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Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings on National Prohibition - 1926

THE NATIONAL PROHIBITION LAW HEARINGS
April 5 to 24, 1926

THE GOVERNMENT LIQUOR CONTROL ACT, 1923 (CANADA)

 

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Might I add to this statement a personal observation in connection with some of our educational institutions?

Senator WALSH. You may.

Mr. WOLL. I have two sons, one who is to-day at the Massachusetts School of Technology, in his last year, studying to be an electrical engineer. It was but three, weeks ago that I was in Boston and saw the boy. Asking him about the liquor question, I was informed that every fraternity at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and I presume that holds true at Yale University, is being solicited by liquor sellers once each week if not more often. I learned that there is never a party arranged at which liquor is not present.

Furthermore, my other son is attending the University Of Illinois, in his second year, taking a course in law. When I saw the boy I asked him about conditions there, and learned that practically the same situation obtains.

I say to you gentlemen frankly that I am very much disturbed about conditions of that nature. When at institutions of this kind boys in the different fraternities, believing that they have been protected against hard liquor, are confronted with this dreadful situation is a condition that very much disturbs me.

Furthermore, whenever we have any meeting of any size at all in our organization we see the liquor agent around the halls trying to sell liquor to the workers and invariably sales do take place.

So it is that we say there has been no improvement through national prohibition so far as the liquor situation is concerned. In fact the conditions are worse then they were ever before.

I feel that I can testify honestly, unbiasedly, and unprejudicedly, because I am not a drinking man and never have been, and have no connection in any way with any liquor interest or organization of any kind.

I thank you.

Senator WALSH. The committee will now adjourn until 10 o'clock Monday morning.

(The Government liquor control act of 1923 of the Province of Manitoba, Canada, and the first and second annual reports of the Government Liquor Control Commission of Manitoba, presented for the record by Mr. Russell, are here printed in full as follows:)

 

EXHIBIT I

THE GOVERNMENT LIQUOR CONTROL ACT, 1923, WITH AMENDMENTS, 1924

AN ACT To provide for Government control and sale of liquors

His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly Of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

 

SHORT TITLE

 

1. This act may be cited as "The Government Liquor Control Act."

 

INTERPRETATION

2. In this act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Commission" means the commission created by this act under the name The Government Liquor Control Commission.

(b) "Dentist" means a duly qualified practitioner of dentistry who is lawfully and regularly engaged in the practice of his profession within the Province.

 

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(c) "Government" mean His Majesty in right of the Province of Manitoba.

(d) "Government store" or "store" means a government liquor store established under this act.

(e) Interdicted person" means a person to whom the sale of liquor is prohibited by an order made under this act.

(f) "Justice" means a justice of the peace, and shall include two or more justices if two or more justices act or have jurisdiction, and also a stipendiary or police magistrate, or any person having the power or authority of two or more justices of the peace.

(g) "Liquor or "liquors" shall include all fermented, spirituous, and malt liquors and all combinations of liquors and all drinks and drinkable liquids which are intoxicating, and any liquor which contains more than two and a half per cent (2-1/2 per cent) of proof spirits shall be conclusively deemed to be intoxicating.

(h) "Municipality" means any area known as a city, town, village, or rural municipality incorporated and subsisting as a municipality under any general or special act of the legislature, or which may hereafter be so incorporated.

(i) "Package" means any container or containers, or receptacle or receptacles used for holding liquor.

(j) "Permit" means a permit for the purchase of liquor issued Under this act.

(k) "Physician" means a duly qualified medical practitioner lawfully and regularly engaged in the practice of his profession within the Province.

(1) "Residence" means the premises where a person resides either temporarily or permanently and shall be the place of delivery mentioned in the permit.

(m) "Regulations" means regulations made by the commission and approved by the lieutenant governor in council under the powers contained in this act.

(n) "The Manitoba temperance act" includes the said act and all amendments thereto.

(o) "Beer" means any beverage obtained by the alcoholic fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt, and hops, and any other similar food products in drinkable water.

(p) "Spirits" means any beverage which contains alcohol obtained by distillation mixed with drinkable water and other substances in solution and includes, among other things, brandy, rum, whisky, and gin.

(q) "Wine" means any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of the natural Suez contents of fruits (grapes, apples, etc.) or other agricultural products containing sugar (honey, milk, etc.).

 

GOVERNMENT LIQUOR STORES

3. The government shall establish, maintain, and operate at the city of Winnipeg, and at such other cities and towns throughout the Province as are considered advisable, stores to be known as government stores for the sale of liquor in accordance with the provisions of this act and the regulations; provided that no such store shall be established or maintained in any municipality where a local-option by-law is in force.

4. The administration of this act shall be vested in the Government Liquor Control Commission.

5. There shall be a commission known as the Government Liquor Control Commission consisting of three members with the powers and duties hereinafter specified. One of the members shall be appointed chairman sad two members shall constitute a quorum. The chairman shall devote his whole time and attention to the business of the commission, and shall follow no other occupation whatsoever.

6. The members of the commission shall be appointed by the lieutenant governor in council, who shall also name the chairman of the commission. Any vacancies occurring in the commission shall be filled by the lieutenant governor in council from time to time.

7. Each member of the commission shall hold office during the pleasure of the lieutenant governor in council and the salaries of the members of the commission shall be fixed by the lieutenant governor in council.

8. No vacancy in the commission shall impair the right of the remaining members or member to act until such vacancy is filled.

9. The head office of the commission shall be in the city of Winnipeg.

10. The functions, duties, and powers of the commission shall include the following:

(a) To buy, to import and have in its possession for sale and to sell and deliver liquor in accordance with the provisions of this act.

