CONDUCT OF HOTELS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21198, 2 December 1930, Page 10

CONDUCT OF HOTELS.

PRESENCE OF BOOKMAKERS. DENOUNCED BY LICENSING COMMITTEE. (Peb United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, December 1. The. Licensing Committee takes the view that it is improper for a licensee to tolerate on jiis premises the carrying 011 pf bookmaking, which is an unlawful calling,” said the chairman, Mr E. Page, S.M., at the quarterly meeting of the Wellington Licensing Committee. Mr Page read a report presented to the committee by Inspector Hawle, stating that last month a man named Leney jyas arrested, in the New Zealander Hotel and charged with carrying on the business of a bookmaker. The report stated that on 11 days he was known to be betting in the public bar of the hotel. When the police entered the bar bells were rung from the various bars, and immediately they commenced to ring Leney left hia position in the public bar and went into the passage. When interviewed on the subject of bookmakers and bells, tho licensee, Mrs Brough, said she did not know that Leney had been using the bar for betting purposes, and the bells were for the convenience of the persons who were serving in the bars.

Mr W. Perry, who represented the licensee, said he strenuously objected to the tone of the report. Dealing with the question of the bells, Mr Perry said the system in the hotel was no different from that used in any other residential hotel. The system *was in exigence long before the present licensee took over the hotel. A placard showing the parts of the hotel in which the bells operated was produced by Mr Perry, who said that the placard was placed in a conspicuous place in the hotel. “It is not a system of bells with any sinister meaning,” said Mr Perry.

Mr Page said the committee took the view that it "was improper for a licensee to tolerate bookmaking on the premises, and if it was knowingly tolerated the hotel was not properly conducted. The question of belts might be a matter to which there was an answer. Dealing with suggestions of after-hours’ trading, Mr Page said the presence of a substantial number of people on premises lent itself to a suspicion that there was illicit after-hours’ trading.

DUNEDIN LICENSING COMMITTEE.

SERIOUS COMPLAINT AGAINST HOTELS. LAX OBSERVANCE OP LAW. The quarterly meeting of the Dunedin Licensing Committee was held yesterday; present—Messrs J. R. Bartholomew, S.M. (chairman), J. Mitchell, D. Larnaeh, V. Jacobs, and F. W. Knight. , ADVERSE POLICE REPORT.

The chairman said: The committee has to call attention to the unsatisfactory position of hotels, as disclosed by the police report. It is regrettable that a great deal of the report is of an unsatisfactory nature. There have been a number of convictions of hotel licensees and also of people found unlawfully on premises after hours, and the police report is that, judging by the number of convictions, sopie of the licensees are not devoting that supervision to their premises that they should in regard to after-hour trading. The report on the conduct of the hotels shows that an undue proportion of them is described as only “fairly well conducted,” and a regrettable feature is that this includes several of our leading hotels, with regard to which certainly a much better report was to be expected. The committee desires to call pointed attention to the unsatisfactory nature of the police report and to draw the attention of licensees to the need for stricter observance of the law. APPLICATIONS TO TRANSFER.

Alexander Ferguson applied for a transfer of the license of the Shiel Hill Hotel to Arthur Tilbury.—Mr G. W. Fere ns appeared for the applicant.—The application was granted. Joseph Carter applied for a transfer of the license of the Empire Hotel to Ernest Albert O’Malley.—Mr A. G, Neill appeared for the applicant.— The application was granted. OVAL HOTEL. Albert Burrell applied for permission to carry on the license of the Oval Hotel owing to the death of his father.—Mr J. Lang appeared for the applicant.—The chairman said there was an adverse report in connection with this house, and the applicant, was only 23 years of gae.— Mr Lang said the application was only to carry on until probate was granted,— The chairman said the application before the committee was for permission to carry on until next March. —Mr Lang said that application for probate was lodged that day, and in the ordinary course it would be granted in a day or,two. —The chairman said the committee had decided that it could not grant the application to carry on till the next quarterly meeting, but, to meet the position, the application would be granted to carry on until probate was granted, but, in any case, for no longer a period than 14 days. The application would be granted on that condition.