Publicans Get Licences Back

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31003, 8 March 1966, Page 1

Publicans Get Licences Back

(New Zealand Press Association) DUNEDIN, March 7. Appeals by two Dunedin publicans against a Licensing Control Commission decision depriving them of their licences were allowed by Mr Justice Henry in a reserved decision.

The appellants were Bertie George (Prince of Wales Hotel) and Reginald Thompson (Clarendon Hotel). The Dunedin Licensing Committee had in a majority decision refused an application by the police to cancel the hotelkeepers’ licences. Later, the police appealed to the Licensing Control Commission, which reversed the committee's decision. The licensees then appealed to the Supreme Court against the commission’s decision His Honour said that in his opinion the committee had

put its mind to and fairly; appreciated its task and the! issues raised. It did not err in failing to I give weight or sufficient | weight to relevant circum-| stances. Nor did it err in giving; i weight to irrelevant circum-! stances or in allowing any| ■consideration to weigh too imueb with it. “The correct weight Io be, .given to the various relevant I considerations is by no means! easy to determine, or. indeed.to express.” his Honour said | “The appellate tribunal. I when dealing witli the ques-; tion of weight, must not act unless the decision and the i circumstances show clearly i that too much weight is eiven or clearly that insufficient weight is given the matters I under review. I "Whilst in the opinion of, the minority of the commit-■ tee and in the opinion of the commission, cancellation was.! warranted. I am not per-| suaded that there is no room ' for the opinion of the major-!; ity of the committee. I “In other words. I am not

persuaded that their exercise of the statutory discretion was wrong.” said ‘his Honour.