 

 

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(b) To buy or lease or erect and furnish and equip any building or land required for the operation of this act.

(c) To buy or lease all plant and equipment it may consider necessary or useful in carrying into effect the objects and putposes of this act.

(d) To grant, refuse, or cancel permits for the purchase of liquor.

(e) To appoint every officer, inspector, clerk, or other employee required for the operation of this act; to dismiss them, fix their salaries or remuneration, assign them their official titles, define their respective duties and powers and to engage the services of experts and of professional persons when necessary or expedient.

(f) To determine the cities and towns within which government stores shall be established throughout the Province, and the situation of the store within each such cities and towns.

(g) Without in any way limiting or being limited by the foregoing to do all such things as are deemed necessary or advisable by the commission for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this act according to their true intent.

11. For the purpose of supplying any deficiency in the provisions of this act the commission, subject to the approval of the lieutenant governor in council, may from time to time make such regulations not inconsistent with the spirit of this act as are deemed necessary or advisable. When approved by the lieutenant governor in council, all regulations so made shall forthwith be published in The Manitoba Gazette, and thereupon shall have the same force and effect as if incorporated in this act. Any such regulations may be repealed by the commission subject to the approval of the lieutenant governor in council, and notice thereof shall be published in the Manitoba Gazette.

 

SALES AND DELIVERIES

12. The Government may sell to any person who is the holder of a subsisting permit, and such persons may buy from the Government such liquor as that person is entitled to purchase under his permit.

13. No spirits or wine sold under this section shall be delivered until:

(a) There has been produced to the commission the purchaser permit and a written order stating the nature and the quality of liquor ordered.

(b) The purchaser has paid for the liquor in cash or by postal note or money order issued by an express company or by bank draft or accepted and certified cheque.

14.

(a) Any brewer duly licensed by the Government of Canada for the manufacture of beer as defined by this act in the Province of Manitoba, may sell beer to any person to whom a permit has been issued under the provisions of this act and may deliver the said beer so manufactured by said brewer to such person at his residence as defined by this act from the premises wherein such manufacture is carried on and from such other places as may be fixed by the regulation of the commission.

(b) Every brewer shall make to the commission in every month a return in the form which the commission shall provide showing the gross amount of the sale of beer made by such brewer to persons within the Province.

(c) Any brewer who fails to make such returns to the commission within thirty days following the expiration of any calendar month for which it should be made, shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable to a fine of $20 per day for each day's delay, counting from the expiration of such thirty days.

(d) The commission may also examine the books of any brewer required to make any such return, or may otherwise verify the accuracy of any such return.

(e) Any brewer who refuses to allow such examination or who fails to make returns in accordance with the instructions of the commission shall be liable to a fine of $100 for each offense.

(f) There shall be paid to the commission in each month, in the manner indicated by the commission, a duty upon all beer sold by every brewer In Manitoba, either direct under the provisions of subparagraph (a) hereof or to the Government stores. The amount of such duty shall be fixed by the lieutenant governor in council. The amount paid or to be paid by the purchaser in each case for the beer purchased shall be deemed the gross amount of such sale, and the duty aforesaid shall not be levied or payable upon the amount paid or to be paid for any such purchaser in respect to the packages, bottles, or other containers within which the beer is contained.

15. Delivery shall be made from any Government store and, in the case of beer, from such other place or places as may be fixed by the regulations to a purchaser residing within the limits of any city or town in which there is a Government



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store, at his residence only, and to a purchaser residing outside such limits (except as provided by section 16 of this act), to such purchaser at the railway station or express office nearest such residence or selected for delivery by such purchaser, and in the case of liquor other than beer at the option of the commission at the post office nearest such residence.

16. A person living outside the limits of a city or town in which a Government store is situated and where there are no convenient facilities for delivery at the residence of such person may, when permitted by the regulations, receive delivery in person at any Government store of liquor lawfully purchased by him, and in the case of beer at such other place or places as may be fixed by the regulations.

17. No spirits or wine shall be sold to any purchaser except in a package sealed with the official seal prescribed by this act, which package shall not be opened on the premises of a Government store.

18. Notwithstanding any of, the provisions of the Manitoba temperance act and amendments thereto, it shall be lawful for any common carrier or any Government person employed in the Canada post office or other person to carry or convey liquor to any store, or, in the case of liquor sold by the commission, to any railway station or express office or post office designated by the commission or to the residence in which the purchaser of such liquor resides, and for a purchaser of liquor to whom delivery shall have been lawfully given pursuant to this act to carry or convey such liquor from the place where he shall lawfully receive the same to the residence in which he resides; but no such common carrier or any person employed in the Canada post office or other person or purchaser shall open or break or allow to be opened or broken any package or vessel containing the same or drink or use or allow to be drunken or used any liquor therefrom while being so carried or conveyed.

19. No officer, clerk or servant of the commission employed in a Government store shall allow any liquor to be consumed on the premises of a Government store, nor shall any person consume any liquor on such premises.

20. The price of each particular variety of liquor shall be the same at all Government stores; and the cost of delivery to purchasers residing within the limits of any city or town in which a Government store is situated, and any freight or express charges to the railway stations or express office nearest to the residence of, or selected for delivery by, any purchaser living outside said limits, shall be home by the commission. An where liquor is delivered by the commission by post to any purchaser living outside such limits any postal charges to the post office nearest such residence shall be borne by the commission but the purchaser where liquor is delivered by post shall pay to the commission twenty-five cents per bottle in addition to the price charged by and paid to the commission where liquor is not so delivered by post.

