VALIDITY OF ORDERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1918, Page 5

VALIDITY OF ORDERS.

FOR CLOSING BARS DURING EPIDEMIC. CASES BEFORE A MAGISTRATE. Auckland, Last Night. Legal argument as to the validity of the orders for closing hotels and prohibiting the sale of liquor during the epidemic occurred at the police court to-day, when certain licensees were prosecuted for having sold liquor during the time mentioned. Counsel for the defendants main ■ tained: (1) Assuming that the warrants issued by the Government were good, it was necessary to prove that the Minister for Public Health had approved the exercising of the power;! to close bars; (2) that the powe.-s given to the health offers were too extensive(3) that there had been a delegation of his powers by the Governor, anci that sucn a delegation was not authorised, by Parliament; (4) that tb.e Jovernor'a warrants were unreasonable, in that their scops was such as to prohibit the sale of liquor for any purpose, even by chemists in cases oc lif-5 and death; (5) that the notices ieoued to licensees diu r.ot show upon t!-eir faces that they were approved 'by the^Minister. Judgment -was reserved.