AFTER HOURS

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11423, 20 January 1923, Page 3

AFTER HOURS

.LICENSEE CONVICTED. CONFLICTING EVIDENCE OF WITNESSES. At the Magistrate’s Court, yesterday, before Mr W. G. Riddell, S'. M., Ihur James Norris, licensee of <!iO CaiHon Hotel, appeared to answer -wo charges of supplying liquor after Lours, and keeping open for that purpose, while Charles George Willgross, a barmanporter at the same establishment, was jointly charged on the first lount. Mr J. O’Donovan appeared for the accused, while Sub-Inspector Cummings acted for the police. Gordon Crispen, a warehouseman, who was convicted on a charge < f being on the above premises after hours last week, said that Ke visited the Carlton on December 23rd, in order to see a man named Ambrose, whom he had met at the Basin Reserve in the afternoon. It was about 9 o’clock vhen he and a friend named .Manly entered the hotel, and they went straight up to the commercial room. After waiting for about twenty minutes, they ordered, drinks from the porter, .who. was e< rv-. ing the boarders in the room, and tLey paid for the same on being supplied. A few minutes afterwards they left the hotel, and on reaching the footpath they were questioned By Sergeant Powers, .and made a clean breast of the matteh They weie then taken back by the sergeant, and identified the porter who had served the drinks. --Witness denied that he was intoxicated on entering the hotel, and said there was nomistake as to the man who had served them. ' . ' William Manly, a clerk, said that? he’ met Crispen on the above-mentioned' night, and about 9.30 they entered the hotel, and had not been in there .five minutes when drinks were ordered. _.on consuming the liquor they left the premises, and were just going across the road when they were accosted by the sergeant. Witness said that Crispen had asked him to go and have a “spot,” as he knew a man at the-Carlton. He stated that Crispen had had two or three drinks beforehand, but was not by any means drunk. Sergeant Power, of the Taranaki street police station, said that during the identification a man who was in the room, and who was in the sergeant’s opinion quite drunk, made himself objectionable, but every assistance was given by the others to try and have the matter thrashed out. Both the previous witnesses were perfectly sober.

Constable Batchelor, who was on duty at the time, and who had accompanied the sergeant, gave corroborative evidence. Arthur James Norris, the licensee, said that everything had been done to prevent occurrences of this nature, and he had given no one permission to serve anyone excepting boarders. Charles George Willgross said that ho denied serving Manly and Crispen, and had never seen them on . the premises. The only man heTTad served was Chalker, who had ordered three lots of two drinks for himself and a friend. He always made it a rule to question anyone who asked for drinks, as very often people came in trying to procure liquor after hours. He did not consider Chafter was drunk, and said the latter had been reading a book most of the evening. John Chalker said that he was quite sober when the incident occurred, and had never seen Manly and Crispen come into tjie room, although he himself had been there nearly all the evening. He denied having a friend with him while taking the drinks ordered. The magistrate said that he was convinced that a breach had been committed. He, therefore, fined Willgross £5 on each of the charges and Norria £5 on the first charge, while the other was withdrawn. An application for refusing of witnesses’ expenses was not allowed, and these were fixed at £l, with costs 7s in each case.