PERMITTING DRUNKENNESS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9736, 11 August 1917, Page 10

PERMITTING DRUNKENNESS

HOTELKEEPER CONVICTED AND FINED. Percy Rogers, licensee of the Te Aro Hotel, Willis street, when charged in the. Magistrate’s Court yesterday, before Mr S. E. McCarthy, S.M., with permitting drunkenness on his licensed premises, l entered a plea of not guilty. ■ Sergeant Wiloocks- deposed to~visiting a number of hotels on tho night cn July 17th, in company with a constable. On visiting the Tc Aro Hotel ho found a number of persona in the public bar, and nis attention was attracted -to a seaman who s was standing at the bar in a drunken condition. The man had a pot of beer near him and upon the barman being told of the man’s condition he ordered him to leave. Tho man was unable to carry out the order on account of his drunkenness. Witness “ thereupon caught hold of him, and as ho did so the drunken man made a grab at the pot of beer. For the defence it was contended that the man had not been served wt‘ih liquor in the hotel. There were eighteen persons in tho bar . at the time Sergeant Wilcooks entered, seven of eight of whom had each a pot ot beer in front of them. Previous to the arrival of the police the barman had- refused to serve two 'soldiers who had been put out of tho hotel. The drunken man. acoormding to the barman, could only have been in the bai a few minutes, and Was standing with his back to the counter when attention was called to his condition by. the police. It was difficult to say to whom the pot of. beer belonged, hut it was not claimed by anv other customer. The Bench considered the case had been proved. He convicted the defendant and fined him £5, with costs 7s. On the application of Mr T. Young, who appeared for Rogers, tho fine was increased to £5 Is, costs being fixed for appeal at £lO.