LICENSING COMMITTEES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1424, 15 June 1899, Page 53

LICENSING COMMITTEES.

ANNUAL LICENSING COURT. The following members were present at the annual meeting of the Licensing Court for the district of Wellington Suburbs:—Messrs W. R. Haselden, S.M., J. T. King, W. H. Ballinger, R. C. Bulkley, W. Inglis and H. D. Baker. FIRE ESCAPES. Constable Cruickshank, as licensing inspector for the district, reported that all the hotels in its boundaries were now satisfactorily equipped in regard to fire escapes. CLUB HOTEL, KAIWARRA. When the application for a license for the Club Hotel, Kaiwarra, was called, Mr Baker said the accommodation provided in the house was not what it should be by any means. Mr Haselden remarked that the hotel did not strike one from the outside as being up to suburban requirements. Mr Cooper, who appeared for J. Staples and Co., Limited, owners of the freehold, said the company had not had notice that the accommodation provided in the hotel was inadequate or defective. Mr Baker said the rooms in the hotel were miserably small, and detailed other shortcomings. Mr McGovern said he had spent £llO on the house since he went into it recently. When he took possession, it was in a very dilapidated state. Mr Baker had been through the house since it was renovated. Mr Haselden: But he says that what has been done is not sufficient. Mr Baker said the condition of the hofel was discussed at the last quarterly meeting. Mr McGovern said he had gone into the hotel since then. Mr Baker: It is a building which is altogether behind the times. Constable Cruickshank said there was nothing on the minutes of the last quarterly meeting in regard to the hotel. Mr Baker said the hotel was well conducted. Mr McGovern said he had had no notice that the question of accommodation would come up. Mr Haselden: There is no imputation against your character. The application was granted, with a direction to the inspector that the licensee and the company owning the premises were to have distinct notice at once that a further renewal of the license would not be granted unless the premises were re-built. NEWTOWN HOTELS. The Court decided that the two Newtown hotels within its jurisdiction should be allowed to keep open till 11 p.m. Messrs King and Ballinger dissented, on the/ground mat such an extension of hours was not fair to other suburban houses. APPLICATIONS. The following applications were granted:— New licenses for old houses.—A. A. Gray, Victoria Hotel; F. J. McGovern, Club Hotel, subject to conditions; P. W. Corby, Motown Hotel; W. T. Watts, Kilbirnie Hotel; and F. Kobler, Island Bay Hotel. Renewals of licenses. —H. Phillips, Railway Hotel; J. H. Jackson, Empire Hotel; CV Butler, Central Hotel; W. Biggs, Grand National Hotel; M. At Clapham, Ngahauranga Hotel; W. Piper, White Horse Hotel; H. T. Hawker, Rainbow Hotel ; E. Prictor, Esplanade Hotel; and M. Butler,, Park Hotel. Transfers.—R. Lewis to F. J. McGovern, Club Hotel; F. Smith to P. W. Corby., Newtown Hotel; and J. Smith to F. Kobler, Island Bay Hotel. Change of name of hotel.—F. J. McGovern, to change the name of the Club Hotel ,to the All Nations Hotel. ELEVEN O’CLOCK LICENSES AGAIN r AUCKLAND, Wednesday. At the licensing meeting yesterday the question of the extension of hours from 10 to 11 p.m. again came up. Inspector Cullen opposed the extension, and said the police objected on the grounds that the public did not require such an extension, and, further, that the extension of time had caused a very great increase in drunkenness during the eight months the 11 o’clock closing had been in existence. There had been , 189 arrests for drunkenness between 10 o’clock and midnight, as against 111 cases for the corresponding period of last year, an increase of 78 cases." He would call evidence on the question. Sergeant Trainor said he had been in Auckland for the past sixteen months, and his experience was that 11 o’clock licenses had not tended towards sobriety. Indeed, the reverse had been the case. Sergeant Walker, Constables McNamara and Matthews gave similar evidence.

t trgeait Gordon said he came to Auckland just before the extension of the hours, and . his experience was that 11 o’clock licenses were always better than 10 o’clock ones. His opinion was that there was less drunkenness under the 11 o’clock licenses. The police might discover more drunkenness under 11 o’clock licenses, _ because the hotels were doing a legitimate trade up to that hour, but under the 10 o’clock system they did not do a legitimate trade. At 11 o’clock the people were satisfied, and went home. Inspector Cullen: Don’t you think they' would do the same at 10 o’clock?

Witness said that was not his experience. Sergeant Walker said he had been seven years in Auckland, and under the 10 o’clock license system the law had been better kept. There were fewer complaints of houses, but drunken men got more drink, and there was more rowdyism and crime. Constable McNamara did not think the extension of hours in the interest of the working classes. Constable Matthews considered that there was now more drunkenness after 10 o’clock than there used to be. In the interests of nine-tenths of the public he thought the 11 o’clock licenses should be done away with. If the committee would only assist the police there would be no trouble. The bench cancelled the permission to extinguish lamps at the hour of closing, and confirmed by a majority only the granting of 11 o’clock licenses. THE BENCH CONGRATULATES PUBLICANS. CHRISTCHURCH. Wednesday. The Christchurch Licensing Committee to-day granted all applications for licenses. The police report,except in the case of one hotel, was highly favourable, and Mr Beetham, S.M., congratulated the licensees on the conduct of their houses, saying there had been a noticeable diminution during the year in hotel cases brought before him. TAURANGA, Thursday.' The Licensing Bench commenced its sitting at noon yesterday. All applications for renewals, except two were granted. The exceptions were the Masonic Hotel at Cambridge, and the Masonic Hotel at Tauranga. In fornjer case it was decided, owing ter the unfortunate death of Mrs Carroll, an application for a, transfer must be put in a{ once. The case of the Masonic Hotel at Tauranga involved a very nice point of law. The case commenced at 2 o'clock yesterday, and was resumed this morning, and still continues. The present licensee (Whiteombe) applied for a. renewal of his license, and the owner of the premises desired to put in one Campney, who also applied for a license. There were two convictions against the present licensee, hence the owner wished him to consent to a transfer to Campney, but Whiteombe declined. The Bench decided in favour of Campney. FEUDING, Thursday. The annual meeting of the Rangitikei Licensing Committee was held yesterday. All the existing hotel licenses with the exception of three were renewed. The cases of one Feilding hotel and one at Halcombe were adjourned for a fortnight to enable the licensees to comply with the police regulations in respect of fire ,escapes; and in regard to one at Ohingaiti the case was adjourned to permit of proper application being made for permission to re-erect the hotel on a site adjacent to that on which the house stood before the late fire. The applications for a new hotel license at Mangaweka and two new ones at Taihape were refused. The committee also refused to renew the wholesale license granted at Taihape last year. An application for a new wholesale license at Feilding was refused. An application for 11 o'clock licenses in Feilding was adjourned till the 21st inst. MASTERTON, Thursday. The Masterton Licensing Bench met to-day. Renewals of ail old licenses were granted. An application for a new license at Mauriceville will be dealt with this afternoon.