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New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 992, 11 March 1909, Page 20

Tenders are called for painting work at Mr. Ralph Somers’ Hot Springs Hotel, Te Aroha.

St. Patricks’ Day, the 17th inst-, will be observed as a holiday by Government departments. * * =♦ * The Rev. L- M. Isitt, writing to the English “ Alliance News ” regarding Mr T- E. Taylor’s return to Parliamentary life in New Zealand, says. ■ His election means much to us. He will be far and away the .ablest man in the present Parliament a T -d his presence in the House will go far towards securing for the No-license party fair play and good police administration in No-license areas! If, dining the next three years,” adds Mr Isitt, “ we can make anything like the progress we have made during the last period, one-third of New Zealand will go dry.”

On a recent Saturday night, two constables visited the hotel at Sefton while a social gathering was in progress, and after the hour of closing (ten o’clock) took the names of nearly a score of the guests who were bidding farewell to the licensee. These have been summoned to appear at the next Amberley Court to answer the charge of having been illegally on licensed premises-

A most distressing accident occurred at Rotorua, to a waitress at the Grand Hotel. She was running along the balcony, and fell down the manhole to the fire escape, and landed on a stake to which some plants were fastened. She was so seriously injured that she had to be taken to a private hospital-

Mr. Ernest J. Ralph Smith has just taken over the Terminus Hotel, Helensville, formerly in the occupation of Mr Jas- McLeod. This is a fine new brick building, excellently planned, tastefully furnished and extremely well conducted. We wish Mr Smith every success in this growing township.

The Empire Hotel, Featherston, so long conducted by the late Mr John Card, holds a record seldom beaten in New Zealand, in the fact that it has only changed hands twice in 27 yearsMr Card’s predecessor, Mr James Smith, held the license for 12 years, and Mr Card for the past 15 years. It has now been leased to Mr J- H. Tully, formerly licensee of the Greytown Hotel in whose hands the good repute of this well known hostelry is sure to be maintained.

France leads the world in wine production, making 100,000,000 gallons a year.

Not in vain has the Trade, for more than a year, fought the battle for the barmaids (says “ The Licensing World ” in a recent issue) ■ How those industrious, hard-working girls were slandered and abused by the cold-water party is not forgotten. They were compared with the wretched women who haunt the streets of the West End by night; they were accused of intemperance and of luring men to drink to excess; and their total abolition was loudly clamoured for. As might have been expected, Mr Asquith mildly conceded the demand of his teetotal drivers, and embodied in his Bill a clause forbidding the employment of women behind the bar. But when that clause was reached it was evident that any attempt to carry it, even by th© free use of the guillotine, might have ended in a Government defeatRecognising that discretion is the better part of valour, the Premier caved in,” and withdrew the proposals in question. It was a great victory for the Trade, and for those kind-hearted women who have been championing the cause of girls who were unable to fight for themselves. And the victory is all the more satisfactory because Mr Asquith’s “concession” has again roused the wrath of the teetotalers, who are already muttering threats — not loud, but deep-

At a meeting of the Auckland Licensing Committee last week Mr. R. Dyer, S.M., presiding, a transfer of the Anchor Hotel was granted from J. G. Gray to Arthur Whitehead. The license held by Geo. H- Foster for the imperial Hotel was transferred to William Agnew. Permission was granted Brunetta Trevethick to carry on the business of a wine seller under the license held by the late Arthur Trevethick during the administration of her late husband s estate.

It is reported that a hot-spring has been discovered at Kawau, near Mr. E. Hallett’s Mansion House.

Soon after nomination, Messrs. G. W- Davies and John Patterson withdrew from the contest for seats on the Auckland City Licensing Bench.

The “ Gisborne Times ” reports that Mr. G. How Chow, formerly owner of the Karaka Hotel, Poverty Bay, who returned to China about two years ago, and was seized by Chinese bandits, is returning to New Zealand. It is stated that his captors obtained a very large ransom.

The saloon bar is a comparatively modern feature of licensed premises in the metropolis (says the London “Daily Chronicle.”) It is said to have had its origin about 30 years ago in a famous hostelry near Pall Mall, where the gilded youth of the period used to foregather, induced to do so, perhaps, by a somewhat hazy tradition that royalty had once patronised the place. Before this the finest class distinction attempted in public-houses was by the private bar. This, in. its turn, was a successor to the old-time bar parlour, where generations of convivial tradesmen met and settled the affairs of the nation, with the assistance of long churchwarden pipes and steaming glasses of hot grog.

