CLOSING HOUR FOR HOTELS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18316, 5 August 1921, Page 8

CLOSING HOUR FOR HOTELS

FLURRY IN NEW bOUTH. WAUEb

SYDNEY, July 16.

The decision of the magistrate tne other day, tuac me nour at wiuch hotelkeepers ■ may emso vuc\t bars \a ii p.m. asm. max. u ijjc- ijunr h(s*y Uju * tfilk*jjy OlmsHiVOU in this State, has caused a great flutter. I

'ino Government, turougn me thrown Solicitor, has asked the magistrate to state a case lor the opinion oi the Supreme Court, and meanwiulo tne pouco are tnreatenmg licensees with aU sorts ot drcadlul tilings it tney do not continue to close at 6 p.m. line case appears to be a perfectly plain one, and in lavour ot the magistrate’s ruling. byciney, hall-way through tne war, was .greatly trouoied by di'unJmnnes among the' uoops, ana once or twice, to save riots, tne hotels were compulsoruy closed at o p.m. Then it was oeciaed to have a reicrendum on the suoject, and tno people by a great majority, decided to close tno huts at o p.m. xor me period of the war a im six montns thcreauer. Before tno ’ six xnonins mereaiter expired, tno ixoimau Government Drought m a Bill providing xor a reioreiidum, to do taken within io months iiom January a, iasc, on tho ul jUG/it* vilLii and also to decide, in tho alternative, on the permanent closing hours xor oars, tins Bui ooudoci mat ’'ouuject to Section ill"' ot tho Act (winch was tho section providing tnat tho roierendum had to bo taaeu wunin 18 mourns) the war-time provision for tno closing ot oars at 6 p.m. should continue until tney were citnor ciosod altogether or a new hour was hxed.

in tho meantime the Holman Government was cieieated, a Labour Government came in and promptly found itself immersed in financial difficulties. This Government refused to take the referendum. It pointed out that prohibition would almost certainly bo deleated; that if it wore carried New South Wales was incapable of .finding tho JGIIi.UOO.OOO that would be required as compensation ; and that tho referendum itself would cost £BO,OOO. Therefore, when June 30, 1921, arrived, and the referendum had not been taken within the 18 months as stipulated, it was claimed that hotelkeepers were entitled to revert to tho closing hour (11 p.m.) which had been observed prior to 1916, when the people by re.er.ndum altered it as purely a waj>timo measure. Tho licensee of a city wine bur took this view, and the magistrate decided in his favour. , The licensed victuallers, as a body, do not want 11 p.m. closing. They arc doing very well with 6 o’clock closing. The later hour, they say, will mean new staffs, new lighting and cleaning expenses and increased overhead expenses. They thought they were ruined when 6 p.m. was established, but they have found they are better off than ever.