SYDENHAM LICENSING ELECTION.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7872, 25 May 1891, Page 6

SYDENHAM LICENSING ELECTION.

STATEMENT OP DEFENCE.

, .On Saturday the defence in the case of (jphn Jlare Taylor and others v Leonard Monk Isitt and others, was filed by Mr John

A; Caygiil, -solicitor for the defendants. The . Statement is a general denial of the allegavgatioaß of the plaintiffs. The allegations ; Bontained in paragraphs 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the plaintiffs' statement of, claim are admitted, ; tod, for the purposes of the present proceed- , ujg the admit paragraph 3. They Seny'the'.allegations in paragraphs 6, 7 and B, and say the election for a Licensing Committee for Sydenham was duly and legally; hel&'OUjthe 10th day of April, 1891; that lhe' v i3efertdants " were 'duly and legally elected, and now constituted the Licensing Committee for the said licensing district ', And triat the election was in all respects goofl and valid. They admit the allega-? marked (a) and (b), in paragraph 9, juidae.to the allegation marked (c) they say !; tiia* Oi Indies mentioned therein, ■stJ^'tfcoa the Sydenham borough, only ■ JOTfe jurisdiction within the said licensing district for the special purposes for which Ijßch" local /bodies were created.. They Admit that no such appointment as mentionedin (d) had been made, and say that u ft unnecessary. As to (c) and (f), they feiy that in December, 1882, the Sydenham Soibugh Cbtincil, being the local body liaving jurisdiction over the said district, in ■fcrarsuance of the powers vested in it under the Licensing Act, 1881, Amendment Act, 1882, duly and legally appointed Charles Allison, Jan., as Returning Officer for the i Mid Uccarisipg district, and the appointment Ifeedinat at any time been revoked, and was i/good and valid. They denied the allega■taons contained in paragraphs 10,11,12 and 15, and Bay they had not entered into any 'illegal concert, agreement or promise, by .reason -whereof they ought not to be permitted to ait, vote and act on the Comtaittee, or hear, determine or pass judgment upon the applications of the plainrii -fpft defence, the defendants jay that the. Court had no jurisdiction to near the said applications for licenses by the plaintiffs as prayed by them, or to grant the relief prayed for. That if 'there was any irregularity, omission, or eaythingthat would invalidate the appointtfognt of the said Chas. Allison, jun. as Reaming Officer, which the defendants deny, wrif, ac alleged, no returning officer was appointed, which was also denied, yet the ifpamtifls voted at the election and thereby waqoiesced m the regularity of the said elec's&oa and the validity of the appointment, %nd the plaintins were now estopped from denying the validity of the election. Aβ a further defence the defendants my that the election on 10th of April %*a a' distinctly party contest. That prior lor the election the defendants declared their opinion that, considering the nature of the %msineas carried on by the plaintiffs, the Mature of the population of Sydenham, and ihfi requirements of the district, there was no necessity for publichouseß in the district, and undertook, promised, and announced to the ratepayers of Sydenham, legally and properly, that if the ratepayers endorsed the upinipo by electing the defendants as the iSoensing Committee, the defendants would give effect to their wishes. That the deHndtmts were elected by a very large aa^oriity, and that they consider the result ■«£ tfee election to be an emphatic ezpres.t» of opinion that no publichouses ■»«€« in the district, and would give (due regard to auoh expression of epMaion. That the defendants were prepared honestly and fairly to hear and determine the applications of theplainti&% and - lay ott»er applications that might be made, Mad if, notwithstanding the result of the election, the plaintiffs were able to satisfy the defendants that the public houses or any of th»>m were required t>y the majority of the ratepayers and adult male and female " residents of the district, the defendants "Would not arbitrarily, dishonestly and onjustly refuse the applications or any of