The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27. THE NEW LICENSING ACT.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue VI, 27 December 1881, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27. THE NEW LICENSING ACT.

:_n a former issue of this journal we gave a resume of some of the more general provisions of this Act, especially regarding the election of Licensing Committees and the application of the principle of local option to new licenses. VV c no-rwf propose to lay before our readers some further details as to the kind of licenses which may be granted under the Act, the conditions attached to each, and other points of detail, especially those which differ from the law as heretofore existing.

Licenses of the following descriptions may be granted under the Act, viz.:— (1; Publicans', (2) New Zealand wme, (3) accommodation, (4) bottle, (5) packet, (6) wholesale, and (7) conditional. To these may be aohled what is called a " charter," which must be obtained by clubs. Of these license*., of course th . most important is the first named, the publicans'. We have already iioticed the manner in which those licenses may be grunted or withheld We will now point out the conditions attached to the possession of the privilege. In the first place the hours during which public-houses may Ire kept open for the sale .of liquor are, from six in the ■morning ti.l ten at night. The fee for

this license is, within the limit of any borough, £40 ; outside such limits, £25. The Licensing Committee may grant to the holder of such license an extension of the time for the sale of liquors till twelve o'clock, on payment of an additional fee of £10, and " on being satisfied of its being for the berefit and convenience of the public." This latter is a very important stipulation, and, if committees interpret it strictly, will no doubt lead to a great restriction in the hours of selling. Additional bars are also at the discretion of the committee, and, where authorised, must be paid for at the rate of one-third of the license fee for each additional bar Every licensed publican must keep a lamp outside his door burning all night, unless tho Licensing Committee exempt bim on the ground of the street being otherwise suiPebntly lighted. No female may be employed in a bar lor more than ten hours a day, nor in any 1 case aft rll p.m. Dancing saloons are prohibited. Wages, except of the licensee's own servants, may not be paid in a licensed house, nor may any post office or other public office be established there, and " no local rates of any description shall be paid thereat." Sections 133 and 134 should be carefully noted by all in the trade, We quote them in extenso: —

133. No innkeeper shall recover any debt or demand on account of any liquor supplied by him to any personfor consumption on the premise- ; but such person may sue for and recover the value of any liquor supplied in moderate quantity with meals to any person bona fide lodging in the house.

134. If any innkeeper shall receive in payment or as a pledge for any liquor or entertainment supplied in or from his licensed premisea anything except current money, or cheques on bankers, or orders for payment of money, he shall for each such offence pay a penalty not exceeding ten pounds. The person to whom belongs anything given as a pledge as aforesaid shall have the same remedy for recovering such pledge, or the value thereof, as if it had never been pledged. No innkeeper shall receive payment in advance for any liquor to be supplied ; and any payment so made in acivance may be recovered, notwithstanding that any liquor may have been supplied subsequently to such payment.

It would seem from this that no option is left any Court about liquor bills. It is not necessary for any defendant to put in any special plea on being sued. The language is explicit— " No innkeeper shall recover."

Persons found drunk may be apprehended, and, on conviction, are liable to a penalty of not less than five shillings. If to the drunkenness is added disorderly behaviour, or if the person is drunk while in charge of horses, cattle, or a steam-engine, or in posse sion of loaded firearms, tne minimum penalty is twenty shillings;*or the person may, in the discretion of the convicting justices, be sent to gaol for a month.

Refreshment rooms at railway stations, licenses for which have hitherto been granted by ihe Minister of Public Works, «re now b. ought under the jurisdiction of the Licensing Committees. They are to be deemed publicans' licenses, and are to be subject to such conditions as to accommodation, hours, etc., as the committees in each ease may think proper to impose.

A New Zealand wine licence authorises the retail sale of " any wine, cider, and fiery, the produce of fruit grown in the Colony, of a strength not exceeding 20 per centum of proof spirit." ; Such licenses may only be granted in boroughs. The reason of the Legislature thus limiting, them has probably been an idea that, in places less liable to inspection, these licenses would be used as a cloak for the illicit sale of liquor. The fee for this license is £1.

The accommodation license is intended to apply to roadside houses. It may be granted on such conditions as the Licensing Committee may think fit to impose, and on payment of anj fee not exceeding £20, to be fixed by the committee. No such license may be granted for any premises situated within five miles of another house holding either a publicans' or accommodation license. By exercising care in granting such licenses, and seeing that the conditions attached to them are faithfully carried out, the committees have it in their power greatly to promote the comfort and convenience of the travelling public.

Bottle licenses authorise the sale of liquors by the single bottle, not to 1)3 consumed on the premises. These licenses are only to be issued in those districts wherein their issue was formerly authorised by law. Those districts are Nelson aud Otago. The fee is £40.

The issue of new licenses of the four descriptions referred to is subject to a vote of the ratepayers in each Licensing District as to whether the numbers of such licenses severally may or may not be increased. Furthermore, they can onlj be granted at the annual meeting of the Licensing Committees.

A packet license authorises the sale of liquor on board a steamer or other vessel during her passage between any two ports. The fee is £10 -for a vessel over fifty tons register, g,nd £5 for one under that size. The_e licenses may be granted at any time by the Licensing Committees, or in the absence of a meeting, by the chairman thereof.

Wholesale licenses are to cost £20, and may be granted at any time, subject to ?even days' notice, by the chairman of the committee. The wine and beer license, peculiar to Canterbury, has been swept away,

Conditional licenses are permits to holders of publicans' licenses to sell liquor at races, regattas, and other places of public amusement or resort. Tlr-y may be issued for any period not

exceeoling seven days, by any two members of the Licensing Committee, subject to such conditions and the payment of such fee (up to £30) as the persons granting the license may think fit. All tees payable under this Act are to be paid to the Treasurer of the borough, county, or road district within which the premises licensed are situated, but fines, penalties, and forfeitures are to be paid into the public account. The penal clauses of. tbe Act are sufficiently severe. Provision is made for the appointment of .nspectors of licensed premises, and every officer of podice not below the rank of sergeant is constituted an inspcctoi

Such are some of the main features of the new measure. It would be well for all interested to make themselves acquainted with it, and watch how it works, and in what direction it may need improvement. It possesses at least the merit—a not insignificant one— of sweeping awny a mass of complicated and contradictory enactments, and condensing the law upon the subject into one compact and intelligible Act. This Act has been the result of much careful deliberation on the part of the Legislature, and deserves at least a fair trial from ah sections of the community.