8S51 67 52 3960 I 42 3987 40 3618 3686 3098 4027 ■5 it o 3 n 104,740 001 cry fees I By-law. . . I 92,336 00 03,400 GO 100,095 00 100,530 00 !* c. 139,568 93 136,218 11 276,78/ 04 249,257 66 220,902 52 269,647 28 273,467 38 1st S a V S 171,047 04 166,fi27 66 136,502 52 169,562 28 172,917 88 491,116 00 1,298,061 77 806,946 77 75,860 00 79,689 81 74,060 00 74,910 65 74,330 OO; 72,313 06 79,025 00 79,960 00 87,198 19 89,207 14 383,875 00 403,224 74 IN crrzBS. A;)plying the sams principle to the chitf cities of the Pruvince, we shiU have the fol owing illustration, being a comparative statement sbow- * Ths 1:i'>!e iiicludts c'fe ■ t y ng the number of licor m iMuud tlioreiu during the license years of 1877-H to 1880-81, inolasivc, and the amounts thnt would have boen paid to them and the (iovornniont respectively under the old system piior to 187H upon the same number of licenses, and thu nmounts that were actually paia to them and the (Government respectively, not takinu into oonsideration any excess over the statutory duties imposed by municipal by-laws for either period. Totals . Hamilton . Totals . Ottawa ... 1877-78 128! 7 1878-79 182 7 1879-801 latl 8 1880-81 181 7 180 130 187 188 T Totals . London ... Totals . KlNOHTON . Totals . 1877-781 168 2 1878-791 160 .. 1879-801 144,.. 1880-811 147!.. 1877-78 98' 1 1878-701 061 1 1879-80, 981 2 188(Hil 72 2 1877-78 1878-79 1879-80 1880-81 82 82 82 106 160 144 147 98,090 00 3,000 00 »,870 00 8,980 OOj #0,264 -JO 7,826 00| 8,466 61 8,276 001 0,676 M 8,360 00| 10,013 90 89!i8S.800 0ol«S7,4O8 30 98,240 8,860 9,168 9,246 74' 94,660 06 4,900 36 6,283 14 > 6,316 $16,460 (K 936,506 28 920,066 28 94 90 95 74 94,890 00 4,600 00 4,320 00 4.410 00 913,120 00 92,790 00 2,860 00 2,790 00 2,160 00 910,600 00 85 86 86 86 99,821 02 94,431 02 9,068 89 4,658 89 9,027 17; 4.707 17 0,224 79 4,814 79 9.1.426 00 3,660 00 3,626 00 8,025 00 914,325 00 917,964 )t1i 930,031 37 918,611 37 96,107 04 98,317 04 0,010 05 3,166 06 5,849 21 1 3,069 21 6,310 68 8,160 68 94,176 00 3,750 00 8,600 OO 8,675 00 915,200 00 918,805 68 92,375 00 2,425 OO 2.4'25 00 1,900 00 923,282 8a{9 12,692 88 92,460 00 2.460 00 2,460 00 2,460 00 90,840 00 96.637 021 98,177 02 5,346 98' 2,880 98 5.266 23 2.796 23 5,382 45| 2.872 45 921.572 68!911,71,840 00 $88,880 00 Total am't paid to CUy Treait. Inoludlnir the exoe»«eN Ini- poeed by city by-law*. «il80,780 00 rt4,817 70 ftl.Mfl 37 30,fi89 57 86,778 08 DlfferoHM la favor of the preMnt Aot. ||ifl,8M DA 4ft,3rt7 7» .S:t,3H0 37 10,000 57 25,082 68 «>818,416 47 I «226,086 47 Showina a grand toUl in favor of the present Act of $225,036.47 actually paid to tne Ave cities mentioned during the years 1 877-8-9 and 1880 over and above the statutory fees which would have been paid to them under the old Act. IN THB KIOHT VACANT CONBTITUNNCnil. The following statement, relating to the electoral divisions of East Simooe, South Bruce, North Renfrew, South Waterloo, (llengarry. West Hastings, South Essex, and Mnskoka, compiled from the License Keports from the year 1876-7 (the first report under the Crooks Act) to 1880-1, inclusive, shows (1) The number of licenses issued during that period in each electoral division ; (2) The amount the municipalities would have received under the old law ; (3) The amount they actually received under the present law ; (4) The difference in favor of the municipalities under the present law. Blevtoral Division. East Simooe... South Bruce. .. North Renfrew South Waterloo Olentnurry West Hastingrs. South Essex . . . Huskoka Year. 1876-7 to 1880-81 Inclusive 0U ■ •si's 6t).2 ^5Z n 198 272 150 250 174 218 127 160 ll II < o It 93,600 00 4,820 00 8,670 00 1,850 00 2,600 00 8,680 00 1,006 00 1,675 00 9P,70S 01 14,120 57 8,481 61 12,861 88 6,84166 25,718 61 5,673 04 3,728 86 •6,113 01 0.802 5r 4,811 61 7,512 28 3,280 05 18,183 56 3,768 04 2,163 82 283 10 11 830 246 7 11 123 8hop 38 Six inontliM 3 Wholostilt) Total 1,206 2,408 527 16 28 1.102 2,18ti 470 14 28 164 222 CoNasRVAnvHH : Tavern Shop 51 Six moniha 1 Wholeaale .... Tt)tal 2,078 274 41 4 2,704 217 31 4 274 Non-Political (Women, etc.) : Tavern 67 Shop 10 Six montha • • ■ • Wholesale .... Total 319 262 07 _ — . — . Upon rnference to the table it will be seen that of 1,266 applications from Reformers, 1,102 were granted and 164 refused; of 2,978 applications from