In the course of Monday's debate Mr. Balfour made an
extremely ingenious debating speech. After denying that the clergy had any special right to be heard in the matter, he ad- dressed himself to the problem of the time-limit. What would happen when the time-limit came to an end P The mere lapse of time could not take away the equitable right to consideration which, as he asserted, the license-holders now possessed. This statement shows a curious inability on Mr. Balfour's part to grasp the principle of the time-limit. Those who are in its favour assert the following propositions. The State gives to the person to whom it grants a license a tenure of one year and no more, and is under no legal obligation to renew the license. Since, however, the present grantees have expected the renewal, and since the total denial of such expectations would cause hardships demanding a compassionate compensation, it is proposed that the State should enact that it will during, say, the next seven years renew the license, but after this seven years the license-holders will be considered to have received the fullest notice that no renewal is to be expected. '
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