A CURIOUS OMISSION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1491, 24 February 1887, Page 3

A CURIOUS OMISSION.

'j WBEMNfITON, February 23 Daring the hearing of the case against ft pn}>Hctn for sailing liquor after hours, • pejoular omission from the Licensing Act propped up. For the defence it wao contended that the Information must be dismissed, as the proseoution had failed to prove tho hour nt whioh the premises onght to be closed. There was a very peculiar point m connection with the case The Licensing Aot of 1831 provided that the hour of closing for tho holders of extended licenses should be 12 o'clock, and though the license might be reduced to 11 o'clock there was nothing In the Aot to fix that as the dosing hour. The Act named only two hours for closing, 10 and 12 o'clock, though the absence of provision foroeaiing business at 11 was probably «n oversight ; therefore m order to support the Information it was necessary that the police should prove affirmatively that a sale took place after 12 o'olork, and bis Worship agreed that It waa neorsssry to prove that the sale took plac* after, midnight. The omission from the Aot wai a curious one. He said that the eylienoe was not sufficiently preclse is to the hour at whiob l'quor was fold, and diimuwed the case.