WELLINGTON.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13131, 2 June 1908, Page 8

WELLINGTON.

(TRESS AMOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON. June 1. j At the meeting of the Wellington j Licensing Committee to-day, tho New Zealand Alliance wrote in reference to the recent reports of drinking by women in Auckland, and asking if such a state of affairs was at all general in t'ne Dominion. The report of the police on the eubiect was read, stating that in the "Wellington hotels, in the busy ' thoroughfares, women were seldom soon either drinking or carrying out liquor for consumption. In hotels where a special room or bar is kept for selling liquor by the bottle at wholesale prices, women were frequently seen ouying bottles, and in hotels in residential parts of the city women wero frequently seen calling to purchase liquor, mostly boor. "Women doing so," adds the report, "are clearly messengers for their husbands, and appear to be working men's wives." In some of the hotels in residential parts, or insido-stireets, women are oiten seen to go in and purchase liquor for consumption on the premises. At several hotels six or seven women have been observed to enter, or leave, within half an hour. Some of them have a drink on the premises, but the majority carry the liquor away in bottles, jugs, or cans. The bulk of the women who are observed to drink on the premises are those of doubtful or had reputation, and the same women are sometimes seen to enter hotels to drink therein two or three times the , same day. None of them remain more than a few minutes on hotel premises; apparently just long enough to make their purchases, and drink it, or carry it out, as the case may be." . "I have just oonclu_ed an inspection of the city hotels, and paid particular attention to this subject," add Police Inspector Ellison. "When visiting in seven or eight of the hotels, I saw one or two women who had called in for a drink, or to buy some in' a bottle. In three oases I saw women having drink, each one by herself, in different houses. The most of them, seen in the afternoons, appeared respectable, and well conducted. They only remained long enough to consume the drink, and then went .out. No woman was observed in an intoxicated or _e_ii-intoxic_ied condition in any of tho hotels, either by myself or the sergeants -who made special'] visits. A great deal of liquor is purchased by both men and women for consumption off licensed premises." The Chairman said that the Committee and himself were pleased to know that Vlrinking by women here was not in accord with the state of affairs recently reported at Auckland. The chairman,, Dr. A. M' Arthur, S.M., read some remarks recently made by his Honour Mr Justice Chapman relativo to the manner in which cheques are cashed by business people regardless of the consequences. Ho hoped, he said, that licensees would bo carefid about giving blank cheques, or cashing cheques tendered by unknown people. He absolved the banks absolutely from any blame in tho matter.