AUCKLAND CABARET

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 November 1931, Page 7

AUCKLAND CABARET

NO LICENSE FOR DANCING PROPRIETORS FINED [SPECIAL to “stab.”] AUCKLAND, November 6. Proprietors of the Green Parrot Cabaret, D’Arcy Woods and Earle M’Kenzie, appeared before Mr W. R. M’Kean, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court, charged with using their premises as a dance hall without a license, and also with holding a Sunday entertainment. Counsel for defendants admitted that they did not have a license. They thought they were quite in order to allow dancing when meals were supplied. The cabaret charged 3s for supper and patrons were allowed to dance if they wished to. However, they were prepared to plead guilty, and would promise to apply for a license immediately. Both defendants were young men with a limited amount of capital. “There are two prosecutions,” said counsel, who appeared for the Auckland City Council, by whom the charges were brought. “One is for carrying on without a license and the other for running a dance until about three o’clock on Sunday morning without a permit. They were notified that a license was necessary, and they have had an opportunity to take one out, but they have taken no notice. The evidence shows that the main purpose is dancing—people in Auckland at this time will not pay 3s tor supper.” Counsel indicated that there would be other prosecutions of a. similar nature. The council had not made the Green Parrot the scapegoats. “I would like to point out that the supper served for 3s is pretty substantial,” said counsel for defendants. “Grills are served.” The Magistrate said the mam point was that defendants had been given an opportunity to apply to the council for a license and they had failed to do so. They would be fined £5 on one charge and £1 on the other.

CONSUMPTION OF LIQUOR. POLICE ALLEGATIONS. D’Arcy Woods as manager of the cabaret, was proceeded against for permitting liquor to be drunk on the premises. . • Constable Manley said the cabaret was a sort of night club. “A girl got up and danced on the table cloth, and a man did the same thing in a cubicle next door. The man produced a flask of whisky and poured some into' two glasses, a,nd this was drunk by himself and a lady friend. In another cubicle a man produced a bottle of beer and this was consumed by a party at the table next to the one at which we sat. Port wine was freely consumed. The bottle was kept under the table. Later, a girl walked past," Carrying a large bottle of port wine. Another girl went by quite openly with a small flask of whisky. The constable said that he left the .place at 2.15 on Sunday morning. At that time the place was .very disorderly. Girls and men were under the influence of liquor, and the place was still in full swing. . . Replying to counsel, witness said that ginger ale appeared to be the, most popular drink, ginger ale and what the patrons took with it. The town clock struck 1.15 on the Sunday morning when Sergeant Clark carried out the raid, but, when he got theie everything appeared to be in order. The Sergeant said that he had searched one of the cubicles but all lie found was one glass half full of whisky and ginger ale. The manager told witness that he had not seen any drinking and that he had taken every care. Recently, a lively party had gone on until five o’clock in the morning. t Counsel for defendants: That was after the police ball wasn’t it? Detective-Sergeant Kelly (indignantly): That’s an insinuation that should not creep into this case. When D’Arcy Woods, the manager, went into the box to give evidence, several bottles of soft drinks were produced to show the type of drink that was served in the cabaret. “There was one that could easily be mistaken for wine,” he said. Magistrate Hunt: Would that stuff make a girl dance, on a table. Only a few months ago we had another cabaret charged with the same c-ort of thing. On that occasion they were fined £l5. That should have been a warning to other managers. In this case we actually have a Sergeant giving evidence that he cautioned the manager. We also hear that a gi.l was seen brandishing a bottle of whisky and another dancing on tables. Whether they can stop this drinking and this kind of thing except by abolishing . these cubicles, I don t know, but they certainly did not take advantage of the warning they were given. , „ Woods was fined £2O on each of two charges of permitting liquor to b e drunk in the restaurant at the time when licensed premises were required to be closed.