THE LICENSING ACT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2386, 16 February 1915, Page 6

THE LICENSING ACT

A' LAWYER'S PROTEST. A protest was entered b,v Mr. T. M. Wilford in the Magistrate's Court yesterday against the fact of his client (a hotelkeeper) being supplied with "just ft bald statement" in respect to the charge of permitting drunkenness on his premises. "How 011 '•arth can a man prepare a. substantial defence when lie does not -know when an alleged offence was committed, or of the ir.an who was concerned in it? asked coi nsel. Mr. Wilford continued that ho knew t>at such a "bald charge" was nil the Act prescribed, yet in the face of the big business that : had been done pt the Taita Hotel recently on nccount of the troopers, the defence was ocite in the dark about their alleged offcnce. As an example of the rush of business, Mr. Wilford said that on Sunday last while the proprietor of the hotel w:is attending to other business, someone broke open a slide in the hotel .i'id stolo 12 bottles of beer. Counsel jKlded that application for particulars of tl'.e alleged offence had been made to the police, but no reply had been received. Superintendent Ellison intimated that he would supply counsel with the time of the alleged offcnce.

Mr. Wilford: I suppose I must .to thankful for small mercies, but it is pretty difficult. His Worship: That may be so.