"NOTORIOUSLY BAD"

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 129, 2 June 1936, Page 10

"NOTORIOUSLY BAD"

WELLINGTON HOTELS

AFTER-HOUR TRADING

WARNING GIVEN

According to Mr. E. D. Mosley, S.M., j the amount of after-hour hotel trade i that has been done in Wellington is; such as to have caused a blot on the j city's escutcheon. But Mr. Mosley. as the chairman, and also the other members of the Wellington Licensing Committee are determined that there shall be an improvement, and in this connection Mr. Mosley used some plain English to publicans and counsel representing them at the annual meeting of the committee held in the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon. •'Wellington has been notoriously bad for this kind of thing," said Mr. Mosley, referring to after-hour trade. "I i am speaking with all due sense of responsibility. I want licensees to under- j stand that it has got to cease.'' j LEGITIMATE PROFIT. ! Good times were coming, said Mr. Mosley. and if licensees could not make their profit legitimately between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., then I they would have to go out of business and the Licensing Committee would see that they went. That simply was the position. The committee was not going to stand any nonsense. "We have no brief at all against licensees," continued Mr. Mosley. "Personally, I wish them luck—all the luck thev deserve; but we have a brief to uphold the Licensing Act, the law of the land, as far as alcoholic liquor is concerned, and the present committee is out to do it. Make no error about that. We are out to see that the licensing law is obeyed. We are not going to be ungenerous and wc are not going to be thoughtless of the licensees and owners, but we are going to insist upon a certain standard being maintained. ... We are convinced that the licensing law has been broken time and time again in Wellington and that the standard of the j hotels outside, say, half a dozen, is j not what it ought to be."

REBUILDING OF HOTELS. In view of the improvement in con-j ditions the Licensing Committee was expecting that some of the older licensed houses would be pulled down and rebuilt. He personally was hoping that fresh legislation would be introduced eventually with the object of compelling some of the owners to rebuild and provide improved accommodation for the public. He knew of one house the owners of which had already taken a forward step in this connection. Plans had been submitted to and approved by the committee, and the accommodation promised to be very good indeed.

NO THREAT; A HINT. | "That is good work," Mr. Mosley proceeded, "and we hope that the good work will continue; but make no mistake about it—l don't utter this as- « threat at all—the Licensing Committee is going to insist upon a standard being kept and maintained, so you know what you are up against, licensees. That is not said in trie spirit of a threat, but take it as a hint for your own protect ion. You men can sec through a brick wall as far as f can: you know what to expect. If you do" maintain your houses in a proper manner in accordance with the licensing law. you will have the support of your committee, otherwise you ■ won't."