_New Zealand._--This state has a licensing system with local option provisions of its own. The licensing authority is a local committee, and there are seven kinds of licence, of which two are for consumption on the premises. The fees range from £1 for a wine licence to £40 for a full publican's licence in towns, or £45 for one permitting an additional hour's sale at night; the fees go to the revenue of the local authority. In 1907 the total number of licences granted was 2179 and the fees paid amounted to £45,865. Of the whole number, 1367, or 1 to every 666 persons, were houses licensed for on consumption. The closing hour is 10 P.M. except for houses specially licensed to be open till 11 P.M. In 1893 local option was introduced by the Alcoholic Liquors Sale Control Act, which provided for the taking of a poll on the question of licences. The electoral districts for the purpose are the same as for the House of Representatives, except that the cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin each form a single district for the licensing poll. It is taken at the same time as the election of members of the House of Representatives, and three questions are propounded--(1) continuance of existing licences, (2) reduction, (3) no licences. A voter may vote for two proposals but not more. An absolute majority of all the votes recorded carries (1); an absolute majority of all the votes recorded carries (2), whereupon the licensing committee reduces the licences by any number from 5 to 25% of the total. But if three-fifths of all the votes cast are in favour of no licence then that supersedes (1) and (2). The poll taken in December 1905 gave the following results: of the 68 districts 40 carried no proposal (which is equivalent to continuance of existing licences), 18 carried continuance, 4 reduction, 6 no licence, including 3 which had previously adopted no licence. Women, it must be remembered, vote as well as men. The aggregate vote in favour of no licence shows a large proportional increase since the first poll in the present system in 1896.