21. Any person who is the holder of a subsisting permit may require the commission to obtain, if procurable, and sell to him subject to the provisions of this act and the regulations, any standard liquor upon depositing with the commission such moneys as may be required by the commission to defray the cost of obtaining the same and such further moneys as shall be decided by the commission. The commission shall so far as possible keep for sale all recognized and reputable standard lines of liquor.

 

PERMITS

22. Upon application in the prescribed form being made to the commission or to any official authorized by the commission to issue permits, accompanied by payment of the prescribed fee, and upon the commission or official being satisfied that the applicant is entitled to a permit for the purchase of liquor under this act, the commission or official may issue to the applicant a permit as follows:

(a) Where the application for a permit is made by an individual of the fun age of twenty-one years who has resided in the province for the period of at least one month immediately preceding the date of his making the application a permit in the prescribed form entitling the applicant to purchase liquor for beverage, medicinal or culinary purposes in accordance with the terms of the permit and the provisions of this act and the regulations. There shall be two classes of permits under this clause, one for a single purchase of liquor and the other a general permit. The fee for a permit limited to a single purchase of the liquor shall be fifty cents. The fee for a general permit shall be one dollar:

(b) Where the application for a permit is made by an individual of the full age of twenty-one years who is temporarily resident or sojourning in the province a temporary permit in the prescribed form entitling the applicant during a period

 

 

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not exceeding one month to purchase liquor for beverage medicinal or culinary purposes in accordance with the terms of the permit ana the provisions of this act and the regulations. The fee for a permit under this clause limited to a single purchase of liquor shall be fifty cents. The fee for a permit (known as a temporary permit) shall be one dollar.

23. Every permit shall he issued in the name of the applicant therefor, and no permit shall be transferable, nor shall the holder of any permit allow any other person to use the permit.

24. No person who Is the holder of an unexpired permit issued under this act shall make application for or be entitled to hold any other permit; but any person whose permit has been lost or destroyed may apply for a new permit to the commission, and upon proof of the loss or destruction of the permit, and subject to the conditions contained in the regulations, may obtain a duplicate permit in lieu of the permit so lost or desstroyed, provided, however, that a holder of a general permit who is temporarily absent from the address mentioned in such general permit may at any time when he is so absent obtain a permit for single purchases of liquor as provided in this act.

25.

(1) Except where a permit is by its terms limited to a single purchase of liquor, or is issued as a temporary permit, every permit shall expire at midnight on the thirtieth day of April in each year. Provided always, however notwithstanding anything in this section contained that every permit issued during the calendar year 1924 except permits limited to single purchases of liquor or permits issued as temporary permits shall expire at midnight on the thirtieth day of April, 1925.

(2) Nothing in this section contained shall In any way limit the right and power to cancel or suspend permits given by this act.

26. Liquor purchased by any person pursuant to a permit held by him may be had, kept, given and consumed only in the residence in which he resides.

27.

(1) The commission may at its discretion cancel or suspend any permit and all rights of the holder thereunder;

(2) Notice of cancellation or suspension of a permit by the commission shall be given by a written notice signed by the chairman or any member of the cornmission mailed in a registered letter addressed to the holder of the permit at the address given In the permit. The cancellation or suspension shall take effect as soon as the registered letter containing the notice of cancellation or suspension is mailed.

(3) The cancellation or suspension of a permit shall entail the loss of the privileges conferred by such permit under this act.

(4) The justice before whom any holder of a permit issued under this act is convicted of any offense against the provisions of this act or the regulations made hereunder or against the provisions of "the Manitoba temperance act" shall suspend the permit for a period not exceeding one month, and thereupon the justIce shall notify the holder and the commission of the suspension of the permit.

28. Upon receipt of notice of the suspension or cancellation of his permit, the holder of the permit shall forthwith deliver up the permit to the commission. Where the permit has been suspended only, the commission shall return the permit to the holder at the expiration or determination of the period of suspension. No permit shall be issued to the person whose permit Is canceled within the period of one year from the date of cancellation.

29. Where any permit is produced at a government store by a person who is not the holder of such permit, or where any permit which is suspended or canceled or in lieu of which a duplicate permit has been issued is produced at a government store, the commission shall retain such permit in its custody.

30. No permit shall be issued under this act, to any person to whom the sale of intoxicants is prohibited under the provisions of any act of the Dominion or of the Province of Manitoba, or to any corporation, association, society or Partnership.

 

PROHIBITIONS

31. Except in the case of liquor administered by a physician or dentist or sold upon a prescription in accordance with the provisions of "the Manitoba temperance act" and amendments thereto, no person shall procure or supply or assist directly or indirectly in procuring or supplying liquor for or to any person whose permit is suspended or has been canceled.

22. Except in the case of liquor sold to an interdicted person upon the prescription of a physician, or administered to him by a physician or dentist pursuant to

 

 

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"the Manitoba temperance act," no person shall procure for or sell or give to any interdicted person any liquor.

33. No permit shall be issued to an interdicted person, and every interdicted person who makes application for a permit shall be guilty of an offense against this act.

34. No person who holds a permit, or whose permit has been canceled within the period of twelve months next preceding, or is suspended, shall make application to the commission or official under this act for a permit.

35. No person shall purchase liquor under a permit which is suspended, or which has been canceled, or of which he is not the holder.

36. No person acting as an official or servant of or in any capacity for the commission and no person authorized by this act to sell liquor shall sea liquor in any other place or at any other time or otherwise than as authorized by this act and the regulations.

37. No member or employee of the commission shall be directly or indirectly interested or engaged in any other business or undertaking dealing in liquor, whether as owner, part owner, partner, member of syndicate, shareholder, agent, or employee and whether for his own benefit or in a fiduciary capacity for some other person.

