Trade Topics

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIV, Issue 806, 17 August 1905, Page 23

Trade Topics

A rumour is abroad to the effect that the Provincial Hotel, Palmerston North, will probably be re-built in brick at an early date.

Mr Scholium reports sale of the freehold of Russell Hotel from Campbell, Ehrenfried and Co. to Forsyth, also the leasehold from Ganley to Forsyth.

Our Taranaki correspondent writes (August 12): —A case under the Amended Licensing Act was heard at New Plymouth this week. In this case the barmaid as well as the licensee of the Hotel Commonwealth were jointly charged with the sale of liquor to a drunken Maori. The defence was that the Maori was not drunk when he was in the hotel, but that he left sober and must have got drunk elsewhere between the time he left and the time he was arrested by the police. The S.M., Mr T. Hutchison, gave a written judgment, and held the offence proved. He fined the barmaid 10s and the licensee £5. On the application of counsel for the licensee, Mr J. Cody, the fine was increased to £fi to allow an appeal to be made. A second charge of selling liquor to the Maori to be consumed off the premises will be heard next week. The alleged circumstances are the same as in the previous case.

In the Sydney Assembly the AttorneyGeneral has taken preliminary steps for the introduction of an amending Liquor Bill which provides for local option, restricting illicit traffic, regulating clubs and stopping Sunday trading. Provision is made for the question of money compensation to be decided by a vote of the people, according to electorates throughout the State. During, the debate Mr Carruthers opposed - compensation of any kind, but favoured a reasonable time notice.

The Inglewood Hotel, lately taken over by Mrs Kennedy, was the scene of a social reception by Mrs Haworth on August 10. The function appears to have been a great success, and much praise was called forth at the splendid furnishing arrangements of the building. The dining-room, which is a very spacious one. was used for the reception, and the room itself was arranged in a most homely manner. Mrs Kennedy appears to have earned well-merited appreciation by her efforts to cater successfully for the community.

The old Railway Hotel, at Palmerston North, will close its doors on Tuesday 22, or following day, in favour of the fine new building of which Mr J. Hurley, the new licensee, will take possession. The new house, directly opposite the railway station, has just been completed by Mr Hapwood, builder, of Palmerston North, on plans by Mr Turnbull (Wellington). architect. It is a three-storied building built of brick, with cement coating, and is a very fine structure. On the ground floor are the commercial and dining rooms, bar parlours, bars and offices, also a large kitchen supplied with Shacklock range with high-pressure boilers. On the first floor are fifteen bedrooms. sitting- rooms, and private suite of apartments, the top floor being fitted in exactly the same way. There are two ladies’ and two gentlemen's bath-rooms, the hot and cold water supply being perfect. Gas is laid on throughout, and electric bells from each room communicate with bar and offices. The furniture, which cost between £2OOO and £3OOO, is all new, and the new Railway Hotel is in every respect thoroughly up-to-date. We wish Mr Hurley success in his venture.

The new Inglewood Hotel, opposite the railway station, was opened on Monday. 17th inst., by Mrs Kennedy. The house, is built of weather-board (painted and sanded) on a concrete foundation, holding the very best, thoroughly seasoned

timber, with totara sleepers and runners, On entering the spacious hall our reporter was shown through the twelve rooms on the ground floor, used for offices, commercial, dining-, billiard, farmers’’ and other rooms. The dining-room, 40 by 30, is most tastefully decorated, and the kitchen, 29 by 20, is fitted with the most up-to-date conveniences. The commercial portion of the travelling public has set apart for its special convenience one of the most comfortable and quiet of apartments. The billiard room is provided with one of Hopkins and Stevens’ tables, whilst the cellars are capacious and fill the requirements of a large hotel. Upstairs there are thirty bedrooms well furnished throughout, whilst the drawing and sitting rooms are all that could be desired. From the large and spacious balcony a magnificent view is obtained, embracing Mounts Ruapehu. Tongariro, and Ngauruho* in one direction, who • from other sides can be plainly seen Mount Egmont and a glimpse of the ocean, in fact, all the requirements of a health resort are combined in this splendid locality. The whole house, including the balcony, is lit with electric light, whilst for those who desire sport the district in the immediate vicinity supplies excellent fishing and shooting.

A temporary transfer of the license of the Railway Hotel, from James Prendergast to John Hurley, was granted recently (says the “Manawatu Standard”) by the chairman of the Licensing Bench and Messrs A. Jack and W. Beck.

