LIQUOR TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 92, 19 April 1945, Page 8

LIQUOR TRADE

REFORM SUGGESTIONS

EVIDENCE OF CITIZENS

The Commissioner of Police should supply pn estimate of the public money expended by his Department on Matters connected with hotels, said Mr. Edward Boocock, retired importer, of Island Bay, in evidence before the Royal Commission on Licensing today. "Almost every time one opens a newspaper," he said, "there is some trouble reported connected with the consumption of liquor which has to be attended to by the police." It appeared remarkable to many people, he continued, that the State should create a valuable monopoly, and then hand it over to private individuals for financial gain. For that valuable right the only direct financial return to the Government appeared be about £40 per annum. He believed that new licences should be granted to trusts. "I do not suggest that trusts are perfect," he added, "but merely an improvement on present conditions." ' GOVERNMENT CONTROL. If the foregoing reforms did not effect an improvement, he suggested that the Government should take it over, also the brewery trade. In reply to Mr. G. W. Hutchinson (a member of the Commission), the witness said he was not aware "that the Government had received more than £4,000,000 in taxation from the liquor trade last year. "But that surely suggests what a valuable asset it would be for the Government." A GROUP'S SUBMISSIONS. Submissions on behalf of "a group of .individuals" were presented by Mr. S. J. Collins, public servant, of Wellington, who said it was time the position in bars was faced, and men were enabled to drink under hygienic conditions. Among his recommendations were lavatories equal in standard to those in public places, and to be erected near bars; all bars to conform to one general type; adequate inspection of premises; sterilisation of glasses; all draught beer to be drawn from barrels in view of patrons; the elimination of private bars; prices to be the same in lounges as in bars; licences to be granted- to grocers for the sale of beer; each bar to have sufficient seating accommodation, and tables, for all present at any time; the introduction of a system of licences for cabarets, dining saloons," and railway stations. Hours, he declared, should be extended until the evening. "A suggestion in this regard is that the extension might apply only to the lounge, and not to the bar," said Mr. Collins. All bars should be in full view of the public. That portion of the bar fronting the street should not be obscured by frosted windows. The practice of keeping reserve stocks of cased beer, etc., in the bar should be discontinued under penalty. GERMANY AND ITALY. Conditions relating to the sale of liquor in Germany and Italy were described by Dr. Siegfried Rothman, a registered electrical engineer employed by the Works Department. There were few restrictions on sales in those countries, said the witness. A bottle could be bought from almost any grocer up to 8 p.m. In restaurants people were expected to drink wines with their meals. Liquor was obtainable at the major railway stations, factory canteens, and at theatre buffets. "The public house is regarded as entirely separate from a hotel," said the witness. "The latter is not regarded as a place to go and drink. The hotel is for the travelling public." There was little evidence of drunkenness in the streets in either of those countries, and he had never witnessed such con- «£?£ #? ere as he had observed in Willis Street on a Saturday afternoon. Only by the granting of charters could members of golf clubs enjoy the privileges now enjoyed by players in th?, United States and Great Britain, said Mr. D. R. Richmond, solicitor, who submitted a statement on behalf of the New Zealand Golf Council. It was believed that after the war the number of golf clubs and playing members would be greatly increased, said Mr. Richmond. Before long there would be 400 clubs with 40,000 members. The council suggested, in regard to chartered golf clubs, that the closing hour for the bar should be 6 p.m. m winter and 7. p.m. in summer, and that it should be open on Sundays and other days when the bars of licensed hotels were closed, for reasonable hours, because Sundays and such other days offered the best opportunity for play.

(Proceeding.)