38. No member or employee of the commission or any employee of the government shall solicit or receive directly or indirectly any commission, remuneration or gift whatsoever from any person or corporation having sold, selling or offering for sale to or purchasing liquor from the government in pursuance of this act or from any one on behalf of such person.

39. No person selling or offering fox sale to or purchasing liquor from the government shall either directly or indirectly offer to pay any commission, profit, or remuneration or make any gift to any member or employee of the commission, or to any employee of the government, or to any one on behalf of such member or employee.

40. Any person who shall commit a breach of any of the foregoing sections Nos. 36 to 39, inclusive, shall be liable to the penalties specified in section 70 of this set. If a corporation commit a breach of any of the provisions of section 39 it shall be liable to the penalties applicable to a corporation specified in section 71; and in addition any officer, servant or agent of such corporation being a party to the commission of a breach of any of the provisions of said section 39 shall be liable to the penalties in section 70.

APPLICATION OF ACT

41. Nothing in this act shall prevent the sale of liquor by any person to the Government.

42. Nothing in this net shall prevent any brewer, distiller, or other person duly licensed by the Government of the Dominion of Canada for the manufacture of liquor from having or keeping liquor in a place and manner authorized by or under any act of the Dominion.

43. Nothing in this act shall prevent the sale, purchase, or consumption in accordance with the provisions of "the Manitoba temperance act" of anything which is permitted to be sold, purchased, or consumed by the provisions of "the Manitoba temperance act."

44. This act shall apply to the whole Province, but its application shall be suspended as hereinafter provided in every municipality where a local option by-law is in force

45. Nothing in this bet shall be construed as forbidding, affecting or regulating any transaction which is not subject to the legislative authority of the Province.

INTERDICTION

46. Where it is made to appear to the satisfaction of say stipendiary or police magistrate or any two justices of the peace, that any person resident or sojourning within the Province, by excessive drinking of liquor, misspends, wastes, or lessens his estate or injures his health, or endangers or interrupts the peace and happiness of his family, the justice may make an order of interdiction directing the cancellation of any permit held by that person and prohibiting the sale of liquor too him until further order; and the justice shall cause the order to be forthwith filed with the commission.

47. Upon receipt of the order of interdiction the commission shall cancel any permit held by the interdicted person and shall notify the interdicted person

 

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and all Government stores and breweries of the cancellation of the permit and of the order of the interdiction so made and filed prohibiting the sale of liquor to the interdicted person.

48. The justice by whom an order of interdiction is made under this act, upon being satisfied that the justice of the case so requires, may revoke the order of interdiction by an order filed with the commission; and upon the filing of the Order of revocation the interdicted person shall be restored to all his rights under this act, and the commission shall forthwith notify all Government stores and breweries accordingly.

49. Upon application to the judge of any county court by any person in respect of whom an order of interdiction has been made under this act, and upon it being made to appear to the satisfaction of such judge that the circumstances of the case did not warrant the making of the order of interdiction, or upon proof that the interdicted person has refrained from drunkenness for at least six months immediately preceding the application, the judge may by order set aside the order of interdiction; and upon the order of the judge so setting aside the order of interdiction being filed with the commission the interdicted person shall be restored to all his rights under this act, and the commission shall forthwith notify all government stores accordingly.

50. Where a local option vote has been taken in the affirmative in a municipality as provided for in the next succeeding paragraph hereof, no government store for the taking of orders or sale or delivery of liquor shall be established in the municipality, and no place in such a municipality shall be fixed or approved of as a place from which a brewer may deliver beer.

51.

(1) A local option by-law shall be voted on by the people as hereinafter provided, and shall be submitted to be voted on on the day fixed by the law for the polling at the next municipal elections for the municipality if, not later than the first day of October in any year, a petition from twenty-five per cent the resident electors whose names appear on the last revised municipal voters' lists of said municipality, asking the council to do so, is received by the clerk, and it shall be the duty of such council at its first regular meeting after the receipt of such petition by the clerk, or at a special meeting to be called by the clerk if necessary, to pass the first and second readings of such by-law before the first day of November following.?

(2) If a local option by-law or a by-law to repeal a local option by-law has been submitted to the vote of the electors in the municipality, then no subsequent petition for the submission of a local option by-law to repeal a local option by-law shall be received by the clerk at any time prior to the expiration of two years after the taking of the last vote of the electors upon a local option by-law or upon the repeal of a local option by-law in pursuance of the provisions of this act.

52. Any such by-law shall require the assent of a majority of the electors of the municipality, whose names appear on the last revised list of such municipality, who vote on such by-law, and the following proceedings shall be taken for ascertaining such assent.

53. The municipal voters' list referred to in the last preceding section shall include the last revised list for any territory added to a municipality after the list or such municipality has been revised.

54. The voting on any such by-law shall take place on the same day as that fixed for the polling at the annual municipal elections in such municipality (provided that such day shall not be less than four weeks after the passing of the by-law), and the voting shall be during the same hours and at the same places where such polling is or should be held, and the returning officer and the deputy returning officers shall be the same.

55. The council shall, within two weeks after the first and second readings of the proposed by-law and before the third reading and passing thereof, publish in some newspaper in the municipality, if one is published therein, and, if not, in the newspaper published nearest to such municipality, and in the Manitoba Gazette, a notice stating the object or purpose of the proposed by-law, that the same has been submitted to the council and has received its first and second readings, that a vote thereon for electors entitled to vote will be taken on the day and at the hour and places fixed under this act, that the proposed by-law, or a true copy thereof, can be seen on file until the day of taking the vote at the office of the clerk of the municipality, and that the further consideration of the propoesed by-law after taking the said vote is fixed for the time and place appointed therefor by the council, naming such time and place, and such notice shall be signed by the clerk of the municipality, and shall be so published for at least four weeks before the vote is taken, but no more than one insertion each week shall be necessary.