At the village of North Bersted, near Bognor, there is an inn in which the parlour is covered all over the walls and ceiling with postage stamps from all parts of the world-, worked out in various designs. The table, the chairs, a hat, and a candlestick are also entirely covered with stamps, and two or three pictures on the walls are executed in the same medium. Besides these there are strung across the room festoons of stamps. The proprietor explains that it was begun as the result of a wager some years ago, and he also issues a pamphlet -setting forth the circumstances. The number of stamps is estimated at two millions.

A writer in the Melbourne “Leader” says:—A lady in a suburban parish told me that some years ago she was worried by frequent calls from a curate who paid absurdly long visits and prattled by the hour about her soul. She complained to her husband about the nuisance. “Shock him,” was the husband’s advice, “put the whisky bottle on the table and offer him my tobacco box.” “And did you do as he suggested?” I asked. “ I did,” she replied, “and then, instead of coming only twice a week he took to calling every day!”

This is an age of records, but a publican, who is located not a hundred miles from Deloraine, has put up one which, it is claimed, has not been achieved by any other man except “Elijah” Dowie’s son (says the Launceston “Daily Telegraph”). The publican was in town yesterday,

and, to an interested circle, coolly a calmly declared that during the whole his life he had never smoked, drunk toxicating liquors, or kissed a girl. 1 say that such an assertion created sensation is to put it very mildly; •: while the first two items (particularly 1 second) might “go down,” the third < —Well, if life is made up of contrar and strange things, the whole of th must surely be i-onceturated in tl hotelkeeper, whose wayside inn is not hundred miles from Deloraine, and wh mouth has never yet imprinted a cha salute upon some fair maiden’s rv lips!

The following letter, which appeared a recent issue of the Waikato “Argu makes one wonder how much further prohibition fanatics will be allowed proceed:—“Sir,—My child, a pupil at of the Hamilton schools, arrived ho last evening with a notice of Fat: Hays’ temperance meeting, which v presented to him, among others, by < of the teachers as they were leaving 1 school. He also says that one of 1 lads was caned by another teacher destroying one of these notices in 1 school grounds. Now, sir, the pupils tending the schools are of parents of shades of political opinions, and I not think it right that the scho should be used by teachers for advanc their particular line of thought on pol cal questions, and no one will disp that the no-license question is a politi one. Hoping that now attention 1 been called to the matter, teachers \ in the future refrain from acting in t direction.—l am. etc., PARENT.

COOKERY FOB LICENSED VICTUALLERS. (By “Ct isinier,” in L.V. Gazette COOKING BY GAS. Whether we like it or not, there < be no doubt that the gas stove has ci to stay, and there can be no doubt t on the score of cleanliness, convex) lor and economy it has much to reoomrm it. One great advantage of cooking by it. that the heat is under perfect coni and can be regulated to a nicety. r . gas can be kept at any height, from lowest flame necessary to obtain a gei simmering to the sharp heat required ? casting and grilling. The principal kinds of gas stoves iise may be divided into two clasi namely, those in which the gas flames 'uminous—i.e., similar in character the burners used for lighting rooms—i those fitted with burners producing ‘ mospheric” or blue flames, in which gas is largely mixed with air before be burned. The luminous flames give forth as pjoducts of combustion only steam i

Barbonic acid, and are no more hurtful Bhan the products from good gas burne.s in lighting rooms; but the atmoBjheric burners, in addition to those progive forth carbonic oxide, an exBsedingly poisonous gas, generally attended by a very unpleasant smell, which Requires very thorough ventilation in Bider to carry it away. B As may be supposed, the taste of the cooked in ovens heated by the latter flames is not so good as that. of meat Bioked by luminous flames. This has Been amply demonstrated by a series of Bchaustive trials selecting a gas stove, see that the Barners on the top are so arranged that flames do not touch the bottoms of pots and pans, so that the metal of receptacles cannot become overand the contents burned. All Moves should be fitted with a governor M order that the supply of gas may be at a regular pressure and all prevented. tiny jet of gas, known as a flashy should be attached to each burner, ■ that the gas lights up simply by turnBg a i?a» die. The primitive method of Bgb.ting the gas with a match or paper very unsatisfactory. Njot only is it Bicleanly, but it tempts the cook to leave Be gas on when not actually in use, beBuse it will be wanted by-and-bye. Bhen she has merely to touch a handle Be will be willing enough to turn the gas Bit when it is not wanted, and so save Be gas bill and keep her kitchen cool. Brother advantage of the flashlights is Bat tney prevent accidents which might Beur through a burner being left turned B by mistake, as it wo iLI at once light B> and be detected. BAlways select a stove which is lined Bth white enamel, as it is easilv kept Bean. The interior should b? washed Bt after nso while i. h: s l iil warm, with B flannel cloth dipped in hot water and Brinkled over with a little soap powder. Ba gas stove, or kitchener, should coaiBae all that is necessary to meet one’s Bjuirements in the way of cooking, and Bould be able to roast, grill, boil, fry, Bd bake. In a good kitchener of this Hscription the meat is roasted by the Bdiant heat of rows of luminous flames Bnged round the back and sides of the Hasting chamber, which is lined with Kite enamel and amplv supplied with Ksh air. The joint will of course, reHire basting, but it will be more evenly Hiked and with less loss than if it had Hen turned on a spit or roasting-jack

