ILLEGAL SALE OF LIQUOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17956, 5 December 1921, Page 5

ILLEGAL SALE OF LIQUOR.

». '■ OFFENCE BY A BARMAN. >, 5; LICENSEE LEGALLY LIABLE, , i. Decision waf given by Mr. J. W. Ir Poyntwi, S.M., in the Police Court on '• Saturday in a case in which John Winters ' (Mr. Stevens), licensee of the Waverley !• Hotel, was charged with having permitted '; liquor to be sold to a person under 21. ! Defendant had pleaded not guilty. Mv. Poynton said that a barman ha<i sold liquor to a youth under 21, and was convicted and fined for doing so. The licensee was now charged in respect of the same offence. Ho was absent from the hotel for some days when the offence took place. He was not, of course, mor- • ally liable, but the magistrate thought was ' legallyso. In Tocker v. Mercer it was stated that where " the offence consists in allowing or permitting or suffering the act charged, in these knowledge is essential, but if the licensee has delegated his authority to someone else and the delegate commits the act, the master b responsible' . as though the act were done with his • knowledge." The reason is given the same page. Quoting from an English ! decision; " License's to keep a'ehouses are { only granted to persons of good personal : character, and .it is obvious that the • object of so restricting the grant oi licenses would be defeated if the licensed ', person could,* by delegating the control ) and management of theihouss to'another ' person who was altogether unfit to keep } it, free himself from responsibility for the i manner in which the house was con- • ducted." The barman was of good ' character, continued Mr. Poynton, but the ' hotelkeeper, having delegated his authority ; to him, was legally liable. The case was dismissed-i under section • 92 of the Justices of the Peace Act, on i payment of costs. a'. 1 ,