Conservatives, 2,707 were granted and 274 refused ; and of 319 appli- cations from persons beloneine to neither political party (chiefly women), 262 were granted and 67 retused. The grants to Reformers were thus a|bout 87 per cent, of their applioationc to Conservatives, nearly 91 per cent. ; and to non-politicians, 79 per. cent. To carry the comparison further, of the total number of these applicants for liceniiea, about ^8 per cent, were Reformers ; 65 per cent. Conservatives, and 7 per cent, non-politicians. The percentages of the total number of Conservatives, Reformers and non- politicians respectively, to whom licenses were granted or refused, may be tabulated thus : I'ERbONS RECBIVING PEROBNTAOE LICENSES. ORANTED. Conservatives 67 Reformers 27 Non- politicians 6 PERCENTAOE.OK REFUSALS. 9 18 . 21 n\ JO The following tahlc exhibits these statistics in a complete and concise fonn — (»ee License Report, 1880, page viii. ): • CliAHM, Reformers .... Conservatives. Non-politicans I Is l,26i'. 2,978 319 4,663 •Ml I |li 1,102 2,704 252 4,058 0.8 mil 2 5 o>!5 I 2774 65-26 7-00 100.00 •pv is ' ■£ ft i o. c « 04 I 3 o S.8 27-10 66 -OS 6-21 100.00 87 04 90-80 7900 As these accusations had also been made during the year 1876, the Inspectors were required at the close of that year to make similar returns with the following result — (see License Report, 1876, page 6) : Total No. of tavern licenses granted to Reformers 852 " '" " Conservatives 2,017 Reformers 264 Conservatives 511 shop licenses a contradiction of terms. Licenses and license laws imply cooimerce in liquor of one sort or another. No license law that has ever been framed is able absolutely to prevent all drunkenness. The most that can be expected from it is that it shall regu- late the trade ; that it shell cause the oDservance of law and the mainte- nance of order and decency ; that it shall surround the public with such safoguardo as are possible under a license system, and shall limit the gale to the legitimate requirements of the public. In these respects it is claimed for the Crooks Act that it has been a great promoter of temper- ance as well as of order and decency, and that it has largely limited the sa^e of liqnor. The Provincial Legislature is not authorized by its constitution to pass a prohibitory measure ; that power rests solely with the Dominion Parliament. The Ontario Legislature in the Crooks Act and tine amend- ments thereto, have gone to the very verge of their authority — even perhaps beyond it on some points, as some of the Courts have held. It is not as a prohibitory law that the supporters of the Crooks Act claim for it its marked success, but as a restrictive law, as a license law administered under a license system— the only system within the constitutional power of the Provincial Legislature to adopt. That it has accomplished much in the right direction is beyond question. The foregoing data show with a positiveness which neither abuse nor misrepresentation can successfully controvert: 1st. That the Act has reduced the number of licensed drinking places in the Province by no less than 53 per cent. * The years 18A9 to 1875, inclnsive, and 1877 to 1881, inclusive, are given, and the year 1S76 omitted because the Crooks Act was not put in operation by the issue of licensctt until May, 1870, .-uid that year is therefore a hroiten year, and vy the there- ofore conBtantly increasing tide of drunkenness, which had incronsed be> ween ]8(>9 and 1875 no lees than 8T p«r cent <* 3rd. That it has, in conjunction with better times and fewer licenses, caused an actual decrease in the number of committals for drunkenness ; turning an increase of 87 per cent, between 18R9 and 1875 into a decreaae of fSl percent, between 1879 and 1881 ; or, taking into account the in- creased population, into a decrease of 30^ per cent, during this latter period. A TORY COMPLIMXNT TO TBK LEADING PRINCXPLS OF TBK CROOKS AGT. One of the greatest tributes that could be paid to the Act was that of the Tory Convention, in that, while professing a desire to place the issue ilicenses in the hands of the Municipal Councils, they were compelled by force of public opinion to leave untouched the clause of the Act limiting the number of licenses. Depend upon it, the two must stand or fall together. If the issue goe!» back into the