TAYLOR'S BED.

NZ Truth, Issue 252, 23 April 1910, Page 5

TAYLOR'S BED.

WHICH HE DIDN'T GET. The Publican said "No." Another Case of Denying Accommodation.

. When is a publican entitled to refuse accommodation to a person who asas it ? Can it be refused to a conticted thief, to a- person whom the publican suspects of experimenting with his larder; or his hen-roost, or to ,an individual whose uufamiliarity with soap is so conspicuous that the horses m laundry carts shy at ■ him when lie approaches ? William M. I Kelly is licensee of the V\harf Hotel, Woolston, the title of the pub. being due, apparently, to the circumstance that the hostelry is surrounded by land for many miles. Mr Kelly, by the way, is well known m Wellington and is ' afieetionate--1 ly known to his intimate friends as ; "Bull" of that ilk. He was charged at Christchurch the other day with musing to give _ accommodation to a drover ■ named Laurence Taylor on March 9, and • abetted by- Lawyer Hunt, ■ pleaded not guilty. ; Taylor is a shallow-complexioaed* mrr dividual, who described hijnseif as a . drover, residing at Redclific. ' On March 9 he induced a mob of cattle ■ to cover the ground between Addington saieyards and "Butchers' Paddock," on the OpSwa road, did other: biz., and finally presented himself at the Wharf Hotel at 8 p.m. calling for a moistener. Asked the. boss if he could have accommodation for the night, and Kelly replied, "Oh: yes ; I'll , fli you up. Go to the back and see Mrs Kelly.'' Taylor did as he Was bid, but was unable to discover the lady, and, when he mentioned the circumstance to Kelly, that, individual, who was practising physical culture at, the beer-pump, , remarked that he \yas very busy. However, Taylor .understood that, he was to be put up for. the night, and mooned , round the pub, all the evening, til 10 p.m., when the licensee cleared his house. He put Taylor okt with the rest, despite, his objections, but told bim he could come back afterwards. The cattlepersuader knocked gently on the door at 10.10 p.m., and was instructed to go round the back, where he was admitted by the landlord. Mrs Kelly was consulted, and, after inspecting Taylor, didn't seem pleased with him as a boarder. "You know the carpenters are m the house," she said to her husband ; "there are two men m one room now."' There seemed to be no disposition to give him a bed, and, as Taylor waited, Kelly remarked, lv Yiou may take 'no' for an answer." Taylor said he reproached Kellv with failing to let him know earlier that be would not put him up ; then he went out into the cold world. Mr Hunt : Do you remember being turned out of the hack yard once ?— No. Were you not turned out of the Htchen once for pilfering at the safe ?-Ko, never. ■ . Baylor said he lived alone m a whare at Itedcliffe. Have you ever had it searched by the police ?— Not that I know of. , Have you ever been convicted of theft ?—( After a pause) : I've teen convicted m a case once, but what has that got to do with it ? I'm not to be scandalised by you. William Bowden, stock-dealer, and Fred. Reid, blacksmith, testified that on the day m question Taylor was employed droving or driving stock and put them m "Butchers' Paddock/ Peeler Pratt, of Woolston, interviewed Kelly about Taylor on the ldth, when the publican said he refused the man accommodation for various reasons. On several occasions prior to the 9tb, said KeUy, he bad to put Taylor off the premises on account of his behavior. Kelly strongly suspected him of sampling the contents of the hotel larder. On another occasion, Kelly said, lie caught Taylor m his stable, m suspicious circumstances, the unauthorised visit being conteaaworary -with the disappearance ■ of . certain ben fruit from the nests. It was quite true that Kelly had some time previously pointed Taylor out to the constabls as a suspicious character. In reply to Mr Hunt, the bobby said tbat Taylor did very little work,- and was frequently to be seen knocking about the hotel, although the man was not addicted to drink. . The policeman had had Taylor under observation for sometime. Mr Hunt quoted the law on the subject, which placed the onus upon the publican of farnisbing> some valid reason for refusing accommodation The licensee's action m this case was. justified by the character of the man. KeiK was doing mis best to keep his house clean by refusing to harbor men of that sort. Kelly stated m evidence that when fTaylor put m an appearance, the licensee told him he was too busy to attend to him. He didn't see him thereafter till ■10.10 p.m., and it was not true that the man had spent the evening m the pub. He refused him accommodation because he was an undesirable character, whom he had found m his back yard at jone o'clock m the morning, at a time" when egRS and poultry were disappearing;. In reply to Sub-Inspector McGrath, witness said he didn't turn Taylor out at 10 p.m. with the others. The ■ roan wasn't clean ; he was never clean ; he was an undesirable person, and Kelly suspected Mm of thieving from the hotel. He didn't tell Kelly that he was driving cattle on the 9th. ••■•■/ Hugh Smith, who. toils at the local brickworks, said that he was! m the bil-liard-room all the evening-.- and/ knew i-that Taylor didn't spend the evening m the hotel ; nor was he one of the crowd ejected at 10 p.m.:' Smith knew Taylor to be kicked out of the pub. both m Rainbow's and m. Kelly's time as an undesirable person, ' and his acnuaintance wit!) work was small and hardly distinguishable by the DaVed eye. Charles Morris, laborer, had known Taylor four or five years, and the absence, of blisters on! his hands 'was a matter of notoriety." Morris was there on the nigbt of Taylor's refection, and be corroborated the landlord's statement. The man loafed about the pub. considerably, and had been turned out of it mor» than once. The Sub-Inspector contended that even if a reputed ' thief were engaged m the lawful occupation ol cattle droving or driving, the landlord of an hotel licensed for the public convenience would not ex* ,pect him to sleep m. the open air. Bailey, S.M., reserved his- decision.