CITY HOTELS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2801, 20 June 1916, Page 9

CITY HOTELS

LICENSES ADJOURNED COMMITTEE TAKES A FIRM STAND t Tile adjourned meeting of th& Licensing' Committee opened at the Magistrate's, Court yesterday morning, -when Mr. W. Or. Riddell, 5.11., presided, and witli him on the Bench were Mesa's. R. Fletcher. &. Tiller, J. Smith, W. J. Hclyer, and C. J. Petherick. The committee heard evidence affecting the oonduct of the New Zealander - and the Imperial Hotels at its previous sitting, and its decisions ' respecting the renewal of licenses to these premises was then deferred. Mr. T. Young appeared for Elizabeth jVI. Davey, who had applied tor the renewal of tho license to the New Zealander Hotel. Mr. Young also appeared for Thomas M'Guire, licensee of the Imperial Hotel, and supported tho application for a renewal. The New Zealander Hotel. Tho chairman said the committee was not altogether satisfied with the conduct, of this house. They had, however, taken* into consideration that tho licensee had employed a manager, Mr. J. W. Speight, to conduct the place properly, and the committee was prepared to give the licensee with the new manager an opportunity of -showing what they could' do. The committee had decided to adjourn I the application to- tho next quarterly meeting, and if the manager and lioensee showed that they were oapable of conducting their house in a manner characteristic, of tho majority of the Wellington hotels, the committee would then reconsider the. matter: It remained with tho lioensee and her manager to convince the police that their conduct of the house wan-anted the. license being granted. Mr. T. Young: If tho application is adjourned for three months, it would jeopaidiso tho owners interest, for. if the license were refused at the next ! quarterly sitting, the owner would be placed at a disadvantage in getting a new license. He suggested that the license should.bo granted subject to the police being satisfied that the house was properly conducted during the next, three months. The moral ettect would be tho same: the licensee and the manager would be on their best behaviour. Mr. W. A. Blair, who appeared fertile owner, supported Mr. Young's view. Tho convmiteee could grant the license subject to a condition, that the licensee must sell out if a renewal of . license was to be expected; or the committee could determine that the renewal would not be gi«uitcd to tho licensee, but in order to give owners an opportunity to find a new licensee the committee could grant the application subject to a trans-1 ler being, ohected within- a given period, as in the case of the Albion Hotel. Inspector' Hendrey said he would not like to urge a course that would jeopardise the owner's interest in any way Mr. lliddell: The difficulty will bo got over if this application is adjourned for three months, if at the end of that time the report of the police is unfavourable, thon tho renewal would be refused; but m order to safeguard the interests of the owner the Bench would bo prepared to adjourn the application, for another month. "

Mr. Blair: Th« Court has not ppwer to adjourn the annual meeting for more'than thirty days. ■

Mr. Riddell: I will put it tEis way: Tile license will only .-be renewed on condition that it is transferred within thirty days after next session if the police report is not satisfactory. Counsel thought there were legal difficulties in this course also, and the Bench said: "The license would be renewed if a transfer wero effected within on© month." The Imperial Hotel, . y In giving the. committee's decision in th© matter of the renewal of the license to the Imperii)! Hotel, Mr. Riddell said the committee was not satisfied that the application - for a renewal to the present licensee should be granted. The evidence showed that the house had been conducted at times in an improper manner. • After considering the whole of the evidence, the Bench had oome to the conclusion thijt the license could not bo renewed to the present holder. The application will be adjourned till tho nest quarterly meeting, on condition that the present holder transfers his license within 21 days. Mr. T. Young, on behalf of the licensee, applied for six weeks, as buyers wero not readily obtainable, but the Bench was immovable on the time limit for the transfer to bo effected. ' The National Hotel. Mr. Riddell did not consider it necessary to call evidence in support of the application for a renewal* of a license made by Mr. T. Young on behalf of P. Hilton. The Bench drew, attention to the rase against'tlie licensee in which he was fined'.£s.. As it was the only case of the kind ever brought against him, however, and the reports of the' police were otherwise satisfactory, the Bench was not disposed to stress the case to the .cancellation of .the license. He pointed out the seriousness of the risk this and other licensees ran in permitting any misconduct on their' premises to occur, and after a further warning to the licensee of the National Hotel, Mr. liiddell said the committee had agreed that a renewal of the license would 'be granted. The Thistle Inn. Mr. T. Young, who appeared in support of the application for'a renewal of the license to Mr. W. Hannifin, for the Thistle lun, said there wero no convictions Of any kind agains.tthe licensee. It was near tho station, and the last houso of call, and had a rough, class' of customers. Tho licensee had difficulty, too, in controlling soldiers, who . frequently practically took possession of the place. He had objected to the military police demanding admittance after hours, and that might account for the complaint of the civil police that there was often delay ■in their being admitted' after hours. But there was nothing against the licensee.

