THE BOROUGH LICENSING

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1335, 7 September 1886, Page 2

THE BOROUGH LICENSING

TO THE EDITOR.

\ r ir,— “ Civis," in the Mail, and “Love , of Fair Play,” in your paper complain o . the ac'ion of the Licensing Committee ii ' declining to grant 11 o’clock licenses t the Somerset and Ashburton hotels. Yoi also, Mr Editor, in yesterdays trader, sidi • with them and characterise the proceed tngs of the Committee as possessing thi merit of novelty only. Possill/ the tw< correspondonts mentioned only give ex presslon to the views of others in thii community. I think that both they anc you are wrong, and will eac’eivor to provt It. At the fi at it does look as if the Innocent were suffering for the guilty ir the case before us. Waiving what maj be said on ’ho subject (the innocent chil dren of the man who is sent to jail suffer I am prepared to admit that if in thii case the innocent were suffering for thi guilty the Commissioners would slam cond mned. This I deny. The lessee c the Ashbur on hotel is suffering for hi own sins only. His lies! as was endorse! for misbehavior in the heuse while be him sa'f was in it. In other words, througl him the house got into trouble : be must suffjr through previous wrong doing This case we may at once dismiss. The case of the Somerset is not on the fact of it so plain : it is plain enough howevai for those who think. The license of thii hotel has been .endorsed several times : one more endorsement and the Governor himself could not save the license. The present lessee was perfectly aware of the ita'o of mat'ers when he entered it. He deliberately walked into a house with a dirty record. Hss he then a right to pose as an Injured man I If I buy a case of damaged fruit, am I Justified in complaining that the apples are not aonnd I I pay less, of course, for damaged frnit and, for anght I know, the fact of the endorsed license has been allowed for in the rent. If not it assuredly aught to have been. You say the guilty should suffer. Well, who is guilty f It is well known that the last lessee gave up the house because he was charged so high a rent. There may be a connection between making up this high rent and getting the house into trouble. When rents are very high, publicans are so oetlmes less particular In their modes > f collecting the sixpences, and, according to some, this may accord the last lessee some extenuation for his conduct of the house. If

th's be ao, the owner of the house may deserve some of the blame, and, consequently, some of the Buffering, in the form of less rent. Bat there is more in it than this, Mr Editor. There ia no otter way out of the difficulty than that adopted. The principle is right —You must punish the house. Th's ia the only possible way to bring pressure to bear upon the landI rd. He, in the long run, ia the responsible party. The lessee Is temporary; the landlord ia permanenty. The owner of a public house might, if the views advocated by “Lover of Fair Play” were acted upon, put a man in to make money at any cost, and then turn him out and put in another man (an innocent man he would be called) just before the annual meeting of the Licensing Committee. This might go on ad infinitum, the owner always saysing, “Oh ! the last man was guilty, I know, but you won’t punish the new innocent man, for the ether guilty i man, surely." “No” the Commissioners say, 11 wo will not punish the innocent man, we will punish you, and you will not be able to let your bouse again for some time.” Take an . illustration from

sporting circles.—A horse has been run ‘ ‘off the square. ” The Jockey Club meets and disqualifies—whom? the owner of the horse? No, the horse itself. Poor in 10cent brute, it is hardly done by no doubt, but the horsey fraternity know quite well that this Is the only way to meet the case. Like the case before ns it seems unjust, but really is not. All honor then, f say, to those men who are willing to act according to tljsir convictions, even though it may entail some animadversion from the public. I fear J have trans-

gressed as to space, but when an editor censures it behoves one who differs with him to moke his ground good, if possible. 1 am, etc , Sioma. Ashbu t m, September 0, 1886.