TRADE TOPICS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IX, Issue 450, 9 March 1899, Page 18

TRADE TOPICS.

A report of the quarterly meeting of the Licensing Committee, held on Tuesday at twelve o’clock, appears in another portion of this is me. Mr F. Arenas, popularly known in Christchurch as the licensee of the Cafe de Paris, has just returned from a trip to England and the continent. During Mr Arenas’ absence, Mr P. Burke was in charge of the Cafe.

The quarterly meeting of the Thames Licensing Committee was held at noon on Friday last. It was resolved that the clerk inform licensees that they must provide fire escapes to the satisfaction, of the inspector. The following transfers were granted :—Diggers’ Rest- Coromandel, Wool to Dixon ; Royal Hotel, Kuaotunu, W. C. Slaughter to H. Johnston.

“ No woman should marry a man who permits the evil stuff to enter his house,” spoke D.C.R. Mauger at the Rechabite Conference (Melbourne) referring to alcohol. If this precept were carried into practice, marriage would practically be abolished. Fortunately for New Zealand, the girls have too much sense to take notice of any such wild, and essentially teetotal, remarks. At the present time there are no less than 137,000,000 gallons of whisky stored in the wood in Scotland. Teetotalism doesn’t seem to be making much progress in Caledonia.—Exchange. The people of New Zealand would never give a local manufacturer a chance to store anything like that amount of whisky; the demand is too great

A somewhat peculiar case happened at Dunedin the other day, when Frank Burgess applied to have a prohibition order issued against his sister, Gertrude Gatfield. Defendant strongly objected, and the brother’s being the only evidence available the case was adjourned. The next case called on was the set off, Burgess being charged with assaulting his sister. Mr Fred. West, who held a responsible position in the Lyttelton Times Co., has gone into the hotel business, having secured a lease of the Albury Hotel, near Timaru. Before leaving Christchurch Mr West was the recipient of many presents. He was an active member of the Christchurch Union Rowing Club, and some years ago was treasurer of the Canterbury Rugby Union.

An Australian exchange says ‘ Breaches of contracts in the sale of hotel properties have been rather frequent of late, judging by the litigation which has taken piece. Legal expenses soon swallow the profits of even the best houses, so that honesty is assuredly the best paying policy.” Things must be a little bit mixed in that particular part of the country, in the licensed victuallers’ line at least.

The Inebriates Board (Victoria is still taking evidence,' and the conflict of opinion is just what might be expected on so difficult a subject. One party holds that moral influence is sufficient to rescue the drunkard. Another that nothing short of physical restraint is efficacious, while still another takes the gloomy view that the drunkard is irreclaimable. The Board’s task is not by any means an easy one, but it is to be hoped some practical result will follow its labors. An Australian exchange exchange states that grapes are now so cheap that growers assert they cannot sell them as an article of diet with profit. Consequently vignerons are converting huge quantities into wine. Without proper central cellars for expert blending, this is not likely to prove an unmixed blessing. It is full time the Government brought the wineries question to a practical issue. The money has already been voted for the undertaking. Chinese, more particularly in Australia, are notoriously sly-grog sellers. At Ballarat (Victoria) recently. Ah Loon received a sentence of three months’ imprisonment for the offence. In nearly every case Europeans are the customers of these Chinese for . the bad grog. In New Zealand the Chinese are comparatively few m proporeion to the white population, and consequently few, if any, are convicted of this type of offence,’ but they make mischief enough with their sale of opium, which it would pay a few of our reverend prohibitionists to turn their atten. tion to. As if to accentuate the remarks made in the leading article of this week’s issue re fire escapes for hotels, a large fire broke out on Monday morning at half past one at Kawakawa. Four corner blocks were razed to the ground in less than half an hour. The telegram states that the proprietor’s (Mr Brewer) family and the boarders escaped by what was almost a miracle, getting out in their night attire. Mr G. Brewer was unfortunately away from home on Supreme Court duties. The insurances on the Star Hotel were as follows : —£Boo in the Standard ; private effects, £5O in the Alliance Everything was lost. Mr John Johnson, a traveller for Macky, Logan, Steen and Co., had his samples and other effects in the hotel, and they were all lost.

It has often been stated that the North Island of New Zealand was not a wine producing country, but of late this assertion has been proved a mistake, as several different brandshave recently been put on the market, and their excellence has quickly established a confutation of the statement. During the past week I have received and tested a sample of wine manufactured at Eden Park Farm, Kawakawa, by Mr Mouldy, that certainly has a future it. It is the pure product of the grape, possesses a fine bouquet, and good body. All it wants is aging to secure it a deserved popularity with wine drinkers. The sample submitted was a burgundy, and received a second award at the late exhibition. Apart from its sweetness, undoubtedly due to its lack of age, it was all that could be wished. Mr Gralton (president) and Mr Harry Wright (secretary), of the Queensland United Licensed Victuallers’ Association, are still touring through that colony and addressing audiences at the different centres of population lam pleased to record that they are meeting with the most flattering success, e-tablishing branches wherever they go. The licensed victuallers have fully awakened to the fact that if they want justice meted out to them, and their legitimate privileges conserved, they must organise, and having realised this fact, they are pushing it to a practical test, that redounds to the credit of their appreciation of the absolute necessity of unity. I wish from my heart that the publicans in New Zealand would come to a realisation of the same fact, and at least for the nonce drown their pigheaded individualism and work together.