Inspector Hondrey said the police bad made inspections of the house, and declared that it was dirty and ill-kept. The yard was, on the occasion of their visit, lilthy, the bedclothes wero unclean, and tho sanitary arrangements bad. Sergeant O'Halloran in evidence stated that the scullery had a foul smell. When he went there the night previously he could not get admission promptly, and he heard the porter calling, "Here's the police:" some time before ho gained admittance.

To Mr, Yonng: "Wlicn he entered he found .Jlr. and Mrs. Hannifin in. the bar, and some men as well in a more or less iutoxioated condition. No breaches of the Licensing Act had been committed by Hannifin. He did not report the finding of men in tho bar, and he could not say why. If ho thought he had a case against Hannifin lie would have brought it.

Sub-Inspector "W. H. Mackinnon, in his evidence, stated that on tours of inspection ho had visited the Thistlo Inn on May 4 and 5, again early in June, and he described the placo as insanitary. Tho house was not in a fit condition to tuko in. guests. To Mr. Young: Tho house would be difficult to keep clean. He did not. particularise anything to the Hannifins on his first visit. Ho mentioned the yard end sanitary arrangements on the second occasion, and pointed out that two bed-, rooms wanted doing up. Constablo Cattaiiach, Sergeant Lewin, and Constable M'Kinley supported Inspector Heudvey's case. Mr. Young submitted that as there was nothing against tho licensee, thcro was no necessity to call. evidence. ■ The Bench decided to liear the other side. Win. Hannifin said he had been licensee of tho Thistle Inn for two years. The police. made no complaints to him when visiting tho first time. He had difficulty with the military "police after hohrs, and ho wrote to Colonel Gibbon about them. Ho gavo them no admittance after hours. "Hero's the police," might be said. and heard by the civil police when the military were intended. He always readily admitted the civil polico at any hour. He took notice of what Inspector Mackinnon had said, and

had all ho required in improvements, in cleaning up, and in painting attended to.

Harry Hull, painter, was employed by Mr. Hannifin, he said, to carry out the papering of bedrooms and repainting various inside parts of the hotel. His work had been done to comply with the police requirements. Oliver Mewhinucy, Civil Servant, said he had been frequently in the diningroom. It- was clean, and the bedrooms were beyond reproach. C. Eggie, Corporation Inspector of Nuisances, said ho visited the Thistle Inn in the ordinary course of his round, and found nothing objectionable or insanitary.

George Johnston, a railwav employee said he patronised the Thistle Inn, and if lie thought it was not a clean place to go to he would not go there. Mrs. Hannifin said she looked after the house herself, and repudiated the idea of tho policc that her housekeeping cf or that the bedrooms were not fit for the reoeption of guests. _ On resuming. after the luncheon adjournment, the Bench decided to adjourn the application for three months, during which time tho licensee would have an opportunity to satisfy tho police and the committee that the place is clean and well-conducted.

Central Hotel. Whiteford, for whom Mr. 0. -N. Beere appeared, applied for a renewal of the license for the CentralHotel.

Inspector Hendrey said the chief complaint was that there were only three bedrooms in this hotel available for the traveling public, ajid that the statute stwulated for six bedrooms. Sub-Inspector Mackinnon said he went over the house with tho licensee, and found a good deal, of dust and dirt in the vicinity, of the store-room downstairs; while in the bar, which bore ondences of most care, ho drew the licensees attention to a number of cobwebs. In addition to three bedrooms available for the public there was also a. small sitting-room. Mr. Beere said that the new licensee/ .Mr. Macdonald, recently from Christ-' church, had requested the present licensee not to do any papering, which work Mr. Macdonald would like'to carry-out himself. '.The. new licensee-did -not intend to have any of the staff living on the premises, and that would provide the necessary accommodation for the public; This, in- fact, had already 'been done.

Inspector Hendrey reported that there were four bedrooms, two sitting-rooms, and one dining-room;' and theso were available for the public. _Mr. Blair, for the owners, submitted that that was adequate. Mr. Beere stated, that .at least ~-6100 would bo, spent in effecting repairs that wero necessary in the course of the next two months.

The Bench decided to adjourn the mattcr for ton days, to allow of cortain rooms to .be renovated and the adequate number of rooms required by statute'to be provided for specifically. Mr. Riddell- pointed out that the statute required sis rooms for the use of the public over and above those required for tho proprietor and his staff.

On the application of Mr. Beere, the Bench granted 10 o'clock closing to all licensees, and the usual' provision as to lights was reaffirmed.