SUNDAY DANCING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 17 December 1927, Page 5

SUNDAY DANCING.

ALLOWED BY COURT. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) ROTORUA, Friday. Judgment in a case of considerable importance, heard before Mr Kenriek, S.M., was given to-day. William Bell, refused a license by the Rotorua County Council to conduct dances at Fairy Springs on Sunday nights, applied to the Magistrate’s Court at Rotorua, under Section 111 of “The Counties Act, 1920,” for relief. Applicant contended that the County Council had no power t-o make a by-law prohibiting dancing on Sunday nights, on The ground that such a by-law was ultra vires and unreasonable. Tho argument before the magistrate centred mainly round the meaning of the word “control” in section 111 of “The Counties Act.” Evidence was given by Mr 11. P. Ford (chairman of the Rotorua County Council) and a number of representative citizens that it was not in the interests of the community that dancing should be permitted on Sundays' It was pointed out that dancing was not alowed in the borough of Rotorua on Sunday nights. The magistrate gave a written decision in favour of plaintiffs, saying, inter alia: “If the council can see no reason for refusing a license for six days of the week to hold dancing, refusal for the seventh day can only be to enforce to some degree Sunday observance, a very laudable reason on which a largo number of the public agree. Unfortunately, it does not come within the limited class of condition provided in Section 3, namely, the safety of the public. lam obliged, therefore, to find the condition attached to the license, prohibiting Sunday dancing, invalid.”