LICENSING CASE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 6, 8 January 1902, Page 4

LICENSING CASE.

INFORMATIONS DISMISSED,

Mr T. Hutchison, S.M., gave judgment to-day in the informations

against Syme, licensee of the Star | Hotel,. Otahuhu, heard on December 11 19. His Worship said that there were I two informations against defendant, |i who was charged respectively with ft

exposing liquor for sale and keeping ;| the hotel open lor the sale of liquor on Sunday, November 10. The important facts were that two travellers from Auckland and a local resident > entered the hotel by the side door,, 1 | which was open. One of the Auck- .j| land men was served with a glass of" | beer on the order of the otiier, but no other drinks were served, probably because just then Constable; f| Foreman entered. All the men in s the hotel, with the one exception, J were persons to whom defendant J ruign* lawfully .supply liquor, and for | this purpose fie migut open his bar r; and expose his liquor without com- f nutting- a breach of the Act. The question was therefore whether I liquor was exposed for sale to the j witness Lockhart, of Otahuhu, who" ~'% entered with the travellers. Whatever his intention, no drink had been 1 asked for or by him, and there was 3 evidence that he had been denied :| drink on a former occasion. The '■.% mere presence of a man in the house § was insufficient to base an inference that he could have drink for the ask- S ing. The surrounding circumstances | in this case were undoubtedly sus- f picious, but not a suspicion which fjj was necessary to the only important 1 conclusion that Lockhart was-in the if way of getting drink. It might be !; said in a general way that the fact of a man going into a hotel for tne purpose of getting a drink was some . evidence that he could get it, but it. seemed wholly" unreasonable to impute his expectation to any proof *"\ that the hotelkeeper would sell to him. The case must depend on other and surrounding circumstances, and in this case they did not appear to :"i him to form any safe basis upon M which, to found a conclusion adverse . to the defendant. The information -■ ' for exposing liquor for sale there- 3 | fore failed, and the other alternative . j; information failed with it. '