 

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56. At such day, hour, and place a poll shall be taken, and all proceedings thereat and for the purpose thereof shall be conducted in the same manner as voting upon any by-law required by "the municipal act" to be voted upon, except that all municipal electors shall be entitled to vote thereon.

57. The following shall be the form of the ballot to be used at such voting:

Date

By-law submitted by the Municipality of

to


FOR LOCAL OPTION

AGAINST LOCAL OPTION

58. If any person offering to vote on any such by-law be challenged by any legal voter as being disqualified, the deputy returning officer shall require the party so offering to vote to take the following oath of affirmation, to be administered by deputy returning officer, as follows:

"You swear (or do solemnly affirm) that you are the person whose name is entered, or intended to be entered, on the list which I show you (the one supplied by the clerk); that you are twenty-one years of age and a subject of His Majesty by birth or naturalization; that you have not received anything or accepted any promise, directly or indirectly, to induce you to vote or to indemnify you for your loss of time or any service connected with the voting on this by-law; that you are entitled to vote at this election; and that you have not been guilty of any act of corruption disqualifying you from voting. So help you God." (Omit last four words if party affirms.)

59. In case of dispute as to the result of the vote, a judge of the county court of the judicial district or county court division in which the municipality is wholly or partly situated shall have the same power of determining the question as he has in any case of recount of votes under "the municipal act" in force for the time being.

60. The petition to the judge may be by an elector of such municipality, or by the council thereof, and the proceedings for obtaining the judge's decision shall be the same, as nearly as may be, as in the case of a recount as aforesaid.

61. Any such by-law which is carried by the majority required of the duly qualified electors shall, within six weeks thereafter, be read a third time and passed by the council of the municipality in which same was submitted, whereupon the clerk of the municipality shall forthwith forward to the commission a copy of the said by-law, together with his certificate that it is a true copy, and showing the date on which the same was finally passed, and such by-law shall come into force on the first day of June next after such date.

62. If a petition be presented against any such by-law the by-law shall not be read a third time and passed by the council until after the petition has been disposed of; and the time which intervenes between the presenting of the petition and the final disposal thereof shall not be reckoned as part of the six weeks within which the by-law has to receive its third reading and be passed.

63. After a by-law has been passed under the thirteen last preceding sections of this act, the council of any such municipality, if a petition of twenty-five per cent in number of the resident electors whose names appear on the last revised municipal voters' list asking them to do so, is received by the clerk not later than the first day of October in any year, shall submit a by-law to repeal such by-law, and it shall be the duty of such council, at its first regular meeting after the receipt of such petition by the clerk, or at a special meeting to be called by the clerk if necessary, to pass the first and second reading of such by-law before the first day of November following, but no such petition shall be received by the clerk. at any time prior to the expiration of two years after the taking of any vote of the electors upon a local option by-law or upon a by-law to repeal the local option by-law in pursuance of the provisions of this act.

(2) All the provisions of sections 50 to 61 shall apply to such repealing by-law and to the voting thereon.

64. If the clerk shall fail or neglect to place before the council a petition filed with him, either under section 50 or section 62, or to call a special meeting of the council as referred to in either of said sections, he shall be liable to

 

 

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a fine of not less than fifty dollars and not more than one hundred dollars and in default of payment, to imprisonment for not less than one month and not more than three months.

65. Any petition, either for local option or the repeal thereof under this act which may received by the clerk of the municipality, must be signed by all the petitioners within the calendar year in which it is filed with the clerk, and no such petition, or any portion thereof, when filed with the clerk as aforesaid shall be afterwards re-filed with the clerk.

66. A petition for the submission of the repeal of a local option by-law or the different sections or parts of such a petition, if in more than one section or part, shall be verified by affidavit or statutory declaration of a witness or witnesses present when the said petition or part or section of petition was signed by the persons respectively signing the same, setting forth his name, place of residence and calling, and proving:

(a) That he was present and saw the petition, or section or part of petition signed by the persons respectively whose names appear thereon and which are set, forth in such affidavit or declaration;

(b) That the said persons are resident electors of the municipality in which the by-law is to be submitted;

(c) That he has made a personal examination of the last revised municipal voters' list of the said municipality;

(d) That from the said examination and his personal knowledge of said petitioners, he can state positively that the names of said persons appear upon the last revised municipal voters' list of the said municipality.

(e) Every such affidavit or statutory declaration shall be prima facie proof before the council of the municipality and before all judges, courts and other bodies and elsewhere of the facts stated therein. The following form or one to the like effect, or any form which in effect states the above facts, may be used;

 

Manitoba ____________________To Wit: }

I ____________________of the____________________of____________________

and say: ____________________in the Province of Manitoba (occupation) make oath

1. That I was present and saw____________________ sign the annexed petition and that the signatures of the said petitioners axe in the respective handwriting of each.

2. Each of the said petitioners is a resident elector of the municipality of____________________

3. I have personally examined the last revised municipal voters' list of said municipality, and from said examination and my personal knowledge of said petitioners, I can state positively that the name of each of said petitioners appears upon the said last revised municipal voters' list of the said municipality.

Sworn before me at____________________ in the Province of____________________, A. D. 19____
A commissioner in B. R., or a Justice of the Peace.

67. If any territory forming part of a rural municipality where a local option by-law is in force be detached and added to another municipality where no such by-law is in force or becomes part or all of some newly created rural municipality. or be created into a separate city, town or village corporation, all the provisions of such local option by-law shall continue to have force and effect in such territory until the same shall be repealed after the submission of a repealing by-law in accordance with the provisions of this act.

