TAIERI LICENSING COMMITTEE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2804, 11 December 1907, Page 13

TAIERI LICENSING COMMITTEE.

I The quarterly meeting of the Taieri Licensing Committee was held on thfr 4th ot Mosgiel. Present. Messrs H. Y. "Widdowson, S.M. (chairman), W. Kirkland. D. T. Shand, T. Aitken r and Dr WiIJU, -v,.\- • Z '7 THE- HOT-HAM '" JtOTEI«o \ - - -,„""• - 1 On tfi'e appli^^jifofcth^e-Arailti^er^or^thei license of the OwSVm.TS<B«t ifroih MaigsrciBraun to Martin*Wiiis J»eing called qh,~.\ £-: Mr Hay said K^*>|)peare.d- for . > MxjjJftße "« the proposed transfei^e, wlrtc^Sas-tRA-Ucsßsee in possession at present. l^ 47* - The Chairman said -thatrtin this "case in objection had been lodged ljy r tE6 objection being on the gpfenSP -tb«&» 'W3s+ ; had not conducted the ' betel * ;n> . manner, inasmuch as h« had, on -l?o¥ember 2, 1907. permitted a person to become drunk •n the premises t „,*."-' *-'■-?,?. - Mr Hay said he- uhdei&tood th^iigi^milaiiit, had already formed 3te i'pubjeet o^s|j£?£glste" „ Court prosecution; hesrd . before^ ins. "-and tne ~'caee was dismissed ~with6u,t calling on the defence to produce 'jeriSfaag!*.- \ ■■_. ■ The Chairman: It wasTioi Tieoessitrjr 46-gV axf With "the defence. "Insj^fctor"' O'Brien said that the ground of the present objection, shortly stated, was that/ on the second of last month a man was drinking from time to :tinre. in; the Ontrani Hotel, and it was proved^ffiat up till about a quarto* to 6 o'clock he had been supplied with fou™ glasses of beer. He left the hotel at that time, and about' a 'quarter, to 7 -8 o'clock was found lying on the road in a semi-conscious condition, having fallen from his horse. Dr Cattan, who was in the vicinity at the time, was called to see the man. and his evidence was that he was in a decided state of intoxication. It was«^ proved that the man in question had had no drink that r .day at .the^ 1 only other hotel in Outram, and I %.s far «c was known, he had liquor from any source other than the. holel kept by Wills. The presumption, therefore,' was that the man's condition was due to the liquor supplied to him at the Outram Hb+er". 'That appeared to him (the inspector) to be a ,r»*»qnabier^«duftion.jfeQ raake — in other words, ithat one or two drinks too many were* sun•^hifOoMfflfi?' 1 *!! thai' was^,-be--&rT>mittea that the licensee had acted improperly, and ' the question therefore, us to ; whe-thet he was a- broper pejfcson tq hold a J- license. He, perEonllly^^had feeling ! in the matter, and leff it ijn the hAads of th 6 committee. j The Chkffniafr: I'Artiderstanc! you base" your -.objection solely on the facts of. the case in . regard to the man wl» has Ibeen- refe/rcd to. -..—,' . [ The Inspector: Yes. I wish the bench to understand that with the exception of this , case I have no objection, to Mr Wills's cobduct. of the hou,sje. I --/* 'i .• i, •/- 1 -Mk Say said tha^ when the" case was before the court it had been disposed of in Wills's favour solely upon the police evidence. There i was evidence that Dr Cattan had had some ■ difficulty in diagnosing the man's condition 11 — as to .-whether it was due" to* concession or , intoxication, the man having* 'fallen 6n' to a' I hard road. But even if Dr Cnttan's final decision was correct, the fact had to be con- ! sidered that the man had had the last of I four djrinks in the Outrom Hotel at a quarter 'to 6, and the accident happened about: a quarter to S — two hours afterwards, — and ! anything might have taken place in the j meantime for which Wills »was in no way • responsible. He purposed calling Mr Snow, one of the oldest and most reputable residents of Outram. to give evidence as to Mr , WiFls's conduct of the hotel. I The Chairman, after giving a resume of ths evidence tendered by the -police in the Outram Magistrate's Court, said that there was apparently a lapse of two houra between the time of his last drink in the Outram Hotel and the time the man was found on the , road, and if he was drunk there was no evidence to show where he got' the drink from. i William Snow, J P., for 47 years a resident of Outram, said he passed the Outram Hotel ; several times every day, and his experience of it, since' Wills became licensee, was that it was exceptionally well conducted — better than it had been for n, long time past. I T. A. White, chemist, at Outram, also gave evidence. The man who was the cause of J the trouble was in h ; s shop some time after 6 o clock on the night of the accident and 1 was then perfectly sober. 1 After consultation, the chairm.an announced , that the committee had decided to grant tho application. I Mr Hay: Perhaps it is not altogether in , accordance with the principles of British : justice that a man shou'd have to stand his trial a second time after having been ac1 quitted, but at the fame tinie I desire to say that I do no* think the police have exceeded their duty in bringing the matter forward j The Chairman Seeing that this in a d fferj ent tribunal altogether from the Magistrate's I Court, the;po''ice wore qurtn ri^ht in bringing I the niattec.be fore the committee, and leaving it to *he committee to say whether the appli« cant is a fit and proper per c on to hold a ' license or not. The committee have come to t the conclusion that he is a fit and proper person. There was no other business to come before the committee.