PROSECUTIONS UNDER THE LICENSING ACT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13210, 17 February 1905, Page 7

PROSECUTIONS UNDER THE LICENSING ACT.

CLANCY'S CASK. Hearing of flic charge against Lawrence Cinney of having, 011 November 8 last, at jDuncdin, sold intoxicating liquor—namely, beer, not being licensed to do so, was resumed before Mr li Y. Widdowson, S.M., at the Polico Court yesterday, Mr Fraser appearing for tho prosecution and Mr Hanlon (or tho defendant, whose plea was " Not guilty." . Mr Hanlon said tho timo allowed defendant in which to find the persons supposed to linve been at the Trocadero when the liquor was alleged to have been sold had been mnuH!cient, and'under the circumstances they could not be called as witnesses, and unless a further timo was granted him to find them ho would have to rest his case where it was. Tho two persons whom Constablo Hoss mentioned ns being tho persons he believed to have been there wero brought to his (Mr Hanlon's) office the previous day, but both denied having been there at all, and one of them said ho had not been in Clancy's bouse for 12 months. One of the men, Forrester, alleged to have been there, was in court that morning, and ho would like to know if Moss could identify him. as one of the men in ttie room, Constable Ross, recalled, said be was not sure about Forrester's identity. His Worship asked Mr Hanlon if there was any chance of finding these men. Mr Hanlon said that Clancy was using every effort to find them, and had streuuons'y endeavoured to find out the persons who were there that night, but it was a Ailing that could not bo done in 24 to 30 hours, especially as (he constable was not able to describe them very closely, lie described them in fact to a deleetivo in such a way that the latter assumed tbey must be Forrester and Delaliunty, and now Ross said these were not tho men.

Mr Frascr said he failed to appreciate the importance of these two witnesses in the faco of the fact that defendant and his son were both present according to the evidenco for the prosecution at tho tame of the sale. Assuming that defendant found these two men, and assuming tlioy wero pliable, were they then to have Mr Clancy in tho and assuming they were prepared to swear there was no sale, was Clancy prepared then to support them. He submitted Mr Hanlon's application for further adjournment was without merit.

,At his Worship's suggestion Mr Hanlon agreed that defendant's son should be called. William Clancy, Post Office messenger, deposed that lie never supplied Ross with any

liquor in his father's premises. He was certain on that point, ' , Cross-examined: He would swear that lie had never served a. glass of beer in tho Troeadero. * e Edmund Clancy, junior telephone exchange d clerk, said ho was at work on the night of [3 November 7 last, and reached home at 1 a.m.; ; on the Bth. Jf Ross said he (witness) supplied r him with driult that night it was not true. He ), did not know Ross, and Ross did not know if him. f- Cross-examined: He went straight to bed b that night after going home. y Mr Hanlou said that was all the evidence lie s could coll in the meantime. He would, howe ever, call Ross to identify, if he could, the son r of Clancy that served him. 8 Constable Ross, recalled, said it was the 1 younger boy; William Clancy, that served him r with liquor. s Mr Hanlon: You swear to that positively 1 i, Witness: Yes. ; His Worship: Do you close your case there, i Mr Hanlon? l Mr Hanlon: No; I thihk lam entitled to nn I, adjournment. e His Worship: You havo not called the , defendant yet. l Mr Hanlon: No. I don't propose to call . him, and no comment should be made on that r fact such as Mr Fraser has made. f Mr Fraser said he must strenuously object to 3 an adjournment further. The result of it , , would be plain, and it was offering a premium r : to perjury. ; His Worship: I have all the facts before me. - lam disposed to adjourn the case. i Clancy's case was then'furthei 1 adjourned fill Tuesday, and the other charges of sly-grog sell- . ing were also all formally adjourned till that , date, the understanding being that these last ■ would probably then have a future date fixed ' for their hearing. ' lIJjECIALLY ON LICENSED PREMISES. His Worship gave judgment in respect to the charge against Joseph Toolney of being found . on licensed premises (the Provincial Hotel) at , 11 p.m. on the 27fh lilt., an hour during which the said premises were not entitled to be. open. Mr Stephens had appeared for defendant, who had pleaded "Not guilty." Ilis Worship said the evidence v.'as shortly to the effect that defendant with four other moil was seen to come out of the lio(e) door, -the other four men got off, having given supposedly fictitious names to the police, and defendant alone gave his proper name; The sec ion of .the act under which the charge was inid was taken from the English Act, which was almost identical in every term, and, that being so lie thought this, case should bo governed by the caso of Thomas v. Powell (37 J.I. Reports, 323), and in that caae the defendant was seen to enter hold premises and come out immediately afterwards and an appeal from the judgment of the justices who dismissed the case, was upheld by the judges in the Dmsional four!, who held that- defendant should have been convicted. Toorney was scon coming out of hotel premises, and must therefore have been on the premises, and he must convict him. Counsel for defendant had vested Ins case here, and ho (his Worship) was not satisfied that Toomey was either an inmate seryain,, lodger, or bona lide traveller in mpcct to these premises, and that his presence there was liot a contravention of the act. Mr Stephens said he would like to withdraw tZt i 5p ,? ot g,,ilt y" ® lis P°»>t i 1 , c,eclcled against him, dofenwii W °} ,I . a i "'T 1 . " Guil| y" to « technical nremilnf H "l f° f#r " S ll ° Wils 011 tIl<! 1 emiscs alter closing hour. Toomey was there, ■ in fact, using the hotel in the ordinary vav up till 10 o clock, and ho said there was a heavy downpour of rain, as ho (Mr Stephens) believed there was, despite the police evidence and he stayed m the hotel until tho rain prachoally ceased. 11, 0 object of tho seeti-m of the act was, m general furtherance of tho principle of the Licensing Act, to prevent salo of liquor after hours, and there was here no suggestion of any sale. .S, Sub-inspector, in reply to his Worship, said tho other cases brought under this section had been all dismissed. His Worship imposed a fine of 10s, with MM ( ! S) ' ibat al{h ° u S h l'e had inflicted a lenient line this time he would probably inflict a much heavier penalty in future for n. like offence. ■ J