The trade in South Australia is fortunate in that the “no license” clause

was not introduced into the new Act, so that reduction can only be gradual, and give those who have invested money in the liquor business time to set their house in order in the event o': public opin’on strongly verging towards the prohibition sentiment. The abolition of barmaids will make very little difference to the trade. The withdrawal of the distillers and brewers wholesale licenses from the operation of the local option clause will prevent the closing of any of the distilleries or breweries, which is favourable to the trade in the new Act, but was not so in the old. —“Australian Wine and Spirit News.”

No election was necessary tor the Licensing Bench for Waitemata electorate, the nominated candidates, Messrs. A. Alison, R. H. Duder, J. Edson. J. C. Macky, and G. E. White, not exceeding the number of five required.

The London correspondent of the “Star” says that a New Zealander, writing from the Dominion to an English country paper, waxes gloomily satirical over the recent elections in the Dominion. “I foresee for this country,” he says, “politics governed by women and parsons. The results will be as they were in France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

corrupt and corrupting ecclesiastics, and political heroines. We sha’n't have picturesque Cardinals or Royal mistresses, perhaps, but the equivalent of them both in Puritan homespun. An Austrian savant, I see, predicts terrible and destructive erupt’ons and earthquakes here in 1911. This is the year of the next general election, so probably we shall go under in the throes of that triennial struggle, Hallelujah!”

The quarterly meeting of the Waitemata Licensing Committee was held at Devonport last Friday, being attended by Messrs R. W. Dyer, S.M., G. E. White, and J. Edson Sub-In-spector Hendry represented the police. A transfer was granted of the license of the Lake Hotel (Takapuna) from John W. H. Bright to Frederick Thomas Lipscombe. In view of the recent destruction of the hotel by fire, an application by Mr. Lipscombe for permission to use temporary premises (now being erected on the eastern side of the destroyed building) for six months, during the re-erection of the Hotel, was granted

At the Gore Court last Friday morning, Mr- Kenrick imposed a fine of £3 and Court costs 7s against Fredk. Dickson, charged with selling whisky on January 19 last in a No-license district. The magistrate said: “It is stated that there is no evidence of sale but to persons employed by the police for the purpose, and I think a small fine will meet the case.” Charles Pumpa. for selling beer, pleaded guilty, and was fined £lO and costs 7s. Malachi Hanley (previously convicted) was sent to gaol for 14 days, but the warrant will be suspended during the illness of his daughter, and he was ordered to come up for sentence on March 25.

For the Tauranga electorate, and also for that of Waikato, only five, the required number of nominations, were received for the licensing committees. In the former electorate Messrs. J. C. Allen, C. Jordan, R. King, G. A. Ward, and T. Wells constitute the new committee, and for Waikato. Messrs. Allen Bell, C. Day, W. Dey, G. Edgecumbe and J. A. Going.

The official results of the local option poll taken last November were gazetted last Thursday. The number of electors on the roll was 537,003, and the number of valid votes recorded was 414,292. The number of votes for continuance (including the votes for restoration of licenses in previous no-license districts) was 188,140; for reduction, 162,562; and for no-license (including votes against restoration in previous no-license districts), 221,471. The verdicts in the 68 licensing districts were as follows: — For Continuance 15 No Proposal 34 No-license 6 Reduction 7 No-Hcense retained 5 * * * * Last Friday at Ashburton Wm. Porter was fined £5O and costs for slygrog selling in Ashburton district.

For the licensing district at Franklin there were six nominations, but to avoid an election Mr. J. D. Chalmers

withdrew from the contest, leaving Messrs. E. G. Proudfoot, Donald McKinnon, W. 0. Motion. J. Routly and John Schlaepfer as the new committee. * * * * An item of interest to those who are in the habit of persisting that commercial prosperity follows prohibition is shown in the news that the Ashburton Borough Council called for tenders in New Zealand and Australia for a loan of £15,000 for water supply at 41/2 per cent. Only two tenders, totalling £2OOO, were received —one -or £5OO at £95 2s 6d, and the other for £l5OO at £9l 10s. The Council decided to return both tenders, and also resolved to return all tenders for pipes and machinery. There is no record of any borough in the Dominion having ever received such a want of confidence reply lo loan tenders as this. * * s|: * The recently-sent-Home High Commissioner, Mr. Hall-Jones, makes a few silly remarks about no-license to the London correspondent of the “Herald,” mainly to the effect that the withdrawing of licenses is followed by the success of private or unlicensed hotels. What rot. Take the houses closed near Auckland up to now, and see the silliness of such an opinion. He adds that he was in the town of Gore 12 months after no-license, and found that the hotels had been enlarged to meet the increased business after the sale of drink had been stopped. He must have been referring to the lockers in the hotels. Let him come to Ohinemuri and see what hotels will be enlarged during the next twelve months, or to Eden. He will be able to see all the enlargements with both eyes well shut, as they have evidently been during previous visits to no-license districts.