CONTROL OF HOTELS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 17, 21 January 1936, Page 17

CONTROL OF HOTELS

LICENSING COMMITTEES

ELECTIONS IN MARCH

The term of office of the present licensing committees throughout the Dominion will close shortly, and new committees will be elected, or appointed, on March 10. The appointment of licensing committees takes place after every licensing poll, and in ordinary circumstances the term is for three years. When the licensing poll was postponed in 1932 owing to financial reasons new licensing committees were not appointed. The present committees have therefore been in office since 1929.

Usually the election of licensing committees does not attract much interest. Each committee comprises a Magistrate, appointed by the GovernorGeneral, and five other persons elected by the electors of the district. All electors, with the exception of brewers, wine or spirit merchants, maltsters, distillers, dealers in spirituous liquors, owners of licensed houses, and certain people holding office under the Government, are entitled to vote, but few exercise their rights.

The election of a licensing committee is conducted in the same manner as the election of members of Parliament with the exception that the cost of the election is borne by the local authority of the district. , In the Wellington Licensing District in 1929 there were only five nominations for the committee, and consequently there was no need for an election. Nominations have so far not been received for the new licensing committee in Wellington. In the event of more than five nominations being received, an election will be held and the day will be declared a public half-holi-day. The sale of. liquor from noon onwards is prohibited on the day of the election. The present members of the Wellington Licensing Committee are Mr. E. D. Mosley, S.M. (chairman), and Messrs. W. I. Clark, R. Darroch. G. J. Petherick, W. H. Denton. and A. Longmore.