68. No local option by-law or repealing by-law shall be declared invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of this act governing the case as to the taking of the poll or the counting of the votes, or by reason of any mistake in the use of the forms contained in this act, or by reason of any irregularity, if it appears to the tribunal having cognizance the question that the proceedings on the petition and the voting were conducted substantially in accordance with the requirements of this act, and that such non-compliance, mistake or irregularity did not affect the result of the voting.

69. In any municipality in which a local option by-law passed under this act is in force:

(a) No government store shall be established, maintained or operated, and any existing store therein at the date of the coming into force of such by-law shall be forthwith discontinued.

(b) No place shall be fixed or approved of as a place from Which a brewer may deliver beer and if any place remains so fixed or approved of at the date of the

 

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coming into force of such a by-law the use of same for such purposes shall forthwith be discontinued and any existing permit covering it issued by the commission granting permission to make delivery of beer therefrom shall forthwith be null and void.

PENALTIES AND PROCEDURE

70. Every person who violates any provision of sections 36, 37, 38, and 39 shall be liable, on summary conviction, for a first offence to imprisonment, with hard labour, for not more than twelve months, and for a second or subsequent offence to Imprisonment, with hard labour, for not more than twenty-three months.

71. Every person guilty of an offence against this act for which no penalty has been specifically provided shall be liable, on summary conviction, for a first offence to a penalty of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, and In default of immediate payment to imprisonment for not more than two months, with or without hard labour; for a second offence to a penalty of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and in default of immediate payment to imprisonment for not more than four months, with or without hard labour; and for a third or subsequent offence to imprisonment for not more than six months, with or without hard labour, without the option of a fine, If the offender convicted of an offence referred to in this section is a corporation it shall be liable to a penalty of not less than one thousand dollars not more than five thousand dollars.

72. The description of any offense under this act in the words of this act, or in any words of like effect, shall be sufficient in law; and any exception, exemption, provision, excuse, or qualification, whether it occurs by way of proviso or in the description of the offense in this act, may be proved by the defendant, but need not be specified or negatived in the information; but if it is so specified or negatived, no proof in relation to the matter so specified or negatived shall be required on the part of the informant or complainant.

73. In proving the sale, disposal, gift or purchase, gratuitous or otherwise, or consumption of liquor, it shall not be necessary in any prosecution to show that any money actually passed or any liquor was actually consumed, if the justice hearing the case is satisfied that a transaction in the nature of a sale, disposal, gift, or purchase actually took place, or that any consumption of liquor was about to take place; and proof of consumption or intended consumption of liquor on premises on which such consumption is prohibited, by some person not authorized to consume liquor thereon, shall be evidence that such liquor was sold or given to or purchased by the person consuming, or being about to consume, or carrying away the same, as against the occupant of the said premises.

74. A certificate purporting to be signed by any person appointed or designated by the commission in writing as an analyst for the purpose of this act, as to the percentage of alcohol contained in any liquid, drink, liquor, or combination of, liquors, when produced in any court or before any justice shall be prima facie evidence of the percentage of alcohol contained therein, without proof of the signature or official position of the analyst by whom the certificate is made.

75. The proceedings upon any information for an offense against any of the provisions of this act, in a case where a previous conviction or convictions are charged, shall be as follows:

(a) The justice shall in the first instance inquire concerning such subsequent offense only, and if the accused is found guilty thereof he shall then, and not before, be asked whether he was so previously convicted as alleged in the information, and If he answers that he was so. previously convicted he shall be sentenced accordingly; but if he denies that he was so previously convicted or does not answer such questions, the justice shall then inquire concerning such previous conviction or convictions;

(b) Such previous convictions may be proved prima facie by the production of a certificate purporting to be under the hand of the convicting justice or the registrar of the county court to whose office the conviction has been returned, without proof of signature or official character;

c) In the event of any conviction for any second or subsequent offense becoming void or defective after the making therof by reason of any previous conviction being set aside, quashed or otherwise rendered void, the justice by whom such second or subsequent conviction was made shall summon the person convicted to appear at a time and place to be named, and shall thereupon proof of the of the due service of such summons, if such person fails to appear, or on his appearance amend such second or subsequent conviction, and adjudge such penalty or punishment

 

 

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as might have been adjudged had such previous conviction never existed; and such amended conviction shall thereupon be held valid to all intents and purposes as if it had been made in the first instance;

(d) In case any person who has been convicted of a violation of any provision of this act is afterwards convicted of a violation of any other provision of this act such a conviction shall be deemed a conviction for a second offence within the meaning of this act, and shall be dealt with and be punished accordingly, although the two convictions may have been under different sections.

76.

(1) Charges of several offences against this act committed by the same person may be included in one and the same information, if the information and the summons or warrant issued thereon contains specifically the time and a place of each offence.

(2) One conviction for several offences, and providing a separate penalty or punishment for each, may be made under this act, although such offences may have been committed on the same day; but the increased penalty or punishment hereinbefore imposed shall only be incurred or awarded in the case of offences committed on different days and after information laid for a first offence.

77.

(1) In all prosecutions, actions or proceedings under the provisions of this act against a corporation, every summons, warrant, order, writ or other proceeding may, in addition to any other manner of service which may be provided or authorized by law, be served on the corporation by delivering the same to any officer, attorney, or agent of the corporation, or by leaving it at any place where it carries on any business; provided that service in any other way shall be deemed sufficient if the court or justice by or before whom such summons, warrant, order, writ, or other proceeding was issued or is returnable, or by or before whom any proceeding subsequent to such service is to be had or taken, is of the opinion that the service has been such as to bring the summons, warrant, order, writ, or other proceeding to the notice of one of the principal officers of the corporation.