before an open fire, and will be greatly superior to anything baked in a close oven. The door should be fitted with a small mica window, so that the cook can see inside the roasting chamber : without opening the door. j-

lhe griiler or boiling burners are placed on top of the roasting or baking chamber. The burners of the griiler should be arranged above the grid instead of underneath it, so that the gravy and fat may drop into the pan and the unpleasant smell of burnt fat is thus avoided. The boiling burners, as already stated, should be set sufficiently deep to prevent the flames from touching the bottoms of the cooking utensils. The hot plate should have on one side a large burner to give a sharp heat for frying. There should be four or five boiling burners besides this frying burner. In roasting a joint of beef the gas should be lit ten minutes before putting in the meat. For a joint weighing twelve pounds, allow ten minutes with the gas still full on, and an hour and a half with it three-quarters full on, then turn it full on again for twenty minutes to brown the meat, making two hours in all. When using the griiler, light the burners and heat the griiler for two or three minutes; then wipe the grid with a piece of paper and rub it with a little fat. When cooking, turn the meat over two or three times with a pair of steak tongs - never with a fork. The time taken in cooking depends, of course, upon the thickness of the meat. When the meat feels soft and spongy between the tongs it requires a little more cooking; as soon as it feels firm and has a rich brown colour it is done.

In making soup or stock, light the gas v hen the pot is ready for boiling with ihe meat in it. and turn it not more than half full on. Let the water get gradually warm, and skim off all that comes to the surface. If the gas be turned on too high the water will boil up too quickly, hardening the meat and preventing its juices from dissolving. Skim the pot again after the vegetables have been added, then put on the lid, and reduce the heat so as just to keep the soup simmering, and leave it to look after itself until it is done.

Baking can be successfully accomplished in a gas kitchener. In some stoves asbestos-lined sheets are provided, which prevent the heat striking too fiercely from below, and steel plates

which reverberate the heat and ensure uniform baking. The meat in pies should be partly cooked beforehand, or the pastry will be done before the meat. Baked custards and milk puddings ”e--quire a more moderate heat than pastry and a longer time to bake, for if baked too quickly the milk will turn watery and the top will burn. It would be invidious to recommend any particular make of gas stove. There are many eminent makers between whom there is but little to choose. I have indicated the leading characteristics of a good stove, and I would only add Uiat, in this as in many other things, it is *alse economy to get an inferior article at a low price. In every way the best is the cheapest, and by giving the ook an apparatus in which she can take a pride the character of the cooking will be enhanced, to the lasting credit and profit of the establishment. HOME NOTES. (“ L.V. (Gazette,” June 30, 1905). Mr. Peter J. Mackie, who presided with so much grace and charm of manner over the annual festival of the Licensed Victuallers’ Schools on Tuesday evening at the Hotel Cecil, has given the Trade in London something to think about. Time was when the present building in Kennington Lane which houses the boys and girls, was surrounded by green fields and stately oaks and elms. Built at a cost of £14,000, it was opened in the year 1837, when the late Queen Victoria came to the throne, and since then a spacious swimming bath has been added at a cost of £3000? There is accommodation for 250 children, and the arrangements are all that could be desired. But the build-

ing is now surrounded by bricks and mortar. The neighbourhood of Kennington —owing to its nearness to town —is becoming one of the mpst congested partsof the metropolis. Under such circumstances, is it not desirable in the best interests of the children to move theschools into the country ? Every president of the anniversary festival pays a visit to the schools preparatory to taking the chair at the annual dinner, and it has been left to a Highland chieftain, who knows what a beneficial effect fresh air has upon the young,, to discover that the time has arrived when some change should be made. What is more, he is prepared to back up his proposal in a practical manner. Mr. Mackie told the friends and supporters of this noble institution pn Tuesday evening that he would willingly give £5OO and perhaps £lOO0 —to a fund raised for the purpose. He thinks there ought tobe no difficulty in finding 200 men in the Trade who would give £lOO a piece. Here we should have a sum of £20,500,. without taking into consideration the amount the present building and ground* would realise. If the proposal is only warmly taken up there should be no difficulty in raising a sufficient sum to purchase a suitable piece of ground in thecountry and build new schools. Still another suggestion emanates from that popular member of the wholesale trade, Mr. Howard Tripp. Is the word “Asylum” quite applicable at the present time to that other great Trade charity in the Old Kent Road ? Would not the word “Home” be far more appropriate? There can hardly be twoopinions on this point. The Licensed: Victuallers’ Asylum is not an asylum in the ordinary acceptation of that word,