Out of 376,000 hogsheads of stout exported from the port of Dublin during 1898, Messrs Guinness and Co. were responsible for 275,000 hogsheads. During the year just closed, in spite of the astonishing Scotch competion, the export of Irish whisky greatly increased, the total being 296 puncheons, 4896 butts, 14,696 hogsheads, 2685 casks, 9321 quarter casks, 480 octaves, and 160 kegs. The quarterly meeting of the ManukauLicensing Committee was held at noon on Thursday last at Onehunga in the Courthouse. There were present: —Messrs T. Hutcheson, S.M. (chairman), G. J. Sackson, D. Neilson, W. Gavin, E. Burden, and R. Hall. Sergeant Green represented the police, and submitted the usual quarterly report. The report stated that several of the hotels were not efficiently equipped with fire escapes The Committee resolved that all hotels must at once provide fire escapes as rerequired by law. Transfers were granted as follows : —Exchange Hotel, Princes Street, Onehunga, from Agnes Annie Barker to Charles Augustus Cooper; Marine Hotel, Howick, from George Joseph Sellwood to Arthur Ernest Bennett; Junction Hotel, Epsom, from Eunice Winter, owner under the will of the late Joseph Winter, to herself individually. The subject of Watch Committees was recently discussed at the Town Council of Blackpool (England) over a proposal that members of the Watch Committee who were licensed victuallers should retire. Several speakers contended that it was impossible for the police to do their duty when members of the committee were interested in public houses, from which police work principally arose. The proposal was vigorously opposed by Dr. Kingsbury, who said it was at one time customary to exclude both publicans and teetotallers, but there were now five or six teetotallers on a Watch Committee of sixteen. The proposal was negatived by a large majority. To those who live in the South of England it is a remarkable fact that men in Blackpool can get on Town Councils who only when they get there display more ignorance and want of reasoning powers than they do in their ordinary avocations. Want of logic and want of sense are pretty much the same thing—except at Blackpool, perhaps. . The net profit for the year just concluded of the Carlton Brewery (Melbourne) is stated to be £30,000. The Sportsman says: - “ Unfortunately certain obligations incurred in the past, in the shape of debentures and mortgages, swallow up most of the profits, and make it imperative that some of arrangement should be made with the debenture holders to lessen the load of liability. There should be no hesitation on the part of these creditors in meeting the management of the brewery. In the end it would be to their benefit either to extend the time for repayment, or to accept something like the present value of the real estate in debentures, or both. The concern itself is in a sound and flourishing condition. Carlton ale has made a name for itself, and the output is immense, and growing.” Our New Zealand, or at least our Auckland, breweries may not always show such a substantial net balance of profit, but their profits are genuine, and not handicapped by mortgages, etc., in any way. Another case of window breaking and riotous behaviour on the part of a professional disturber of the peace and harrier of respectable publicans comes to us from Victoria. This breed of animal deserves summary punishment : —At Ballarat recently a battered-looking individual named Bichard M’Kay, on being refused drink at the Argyle Hotel, deliberately broke a valuable window. After being forcibly ejected he attempted further damage, but was prevented. When a constable arrived M’Kay pulled a couple of palings off a fence and attacked him, but,’with assistance, he was overpowered and locked up. Though nineteen previous convictions, some for serious offences, were proved against M’Kay, he was only fined IBs, or fourteen days, for his assault and destruction of hotel property. “ Hotelkeepers are placed in a pecular position by the law, and should be protected by magistrates. If a publican refuses to serve a customer such as M'Kay, he suffers loss through the damage. If drink be given, probably the licensee lays himself open to a police charge. Therefore, when a man or woman of the M‘Kay stamp starts these games, the magistrate ought to mete out punishment that would stop them. Instead of doing so, the most absurdly lenient sentences are imposed, and, consequently, dozens of instances are weekly chronicled of the property of hotelkeepers being destroyed because they properly refuse to serve drink. In other words, they are punished for simply doing their duty.” I agree thoroughly with the opinion expressed by our contemporary, and am satisfied that an example should be made of this class of nuisance. Bendigo (Victoria) has been having quite an hilarious time recently, due to the annual Rechabite Conference there. The local papers have been afforded a regular harvest of “ copy ” by the procedinge. One delegate from Wimmera, where the thermometer has been lately about HOdeg. in the shade, startled the Rechabites by remarking that the crying want of the Rechabites was a good hop beer to sat isfy their “ natural appetite.” “ There is a storekeeper in my district,” he continued, “ who keeps a splendid hop beer, and has lately been doing much good with it.” How much alcohol does it contain ? ” asked Mr James Munro, one time temperance premier., “ The mischief of it is no one ever knows how much alcohol these temperance drinks contain.” Most of the conference time was, in fact, occupied discussing ihe best temperance drink. It is always the same. Even the average prohibitionist is consumed by the natural thirst common to ordinary mortals, and, hedged in by ridiculous and very often hypocritical scruples, he cries out for something to a-suage his craving. In New Zealand the thirst of the “ unco’ guid ” tends tn the direction of plum w ne ; in A ustralia it apparently .makes for “ hop beer.” In any case it is simply evading the question, and indulging in a natural impulse, with a bit of hedging to keep in with the “snufflebusters.”