Guest Of Lodger May Not Buy Drinks After Hours

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27403, 16 July 1954, Page 17

Guest Of Lodger May Not Buy Drinks After Hours

nrd" S? s n of >? lod § er Th a hotel canThX ~g a!ly bu Y hquor after hours, r Av.l eC!s ;i on given by Mr Rex p'tJ® rnet hy> S.M, in the Magistrate’s X estert ?ay, when he gave his reserved judgment on a charge against Henry James Smither, licensee of the Grand Hotel. u earlier hearing Smither (Mt B. McClelland) had pleaded not guilty ° JiS? * opening his premises 9“ 2 8 or the sa l e of liquor, selling liquor after hours, and exposing liquor for sale after hours. 0.. u hearing, Mr McCleland submitted that a guest of a lodger m a hotel after hours, could not only be supplied with liquor by the lodger, but could also buy liquor since he was properly on the premises in the first instance. - * I „d° P°t agree with this submission, said the Magistrate. “The intention of the legislature and of the act. is to allow a lodger to supply liquor to a guest after hours, and he can do that in accordance with the terms of the act. But if a guest of

the lodger departs from the wing of the lodger and goes off and buys liquor himself, he ceases to be for the time being a guest of that lodger. This is the kind of thing the legislation is determined to provide against. . “The man is being supplied with liquor after hours. Although a lodger may supply liquor to his guest, the guest may not buy liquor, either for himself or for the lodger. In short, a guest of a lodger cannot buy liquor,” he said. From the evidence before him, he was satisfied that the licensee sold liquor to two men who had previously been guests of the lodger. The charges of opening the premises and exposing liquor for sale were withdrawn by the police and Smithex' was fined £2 on the selling charge. A barman at the hotel, Patrick Hayden, was fined £3 in that being a person other than the licensee he supplied liquor after hours, and Alan Monk and John Miller were each fined £1 for being on licensed premises after hours.