LYTTELTON NEWS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17155, 26 May 1921, Page 5

LYTTELTON NEWS.

1 MAGISTRATE'S COURT. Mr S. K. McCarthy, S.H., presided at the Magistrate's Court yesterday. One first offender for drunkenness, who had teen lemunded from May 18th, was convicted and fined ss. Albert Chandler, who did not appear, was charged with procuring liquor during the currency of a prohibition order. He was further charged with having entered licensed premises, to wit, the. Albion Hotel, during the currency of the said order. He was convicted and fined £2, in default 7 days' imprisonment in respect of each charge, the terms to be cumulative. Angus Anderson' (Mr Thomaa), alias Stewart, on remand was charged with using obscene language. He pleaded guilty, and was fined £5, in default one month's imprisonment. LICENSE ENDORSED. Sir McCarthy delivered his reserved judgment in the case in which Myrtle _ill, licensee of the Empire Hotel, was charged with having permitted drunkenness. His Worship, attar reviewing the evidence and quoting authorities on the subject, found that a reasonable inference was -that I'iack, the man in question, remained in the bar to the knowledge of both defendant and the b-uanaid- for at k-ast twenty minutes, and that neither took any steps to eject him" beyond asking him on one occasion only to retire. Had either gone to the door ahe would have seen two constables, who would have ejected • Flack. Neither had. tne licensee made a request to the constables when they entered the hotel bar. It was not suggested that any liquor had been supplied to Flack in the hotel. The defendant would be convicted, and as it was the third occasion in respect of which' she had been convicted of offences against tha licensing laws, he would call on the license© to produce her license, and show cause why it should not be endorsed. . »

Mr Thomas asked -that the. penalty should be made sufficient to allow of an appeal, and asked that the question of endorsement should ba held over until the "appeal had been dispoted of. The Magistrate said that he would follow the usual course, and call on the defence at once to show cause why the license should not be endorsed.

Addressing the Court on the question of endorsement, Mr Thomas said, it- .was the first case in which the licensee had personally been mixed up. There were four previous convictions. The first was against the licensee's late husband. The second cbso was- where a barmaid had committed a breach of the Anti-shouting Regulations; the third oaee was where a barmaid had a friend to tea after hours, and the fourth conviction was the present one. These convictions were'spread over a. period of more thnn three ye-nis. There were two during 1919, none during 1924), and two during the present year. In .the present case," that of permitting drunkenness, there was no question as to the circumstances. The man was not Joept on the premises, and filled up with beer- in order to obtain his money. The most Mrs Hill did was to allow the man to remain, and eo, legally, permitted drunkenness. She did not take prompt steps to have him ejected. The offence was passive rather than active. Taking Mrs Hill's personal record, it was, a goo 4 one, and the Jiotel was well-conducted. The Licensing Committee would meet within a few weeks, and he asked that the license be not endorsed, and that the committee should be left to deal with the matter. The Magistrate said that, although the licensee was not personally concerned in the previous offences, ho h fl d to consider the cumulative effect of all those convictions, and it'would be his duty to endorse. The defendant would bo fined £5 Is and costs, and he would order the license to be enoTsed.

An application was made by Mr Thomas for security to be fixed for appeal, and the Magistrate fixed the amount at £l6.

THE SCHOOL HEATERS. A trial of the new heaters installed in the Lyttelton District High School took place yesterday morning, in the presence of Messrs W. G. Carson and .W. T. Poster, chairman and secretary of the School Committee; Mr J. V?, »A. Walker, headmaster; and Mr B. Riley, the Board's foreman of works. Four separate boilers have'been instiled, each -of- which heats three rooms. The boilers atand in an ordinary fireplace, and a simple system of pipes and radiators distribute the heat evenly ovet the different room 4. It is belisved that the ey&tem is the first of its kind ,to be'fitted in the Dominion, although- other schools have them on order. "The trial was in every way a success. Half-ail-hour after lighting-the fires the rooms began to get. warm, and a quarter of an hour -later wire just comfortably warm, in-, deed; it was demonstrated tha.t it, wae quite possible • to' make the ; rooma . unpleasantly fc'ot.'TOt' th£ System I 'is simple to control, and no difficulty is experienced in arriving at the deeired temperature. The'trial showed that a great saving of fuel wv/uld be effected, and at was estimated that,, whereas forty buckets of coke were • previously used daily when the rooms -were indifferently heated, now about fourteen buckets will heat, all the rooms* thoroughly. The committee and' stiff of the school express themselves as well, pleaded with the success of. the.installation.