The New Licensing Bench and Sunday Trading.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 4292, 23 February 1884, Page 2

The New Licensing Bench and Sunday Trading.

In an articlo on tho above Bubject iv the " Herald " this morning, cur contemporary

says:—

" Neither police nor Magistrate has anything to do with it. Thoy may botli go to bod now, so far as any necessity for thorn exists in suppressing Sunday trading. No longer need tho policeman go in oy the front door, whilo at a digital from tho watchman tho customers fly out at the rear, or thrust tho tumblers into thoir pockets and look innocont, and jibo at tho policeman becauso ho cannot swear he saw them actually drinking, or the barman serving thorn. . . Jt requires no conviction necessarily to tho withholding of a license Wo vontiuo to say without uny hesitation that in tho canoof a publichouso in which forty or fifty people are scon going in and out in a. couple of hours of a Sunday afternoon, it will bo taken for granted that thoy are not going into that bar parlour for a prayor-meoting, and that tho Licensing Committeo will lind ' that in thoir opinion there is no necossity for that public-house.' Tho Licensing Committeo will not be required to stato thoir ether leasons, or to have tho ovidenco of any policemun. Let lliem simply be assured in t/tcir own minds thcU Sunday trading is carried on, and when tho application for tho renewal of that liconse comes up, they may simply say, 'in their opinion thero is no necessity for that public-house.' Unquestionably it is the law that tho granting or refusal of liceusos is entirely at the discretion of tho Licensing Committee, but surely our contemporary is misrepreBentiug tho rocontly-olected bonclics wnon it states that in future hotolkoopers may bo held guilty of Sunday trading without being proved guilty, and that the magistracy ami police are in future absolved from their duties, and "may both go to bod now, 80 far as any necessity for them exists in suppressing Sunday trading," bocauso it is only requisite for tho Coinmittoo to bo " assured in thoir own minds that Sunday trading is carried on." Wo havo always bolieved that tho law of England held every man to bo innocont, howover much appearances mny be against him, until ho is proved to bo guilty, but under tho now dictum neither reasons nor ovidonco—only certain beliefs in tho minds of biassed magistrates—aro wanted. Thoro aro hotols in Auckland—tho Govornor Browno for example—where forty or fifty poraout. might go in and out on a Sunday afternoon, and all of them bo boarders. Yot this, according to our contemporary, would bo a suiliciont and just cause for cancelling tho licenso of the hotel, and convicting its landlord of an offeuco of which ho may bo as innocent as tho Licensing Committee itself. Such a doctrine U only calculated to alioimto public sympathy from tho Committees which have just been chosen by an ovonvholming voto. The moral of that voto is not to relievo the polico and magistrates of thoir responsibilities, but to increaso them, by tolling these sorvants of the public what tho people want, and warning them that if they aro oithor disinclined or incompetent to obtain res|>ect for the law, wo shall got other magistrates and othor policomcn who aro bettor iittod for their duties. Last Tuesday's poll is not a signal for policcmon and magistrates to go to bed, but to wako up and do their duty ; and if they heed tho warning thero will bo no dilliculty m putting down Sunday trading by lawful ana equitable processes, the reasons for which tlio Committoos will have no causo to keep hidden in tho secret recesses of their own minds.