BREACH OF LICENSING LAW

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1691, 26 November 1925, Page 4

BREACH OF LICENSING LAW

PROCURING LIQUOR ON ELECTION BAY. SMALL FINE IMPOSED. The licensing law of this Dominion is a most amazing thing, and one of its many vagaries appears to be that the hotels throughout New Zealand are only open on General Election day for three hours, whereas on the day set aside for Maori Elections the hotels are open for the full nine hours, but no Maoris are allowed to obtain a drinS of intoxicating liquor on that day. Apparently Maoris may not even enter a hotel bar for the modest glass of lemon squash. Judging by the statement made at the local Court, in prosecutions arising out of the supply of intoxcating liquor to Maoris on the day of the Maori General Elections, November 3rd, the opinion prevailed that the restriction expired at 4 p.m. that day. Two natives were served after that hour, and as a consequence they were charged this morning with breaches of the order, and the barman at the Commercial Hotel, -Te Awamutu, was also charged with supplying. The two natives charged were Charles Rawiri and Tonga Manakau, while the barman was Herbert Cross. iMr Downes, for Cross, pleaded guiity. Constable Doyle, who prosecuted, said that at about 5.30 he saw the two natives go into the hotel and obtain drinks. When questioned the natives and the barman said they understood the restrictions expired at 4 o’clock. •He was satisfied the parties were unwitting offenders. i Counsel for Cross thanked the police for putting the case quite clearly and fairly. The prosecution was, he believed, unique in the Dominion, and as a conviction would militate against the record of his client, who was a decent respectable young man, actually a dismissal of the charge as trivial would meet the case, he thought. The native electoral poll closes at 4 o’clock, and the barman (and the natives too, apparently) believed that the ban was removed when the poll closed. His Worship said the law was quite clear on the point. The Maoris were prevented from obtaining or being supplied with liquor during the whole of that day. He could not dismiss the cases as trivial, but in view of the fact that it .was the first prosecution of the kind and the defendant Cross was vouched for as having a clean record, lie would merely impose the nominal fine of 20s on each charge.