TIMARU LICENSING COMMITTEE.

Timaru Herald, Volume LV, Issue 5658, 11 March 1893, Page 3

TIM ARU LICENSING COMMITTEE.

_ «. . The quarterly meeting of this committee was held at the Courthouse at noon yesterday. Present : Messrs E G. Kerr (chairman), J. T. Warren and W. Bush. POLICE BEFOET The police report on the licensed houses m the Borough was read. It stated that all the houses had been well conducted and tbat there had been no convictions fo r breaches of the Act, Ihe police drow attention to the fact that the appsal of the licensee of the Old Bank Hotel had been dismissed, and that the oonviction recorded against him nearly twelve months ago for Sunday trading had been upheld. TBANSFBE, A transfer of the lioense of the Grosvenor Hotel from W. F. Brown to John Meikle was granted. SUNDAY TBADING Peter O'Meeghan, licensee of tbe Old Bank Hotel, was present to answer tbe charge against him of Munday trading. He explained tbat the person who was served with a glass of beer on the occasion referred to had represented himself as n traveller or he would not have been supplied. This person had been brought before the Resident 'Magistrate's Court charged with falsely representing himself to be a traveller and the bench fined him £5, remarking at the same time that the caßo was a very bad one. The chairman eaid the Committee had stated on a former occasion that any licensee convicted of Sunday trading would have his lioense reduced to a 10 o'clock one. This deoision they intended to oarry out, but as m the present onse the person supplied had represented himself to be a bona fide traveller and the licensee's barman had supplied him m good faith, the committee would not make the punishment so hard as if the barman had supplied tbe man know* ing him not to be a traveller. The person supplied having been convicted of false representation was also m favour of the licensee. Under the oircumstances the committee considered tho licensee would be sufficiently punished by ordering him to close his hotel at 10 pm. for one' week. The commit* tee could not legally enforce an order to close at 10 o'clock as an 11 o'clock license had been granted till June 30, but if the licensee disobeyed the order the committee would reckon with him at the annual meeting, when be came up to ask for a renewal of his license. Mr O'Meeghan said he would comply with the order and close his houße at 10 o'clock as directed.