BOTTLE LICENSES. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6497, 8 December 1882, Page 4

BOTTLE LICENSES. TO THE EDITOR.

Sin,i—At the quarterly licensing meeting for 801 l Waid tho Licensing Committee are reported to, have given liberty to certain applicants to apply for new licenses within a week. According to section 55 of the Act such a thing cannot be done,, as it distinctly states new licenses shall be granted only at tho annual meeting, and of which proper notice must bo given according to section 5(5. ' " ' Whatever faults may be found with the Licensing Act, it certainly is very clear on the applications that came before the Committee on the 6th insfc. Section 33 stipulates that a bottle license shall apply only to the premises therein specified. Section.9o and sub-soction ■ 2 apply especially to applications such as came before the Committee; if it were-otherwise, I cannot see by what modo of reasoning a publican should not be allowed to carry his license all over the town, just tho same as a grbcet. The above section ar.d sub-section distinctly state the duty of the Licensing Committee to be: to transfer the license to the owner of the premises or his tenant, as the case may be, but not to grant a new license for other premises to the outgoing tenant; and rightly so,"otherwise there is nothing to' prevent V present licensee from obtaining a bottle license m any part of the town, to the injury of others engaged in the same businoss, who 'have -been prevented by the same Licensing Act from securing the monopoly of a bottle,license, and to the owner of the premises from which the license is taken; also to the general public, who may have objections to the issue of new licenses.—l am, &c,

No Monopoly.

December 7th.