TO CLOSE ON THE FIRST

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 133, 12 June 1909, Page 3

TO CLOSE ON THE FIRST

NO-LICENSE NEAR WELLINGTON WHAT IT MEAMS. CAPITAL VALUE OF CLOSED HOTELS £31,112. VIEWS OF THOSE AFFECTED. The Ist of July next marks the inauguration of a new era in the south and suburbs of Wellington. Whether it be known as "the glorious first" or "the atal first" depends on the standpoint from which tho licensing question is regarded, but the fact remains that on and after the Ist of July, 1909, all the hotels in the electorates of Wellington South and Wellington Snburbs will be closed for the sale of spirituous and fermented liquors. On tho 30th June the will of the electors, expressed at the last election, will take effect. "Ring out the old, ring in the new" will, doubtless, be remembered then, or perhaps in a revised version, "Wring out the wet, bring in the dry," for the Suburbs and the South will isolate Wellington city's moisture with a "dry" belt. They will be "dry," like Ashburton, Oamaru, Invercargill, and other regions of prohibition. THE HOTELS AFFECTED. In all, eleven hotels will lose their licenses seven in the Suburbs and four in the South. The suburban hostelries affected are the Ngahauranga Hotel and the White Horse. Ngahauranga; the All Nations, Kaiwarra; the Railway, Johnsonville ,• the Esplanade, the Kilbirnie and tho Island Bay Hotels. In Wellington South are the Star and Garter, the Grosvenor, the Newtown, and the Park Hotels. Newtown has, of course, been under No-license before. By the licensing poll of November, 1902, the Newtown and the Park Hotels, and Grosvenor were closed, the poll to take .effect on the 30th June, 1903. On tho 27th February of that year Dr. M'Arthur declared the poll void. On appeal to tho Supreme 'Court, it was held that as the poll had been declared void the Licensing Committee had no jurisdiction to grant licenses. Th© houses remained closed, therefore, from July, 1903 — they sold for a time until they were compelled to close, though not prosecuted — until about nine months later, when the Privy Council reversed the decision of the Supreme Court. The Newtown Hotel was in the course of reerection at the time. Since that time the boundaries of the electorates have been altered, and, when the electors carried by the necessary majority Nolicense in Wellington South, two more hotels — the Star and Garter, at the corner of Webb and Cuba-streets, and the Grosvenor, in Wallace-street — were both included in the scope of the closure. The case of the Star and Garter is peculiar, in that it stands on the very boundary of the electoral district. Across Cuba-street on the opposite corner is still the region of perpetual moisture, but the Star and Garter will soon be "dry." WHAT THE POSITION IS. In proceeding to estimate the losses to the people concerned in "the Trade" it has to be remembered that there are conditions under which residents in a prohibited area can still obtain liquor. The law, however, is^very stringent in their case. In the first place, no person shall be allowed to solicit or receive any order within that district, or to send any package containing liquor unless such package bears a label to show that it contains liquor. Again, every person living within a prohibited area,, who orders liquor, must, under a penalty of £26 for the first offence, and upwards in cases of repetition, give notice to the person from whom he buys that he lives within a prohibited area. He must give his right name and address. The dealer who sells liquor must send notice to the clerk of the Magistrate's Court, notifying him of the name and address of the person ordering liquor, and the quantity thereof. / These regulations refer to the purchase in quantity. For the single bottle the channel is easier. A resident of a prohibited area, when outside that area, may obtain for his own use liquor not exceeding one quart of spirits or wine, or one gallon of beer in any one day. In such a case it is not necessary for the vendor to send notice to the clerk of the Magistrate's Court. * The object of these provisions is, of course, to prevent any accumulation of liquor in the possession of any one person living in a prohibited area. THE LOSS TO "THE TRADE." "An hotel without a license," a Post representative was told, in the course of enquiries, "is like a nut without a kernel. The loss of licenses to the hotels, that will be closed, is serious. Most of them are unsuitable for any other purpose, too big, too costly for boardinghouses alone, and in no position to be turned into shops. Apart from the land values, which will depreciate also, the loss is practically complete. Furniture and fittings will fetch little in the present market. So there We are. The license is the thing." In the following list of the affected hotels, with their licensees and owners, ascertained wherever possible, the value given is the capital value only, apart from the license, which is difficult to estimate, and varies according to the manner in which the hotel is run. It is that elusive thing, "the goodwill," that constitutes so important an item in the buying and selling value of most hotels. An estimate of that particular is given later. The list follows with owner, licensee, and -valuation, in that order. There may, of course, be other persons involved in the ownership, which is made general. OWNERS, LICENSEES, AND VALUATIONS. Wellington South. Star and Garter, owner, Jacob Josephs Estate ; lessee, Staples and Co. ; licensee, H. Dooly ; valuation, £3380. Grosvenor (T. G. Macarthy), licensee L. G. Sweet, £2664. Newtown (T. G. Macarthy), H. G. Houldsworth, £8520. Park (Staples and Co.), J. Lutz, £2400. Wellington Suburbs. Ngahauranga Hotel, Thos. Clanham, £2050. White Horse, Ngahauranga (James Footer), J. Shortis, £910. All Nations, Kaiwarra (Staples and Co.), Joseph Naylor, £2150. Railway, Johnsonville (Dwan Bros.), J. Ahlers, £1728. Esplanade, Thorndon (Staples and Co.), Ellen Proctor, £1550. Kilbirnie (Staples and Co., lessees), W. S. Barr, £3440. Island Bay (Hamilton Giliner), K. Wilkinson, £2320. Tho total capital valuations of the Wellington South hotels are thus £14,148, and of the Suburban houses, £16,964— t0tal for the "dry" area, £31.112. ESTIMATED LOSSES ON LICENSES. Tho losses on the licenses can only he estimated. Mr. Martin Kennedy, managing director for Staples and Co., who

own a large proportion of the houses soon to come under No-license, gave the following estimates :— Park Hotel, £5000; Star and Garter, £2000; Esplanade, £2000; All Nations, Kaiwarra, £2000; Kilbirnie, £2000; Island Bay (which, though belonging to Mr. Hamilton Gilmer, is supplied from Staples and Co.), £2500. » Mr. T. G. Macarthy said that ho had foreseen the coming of No-license, and had disposed of his interests in many hotels during the past few years. He estimated the loss on the Grosvenor at about £5000, and on the Newtown Hotel rather 1 more. The other owners are, naturally, likely to lose in a similar proportion, the loss representing, generally, the difference between the value of the proparty before and after No-licsiise. All this is apart from the personal losses of the licensees, of whom, as an instance, one told The Post representative , it meant as much as £4000, while another merely mentioned that his lease was thus curtailed by three years, so far as tho license was concerned. The case of the licensees will be considered in another article.