(2) In any prosecution, action, or proceeding under this act in which it is alleged that a corporation is or has been guilty of an offence against this act, the fact of the incorporation of that corporation shall be presumed without it being proved by the prosecutor, unless proof is produced to the contrary.

78.

(1) Wherever any corporation is convicted of any offence against or under this act, and the conviction adjudges a pecuniary penalty to be paid by the corporation, the justice, by his conviction, after adjudging payment of such penalty with costs, may order and adjudge that, in default of payment of such penalty forthwith or within a limited time, such penalty shall be levied by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the corporation.

(2) In any such case, and in addition to the other remedies provided hereby, a copy of the conviction or order certified to by any justice, or by the officer in whose custody the same is by law required to be kept, may be filed in the office of the prothonotary of the Court of King's Bench or the clerk of the county court and the conviction or order shall thereupon become a judgment of that court, and all proceedings may be thereupon taken and had as on any other judgment of that court.

(3) Nothing in this section contained shall be construed as in any way affecting, limiting or restricting any proceedings which otherwise may be taken or had for the recovery of fine or penalties.

79. No appeal shall lie from a conviction for any violation or contravention of any of the provisions of this act unless the party appealing shall with his notice of intention to appeal deliver to the justice who tried the case on affidavit made before any justice that he did not by himself or his agent, servant or employee or any other person with his knowledge or consent commit the offence charge in the information and such affidavit shall negative the charge in the terms used in the conviction and shall further negative the commission of the offence by the agent, servant or employee of the accused or any other person with his knowledge or consent, which affidavit may be transmitted with the conviction or order and other papers to the court to which appeal is given. When the party appealing is a corporation the affidavit may be made by an officer or director of the corporation having a personal knowledge of the facts.?

80. No conviction or order made in any matter arising under this Act, either originally or on appeal, shall be quashed for want of form; and no information, summons, conviction, order or other proceeding shall be held to be had or quashed on account of its charging two or more offenses, or charging an offence disjunctively, or in the alternative.

80a. Notwithstanding any law or statute to the contrary every inspector, policeman, constable or police officer is justified in arresting and may arrest without warrant anyone whom he find committing an offence against this Act.

 

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PROPERTY AND ACCOUNTING

81.

(1) All property whether real or personal and all moneys acquired, adminIstered, possessed or received by the commission and all profits earned by it in the administration of this Act shall be the property of the Government and all expenses, debts and liabilities incurred by the commission shall be paid by the commission.

(2) Out of the moneys received by the Commission it is hereby empowered to pay the reasonable expenses of such law enforcement as it, at its discretion, considers necessary to carry out the objects, spirit, and intent of this act.

82. The commission shall render an account to the provincial treasurer in the manner and at the times indicated by the latter, of all receipts, expenses, assets, and liabilities; and its books and records shall at all times be subject to examination and the audit by the comptroller general of the Province, and to such other person as the lieutenant governor in council may authorize in that behalf.

83.

(1) The commission shall from time to time make reports to the attorney general covering such matters in connection with the administration or enforcement of this act as he may require, and shall annually, on or before the thirtieth day of December in each year, make to the lieutenant governor in council, through the attorney general, a report for the next preceding fiscal year, which shall contain:

(a) A statement of the nature and amount of the business transacted under this act during the year;

(b) A list of all prosecutions for infractions of this act, and the result of same;

(c) General information and remarks as to the working of the law within the Province;

(d) Any other information requested by the attorney general.

(2) Every annual report made under this section shall be forthwith laid before the legislature if the legislature is then in session, and if not then in session, shall be laid before the legislature within fifteen days after the opening of the next session.

84. The lieutenant governor in council may from time to time borrow moneys and make arrangements with any bank or banks for loans or money overdrafts to provide adequate working capital and to meet all other expenditures for the purposes of this act and may as security for any loans or overdrafts issue treasury bills or notes bearing interest; and every amount so obtained by way of loan or, overdraft shall until repaid, together with the interest thereon, be a charge against the consolidated revenue fund; and any such treasury bill or note may be renewed or re-issued from time to time.

85.

(1) The accounts of the commission shall be made up to the thirty-first day of August in each year, and at such other times as may be determined by the lieutenant governor in council; and in every case the commission shall prepare a balance sheet and a statement of profit and loss and submit the same to the comptroller general for his certification.

(2) Copies of above balance sheets and statements of profit and loss Shan be forthwith laid before the legislature if the legislature is then in session. and if not then in session, shall be laid before the legislature within fifteen days after the opening of the next session.

86. From the profits arising under this act, as certified by the comptroller general from time to time, there shall be taken such sums as may be determined by the lieutenant governor in council to reimburse the government the cost of a referendum on this act and all moneys expended by it in connection with the bringing into force of this act and for the creation of a reserve fund to meet any loss that may be incurred by the government in connection with the adininistration of this act, or by reason of its repeal.

87.

(1) The net profits remaining from time to time after providing the sums required for purposes of the reserve fund shall be disposed of as follows:

(a) Fifty per cent of the net amount shall be paid into the consolidated revenue fund for the public service of the Province; and

(b) Fifty per cent of the net amount shall be apportioned and paid to the several municipalities in the Province in the proportion which the amount of the equalized assessment of each municipality bears to the total equalized assessment of all the municipalities of the Province according to the last equalized assessment in force at the date of such disposal.

 

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APPEAL

 

88. There shall be an appeal from all convictions or orders for payment of money or dismissing any information or complaint in prosecutions or proceedings under this act.

(a) Such appeal shall be to a county court judge of the judicial district in which such prosecution or action was heard.