nands of the Clerks of Councils, it will doubtless go accom- panied by frae trade in licenses, and the country would again be overrun with houses carried on for the purpose of liquor- selling alone — groggerieu, pure and simple. The interests of every class are oppoOed to this. Reverting to the old system would be a reactionary movement, and a severe blow to the cause of temperance. Temperance people of all classes and of all shades of political opinion denounce the proposition. Municipal Councils, compelled to go back to the public annually for election, would object to being placed under compulsion to refuse many Applicants, whije granting licenses to others. Under the old system ihey were not called upon to discriminate. Indeed, the Clerk did the whole business, and the Council was not consulted at all. No one was refased a license who could pay the fee, and the work of granting th6 license was not that of the Council, but that of the Clerk.* The respectable hotel keeper would not go back to the old system un- der which tne unlicensed grosgery competed against him at every corner. . fie knows he is better off under the present system, and he is not pre- Sared to destroy the respectability of his business for the sake of putting [r. Meredith in office. A TORY TRIBUTB TO THR KITRCTIVBMR88 OF Tkx ACT. The Mail newspaper, in its issue of the 5th September, 1882, contain? an interview witha city ex-unlicensed liquor-seller, and we give the fol- lowing qiwtatioiinrom the article as an unwilling tribute by that organ to some of the work accomplished by the Crooks Act : "Past and gone. — 'The old home ain't what it used to be !'— An UNLICENSED WHISKEY-SELLEK'S LAMENT." « » • • " Breaking up unlicensed houses was a source of great loss not only " to the keepers of these places, bitt also to a'number of so-called ' sports,' " who regularly went down to the Police Court, rn case of a raid on the " houses Dy the police, imd swore that they wore the bona fide owners,^ " thereby, for a consid^rnion, getting themselves imprisoned, while the * In England licenses are granted not by the Municipal Couiuiils but by Justices of the (Uj'rsessiQh. In New York and most of the other States of the Union, they are not issued by the Municipal Councils, but by commissioners chosen for that purpose. In Quebec the Act of 1878 provides that licenses shall be Issued by the Lioens In- spectors (who are appointed by the Government), except in the city of Montreal. The same Act provides that in Montreal all tavern licenses shall be issued by a board oi three or more commissioners appointed by the Government. \ V 15 owners retained their liberty and continued their unlicensed traHic. Many of these houses never sold liquor except when the regularly li- censed hotels were closed, namely, from seven o'clock on Saturday night until Monday morning. Their profits, however, during that time were sufficient to enable them to spend the rest of the week m riotous living, and a great many of the assaults and cases of drunkenness daily brought before the Police Magistrate were attributable to this source. A few of the old houses still sell on the sly, but the danger of frequenters' names, as well as those of the proprietors, appearing in the daily papers, has had the effect of spoiling the trade. In speaking about the profits to be made " now from the unlicensed sale of liquor, an old dealer said, ' I would ' ' sooner go out and break stones than try to make a living selling liquor ** wfthout a license. Why, if one is caught, look at the heavy fine, or •' the alternative of bread and water at the gaol.'" The evidence is of value, as coming from an enemy to the Act. A GREAT SUCCESS. Upon the whole, it may be asserted without fear of successful contra- diction, that the measure is admitted by all— except those who are striving to infuse party politics into the question, and who seek only political advantage m their discussion of it — to have proved a great success, and to have met with the approval alike of the friends of the cause of temper- ance and the respectable dealer. While on the one hand it protects the respectable dealer against mere groggeries, licensed and unlicensed, it ex- tends to the great public a protection not less effectual against the de- moralizing practices of the illicit dealer. X \ v