HAWKE’S BAY.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IX, Issue 694, 25 June 1903, Page 14

HAWKE’S BAY.

Napier, June 23. Yesterday the licensing committee refused the application of the Napier Racing Club for a license for the publican’s booth on their course, on the occa-., sion of their Winter Meeting next week. ' This extraordinary act on the part of the legislators of the drink traffic has’ caused a lot of adverse comment here. Ever since the Park. course has been open as a public place of sporty a license has been in force, and there has" nev’er been any reasbn to regret th®; granting of a license for the booth, for good order and sobriety has been always apparent at the popular ventures of the Napier Park Racing Club. Then again, a hardship has been placed upon the ex- _ ecutive of the club, for when last season | they drew out their annual programme ■: they naturally counted on their receipts from the bar, which amounted to £4O per day. Now, by a fanatical act, they have to face an assured deficit of £BO. There is certainly no justice in the way in which the committee have ;acted, for they stated that they had made up the r minds before coming into court ,to grant . no conditional licenses, no matter what the circumstances might be. This is Star Chamber logic with a vengeance, • and probably because they did not wish to let their assinine arguments be produced in public print they retired in private to consider the question. The opinion of the public placed them in the position they are in, and surely the electors have a right to know their opinions of all matters that come before them in connection with the liquor business. Had the committee been comprised of men with an atom of sense in their heads, they would have understood that the Park committee had bound themselves to pay away a certain amount of •money this season in stakes; to do which they had relied upon the receipts of. the''" booth to assist them, and as the forthcoming winter meeting enris the racing