(b) The appellant shall give notice of his intention to appeal by filing in the office of the clerk of the county court aforesaid and serving the respondent with a copy thereof, a notice in writing setting forth with reasonable certainly the conviction appealed against and the court appealed to within thirty days after the date of the conviction complained of;

 (c) The appellant, if the appeal is from a conviction adjudging imprisonment shall either remain in custody until the hearing of the appeal or shall enter into a recognizance in Form 51 of the Criminal Code, Revised Statutes of Canada, chapter 146, with two sufficient sureties before a county court judge, clerk of the peace justice of the peace, or magistrate for the Province of Manitoba conditioned personally to appear at the said court and to try such appeal and to abide the judgment of the court thereupon, and to pay such costs as are awarded by the court and upon such recognizance being given the judge, clerk of the peace, justice, or magistrate before whom such recognizance is entered into shall liberate such person from custody;

(d) The appellant shall also at the time of filing his notice of appeal as aforesaid, deposit with the clerk of the county court the sum of $50.00 as security for the costs of the said appeal;

(e) The judge to which such appeal is made shall thereupon hear and de. termine the matter of appeal and shall hear the witnesses upon the facts and make such order therein with or without costs to either party including the costs of the appeal as seems meet to the Court, and in case of the dismissal of the appeal by the defendant and the affirmance of the conviction or order, shall order and a judge the appellant be punished as he the said judge shall deem meet and to pay ouch costs as are awarded, and Shall, if necessary issue process for enforcing the judgment of the court. Should an appeal be allowed from a conviction ordering a fine the judge shall have power to order the return of the fine;

 (f) The court to which such appeal is made shall have power, if necessary, from time to time, by order endorsed on the conviction or order, to adjourn the hearing of the appeal;

 (g) Whenever any conviction or order is quashed on appeal the clerk of peace or other proper officer shall forthwith endorse on the conviction or order a memorandum that the same has been quashed;

 (h) Whenever any copy or certificate of such conviction or order Is made, a copy of such memorandum shall be added thereto and shall, when certificate under the hand of the clerk of peace, or of the proper officer having the custody of the same, be sufficient evidence in all courts and for all purposes that the con. viction or order has been quashed.

 

GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

99. Every order for the purchase of liquor by the government shall be authorized by at least two of the commissioners one of whom shall be the chairman, unless absent from the province, and no order shall be valid or binding unless so authorized. A duplicate of every such order shall be kept at the head office of the commission. All cancellations of orders shall be executed in the same manner and a duplicate thereof kept as aforesaid.

 

90. Notwithstanding anything contained in the statute entitled "An act respecting agents for the Bale of intoxicating liquor in the Province of Manitoba," any distiller, brewer, blender, or manufacturer or merchant of liquor or him or its agents may publish or display any notice or announcement or advertise about or concerning liquor after having first obtained the written approval of such notice, announcement, or advertisement by the commission but not otherwise.

 

91. No action or proceeding whether of a civil or criminal nature shall be taken Against any member or members of the commission for anything done or omitted to be done in or arising out of the performance of his or their duties under this act, unless the consent in writing of the attorney general thereto shall have been first had and obtained.

 

92. Every member of the commission and every official authorized by the commission to issue permits under this act may administer any oath and take

 

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 and receive any affidavit or declaration required under this act or the regu. lations.

 

93.

(1) The chief of police or chief constable of the municipal police force in each municipality shall Send to the commission every mouth a written report of all prosecutions brought under this act in the municipality during the preceding month, showing in each case the date of trial, name of accused, nature of charge, disposition of case and name of the presiding justice. The commissioner of provincial police shall send to the commission a like monthly report in respect of prosecutions brought under this act in all municipalities where there are no municipal police.

 

(2) On every prosecution brought under this act in a municipality the presiding justice shall, upon the conclusion of the came, send to the chief of police or chief constable of the municipal police force in that municipality a statement signed by the justice showing the date of trial, Dame of accused, nature of charge and disposition of the case. On every prosecution brought under this act in a municipality where there are no municipal police the presiding justice shall send to the commissioner of provincial police a like statement.

 

94. This act shall come into force on the day it is assented to.

 

EXHIBIT 3

 

THE GOVERNMENT LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION FIRST ANNUAL REPORT

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING AUGUST 31, 1924

 

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, December 20, 1924.

 

To the Hon. R. W. CRAIG, K. C.,

Attorney General, Province of Manitoba, Winnipeg.

 

SIR: We have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the Government Liquor Control Commission for the year ended August 31, 1924.

 

We have the honor to be, sir,
Your obedient servants,

R. D, WAUGH,

Chairman.

Wm. J. BULMAN,

Commissioner.

WILLIAM P. DUTTON,

Commissioner

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The Government liquor control act provides that the Government Liquor Control Commission shall from time to time make reports to the honorable the attorney general covering such matters in connection with the administration and enforcement of the act as he may require and shall annually, on or before the 30th day of December In each year, make to the lieutenant governor in council, through the attorney general, a report for the next-preceding fiscal year which report shall contain:

(a) A statement of the nature and amount of the business transacted under this act during the year.

(b) A list of all prosecutions for infractions of this act and the result of the same.

(c) General information and remarks as to the working of the law within the Province.

(d) Any other information requested by the attorney general.

The fiscal year of the Government Liquor Control Commission ends on the 31st of August, and In order to comply with the above-quoted section of the liquor control act, the commission under date of January 14, 1924, submitted to the honorable the attorney general a report on the work of the commission from the date of its appointment, August 7, 1923, up to the 31st of August, 1923, the report for which period is appended hereto.

A

The Government liquor control act requires that the accounts of the commission shall be made up to the 31st of August in each year and at such other times as may be determined by the lieutenant governor in council and that the commission

 

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