delayed passage of the House amendments and should now take the opportunity to make the mark the Government was frightened to make.

As we see the liquor licensing it should be a combination of open and convenient liquor service for visitors to a holiday resort coupled with protection for young people from people who push alcohol.

The very antique liquor laws need some serious overhaul and aside from granting licences they should respond to overall abuse in the marketing of alcohol. To that end the Senate might look for a way to include an amendment which would prohibit the promotion of alcohol in any way at sporting events.

Connecting alcohol with sport is a glamour promotion and implies to young people that sports stars use alcohol, which may or may not be the case. Liquor names also get attached to sporting events not to help the event but to promote the liquor.

The Senate should try to stop that in Bermuda. The amendments passed by the House prohibit the sale of miniature bottles of alcohol in licensed grocery stores. However the amendment stopped short of what the public seemed to want most which was a prohibition on the sale of cold containers of beer, wine, Dark and Stormy and other such alcohol from cold cases. Surveys show that such sales are not a convenience for people who want to take cold liquor home but that it almost always goes into a vehicle where it is illegally consumed and then the container winds up as roadside litter.

The House amendments tried to grapple with underage drinking in bars and night clubs. It banned those under 18 years of age from bars but did not do so for night clubs. It is very difficult to believe that they will attend discos and night clubs, even if accompanied by someone over 21, and not be tempted to drink. The Senate can provide the solution, no one under 18 on licensed premises except licensed restaurant premises, which allows for families eating out, and then not after 10 p.m. or 11 p.m.

We think the Senate should welcome the changes which allow for sidewalk cafes and long licensing hours for hotels. Twenty-four hour a day licences for tour boats are puzzling. If Tourism wants the boats to be licensed to cover all meal times as a convenience for visitors that is acceptable but being licensed during the hours of midnight to 6 or 7 a.m. has the potential for too much noise around the shoreline.

We note that those people with night club licences have complained about the inclusion of restaurants and hotels in the 3 a.m. category. Presumably this was an attempt to open things up for visitors. In the past some night club licences have been held by genuine night clubs and discos. But some were also granted to places which only wanted to operate their bars until 3 a.m. and made no attempt to be night clubs. Perhaps the Senate would like to specify in the amendments what night clubs should provide, especially since visitors complain of a lack of entertainment.

Licence holders can now decide how long to stay open within their hours. But that could create problems. A licence was a public service and premises had to have permission to close. Under the new law they can close when they like and probably too many will close for the winter. Some will close early during the week and late on weekends. Some will simply close if a night is not going well. We think this will lead to less service rather than more when the attempt is clearly to provide visitors with entertainment and more relaxed hours. The Senate may want to specify minimum hours.

Now is the time for changes. Once these amendments go out of the public eye the law will not be reviewed again for years.