’ and Mr.' Tripp is quite right in saying that the term is misunderstood by inside the Trade, and a still laigei number outside of it. Founded for the purpose of providing a comfortable home for necessitous members of the Trade and their wives and widows, this institution should be known as the Licensed \ ictuallers’ Home. Committees of management are usually conservative bodies, and dislike making any changes, but the young and rising generation, who will become future supporters of this charity, have to be considered, and it would not only not suffer in the least, but should be greatly benefited by the change of name proposed by Mr. Tripp. Moreover, the aged inmates would much prefer that their relatives should know that they are in a home rather than an asy - lum.

The Birmingham Beer and Wine Trade Association, which held its half-yearly meeting last week at the Golden Cross, Dale End, has, in spite of the general dullness of trade in the Midlands, evidently been well supported, the balancesheet showing a credit balance of over £2453. It is true that the number of members is not so large as for the corresponding period of last year, but this falling off is attributed to “local brewery conditions.” The chairman—Mr. H. "Wharton —in moving the adoption of the report, defended the Trade against the accusations of tricks and malpractices referred to in the chief local daily paper, while Mr. J. J. Bastable described the correspondence which had been published as “ impertinent and lying,” and “ a libel upon a body of traders as honourable in the plying of their calling as any other section of the community.” Under the severe system of supervision to which license-holders are subjected, the charges made against them, it was held, were absolutely impossible. A pleasant feature of the meeting was the presentation of a gold watch to Mr. E. A. Starling, the vice-president, who is leaving Birmingham for Australia.

Under the English Licensing Act of 1904 the justices have the power to refuse a license on the ground that the premises have been ill-conducted “if the holder of the license has persistently and unreasonably refused to supply suitable refreshment —other than intoxicating liquor at a reasonable price,” but in Scotland a license-holder apparently is far worse off. There a publican can be haled before a magistrate if he fails to display wholesome eatables, consisting of bread or biscuits and cheese, sardines, and cake on his counter, together with a card showing the price of the same, and indeed three prosecutions—the first of their kind it is true—have just taken place at Gueenock. The defence put forward in one case was that the card had been removed to allow of cleaning operations, while the absence of eatables in another was attributed to rats who had devoured them. The Bailie at Greenock contented hliwel? by administering an admonition in each case, but the prosecution only shows how increasingly difficult it becomes to carry on the business of a publican.

Corporation tramways are run for the benefit and convenience of the ratepayers. I r ‘ there is a financial loss 0:1 the working it has to be made good out of the rates, and the aim of the general manager, therefore, should be to make the trams at least self-supporting. Advertisements, oi course, are a prolific source of revenue, and so long as they are not objectionable they should be accepted. But the temperance party in Sunderland would like the announcements of all brewers and distillers discarded. "What is the use of endeavouring to raise the moral tone •-•f -he people if the Corporation lends itself to increasing the drink traffic ? This was the question asked by Mr. Nicholson at the last meeting of !ho Town Council, when the recommendation of the Tramway Committee that a firm of brewers should be allotted certain panels on the trains for advertising was up for discussion. It was practically answered by Mr. Smith, who wanted to know whether the teetotallers would recompense the Corporation and the ratepayers for the financial loss incurred by the policy suggested. The discussion was a lively one, but in the end Mr. Nicholson’s amendment to strike out the proposal was defeated by twenty votes against nine. The Sunderland Town Council is to be congratulated on its determination to allow no petty interference with the management of its tramway enterprise.

It would be well if the police could arrange to keep a stricter watch on some of the undesirable aliens that have found their wav from the Continent, and especially Russia, to the East End of London. It is safe to say that in no other part of the metropolis is the revenue so pcrsiftontly o" so consistently defrauded.

Take the case of the alien cigarette maker, for instance, who was prosecuted at the Thames Police Court this week and fined £25 or one month for unlawfully retailing certain spirits without a license. Here was a man who admitted that he purchased a decoction of brandy for Is 6d per bottle and then ladled it out at 2d per glass. The profit must have been something considerable. While this illicit trading is going on the licenseholder, who has to pay heavy rates and taxes, finds his business gradually decreasing. He is, however, powerless, and until sentences of imprisonment without the option of a fine are passed, the aliens at the East End of London will continue to enjoy their large profits out of this illicit trade in intoxicating liquor.