LICENSING COURT.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 5, 5 December 1877, Page 2

LICENSING COURT.

T^-esdaXi Decempbee 4jTH, 187^. (Before E. Shaw, Esq., R v .M., and Messrs B/ennau and Bull, Copi.misajoners,) NE^ LICBN,SE.9._ J.araea O'Brien applipd for an, ijQtel , licehse,. a^ Boatman's,. The. B^uch stated that as. applicant bad failed tp fyrnisb. a proper plan of the pro- , posed building the application could not < be entertained at tbe present sitting, Applicant said he. was not aware that a plan was required, o),he,rwise it would,huve been prepared,

' After consultation the Bench agreed to adjourn the application until noon tomorrow (tooday.) flan to be submitted in the interval. JOHN DAMSON. Mr Pitt, on behalf of the above-named moved for a new hotel lipense for house to be erected at the corner of Broadway and fridge-street. He said that in pecordance with the requirements of the Act a plan of tbe proposed buildin.fi had been prepared and submitted to the Bench also a memorial in support of l\\p application from thp adjoining residents,' A letter WO3 also put in answering certain objoc* tions raised tp thp granting of ihe license by the policp. The house to be erected would offer large accommodation to the public with all the adjuncts of a really first-class establishment,. Thp applicant intended, if successful, tP carry out the plans? to the letter, and such a. bpuse would, prove a great boon to the community. At the prerent time it mu st De ! wjthip the knowledge of the. Bench that very few of thp hotels in town conformed th.P spirit of the Act to the hulk of them being little better than mere drinking shops. The Bench had, he was aware, expressed an opinion adverse to the granting of any fresh licena.es} in Reeftoo, but it must be rpmeinbered that since that determination had been expressed very great changes had takpn place in the cir- . cumstances and requirements pf tb,e com- I munity. The. population, had been added to from withput, and it was notorious that it frequently occurred that the present hotelkeepers were often unable to accommodate the numbers of their visitors. The house which applicant intended to build wou,ld co>,4 £1,500 aud. would f offer advantages to the public of a, very desirable and necessary kind. The qeces-? sity for such an establishment eo.uld be gathered from the fact that applicant was prepared to, risk Liv capital in such a venture. " The BenciU said that Mr Dawson had written a letter in auswer to certain pb,« jections lodged by tho police, in which he stated that the hotel accomcno.dation at present ava.il,a,ble was for the number of visitors. Tbjn allegation waa important inasmuch as th,e Bench, in ex* pressing the opinion th.at no fresh licenses should be isaupd had arrived at th,at con-, elusion under, the inj,pv.ession that ib/3 3ccommpd,ncip,n. (hen existing was. opt only sufficient, bu,t in excessive pf the requiio.. ments of th,e inhabitants. Now, if tins were rpa.lly, sjbpwnto be jotlke case go.od ground woujd l^e shown for, a departure from the rula laid down. The evidence of tl\(i police upon tli,p matter was that the acco.m,uioda,tiou was already excessive. Wi,th regard to the implication, a,s. f\ w,hoje, the Bench was unanimously of tha opinion, that applicant was a fit and, proper person to hold a license, and they wore equally agreed that the plan p£o.d,u,ced indicted an excellent house, but u,n,ti,l it oou.ld be shown that there really existed a wan,); for such a house, the Bench sa>w no sufficient reason lor breaking the rule already laid down. Mr Pitt said so far as concerned, the allegation in Mr Dawson's Letter,, it pro,« ceec^ed upon credible informatiou. It was a matter of notoriety that it very frequently happened that visitors were. Ujiabje to pbtain beds in the hotels, and, had to, resort to " shakesdpwn." As a, sitting of the Court had already been, fixed fpr to,- morrow, he would ask for an adjournment to that time in order that evidencß tnigh,t b.e called to support Me Mr D ) a,v?sojn > 'Si allegation. The. Ben,cl\ s,a,id it was assumed that sixteetii public houses was sufficient for 'Jig population, of l^eefton. There we.re two reasons wliy, no, c.x f ension should be made . First, because it wfas bad polity to , dp, so, and secon,d, because it would interfere with vested interests. i Q the trade, Tho Courts, as np.w, con,sitituted, were bound only to proxi,d,e a g,u l (B,<j.ient number of houses for p,u,blio convenience. Sfow, if it could b,e ahown, th,a,fc the pre« I sent number was insufficient, th,e. point would weigh. Sergeant Neville pointoi Put that if ■ a,n h'>tel with fifty beds endeuvpured tp ' accommodate 150, person^, there wou,ld ' t nec.ess.arily bo a deficiency of accom,» m,odatipn, but at the. same time som,e of, ' tl\e other hotels might h,ave no lodges 1 at all. , Mr Pitt said ijhe presumption \vas. tb,at a man, w,oyld never resort to, a, : '■' shakedown '-' w,b,iie b,e, could procure a, , Qomfortable be 4. i , The Bench, -fijas. q,u,ite. alive to the. fact that in proportion to the number of ■ I licensed hous.es, th,ei;e. were very fje.wf i^ptels in town. The greater number o£- « t,hem were nothing but drinking shanties,, 'and offered no, accommodation to, thA public. 1 Th,e case was adjourned* vui^il. to.ymQjjijow (thi/s. dfXj.). W. Walk;ek,.. Transfer,, pf, hptel liceuso alj Boa,tm,a,o'a.. • Gran,ted, R. WINDFORDj;.. H,otel Ijconap, Boatman's. Extended for on#.rnon,tb.. The ' Court theq,a,djpurned.