Untitled

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3246, 25 November 1881, Page 2

We pointed out the other day that though the new Licensing Act was made to come into force on the first day of Octoher last no steps had been taken to briug the law into operation by the proclamation of districts and the election of licensing commissioner?. Although the Act is thus practically a dead-lettter, we understand that the publicans have re-

ceived notifications in respect to the observance of certain clauses of the Act, and at Christchurch a licensed victualler, a Mr Stringer, was summoned under the 124 th section lor neglecting to keep a light over the door or his licensed premises. Tog New Zealand Licensed Victuallers Gazette publishes the claiue in question for the benefit of publicans who may not have seen it. It runs as follows :—"Every licensed publican shall a light affixed over the door of his licensed premises, or within twenty feet thereof, lighted during the whole of every night from sunset to sunrise during the time of his holding such license. Every person who acts in contravention of, or who fails to comply with, any provision of this section, shall forfeit and pay for each such offence a penalty not exceeding forty shillings. The Licensing Committee may, by endorsement on his license, exempt any publican from compliance with this provision ; in cases where they shall think the street or particular place where his licensed premises are situate to be otherwise sufficiently lighted." Now, from this Csays our Southern contemporary) it appears perfectly clear that every licensed person ia bound to keep a light burning every night, from sunset to sunrise, unless exempted by the Licensing Committee. As we are yet unaware of any Licensing Committee having either been formed or gazetted, we are at a loss to understand how the clause could be enforced against one without including all. Besides, it does not seem reasonable that the clause should be operative at all until there has been a Licensing Committee appointed, who, it appears, are to be the judges as to whether a lamp is required for the premises so licensed. It seems to U3 to be rather hard that in a city the publicans should be taxed trebly. First of all they have to pay for their licenses, then they are mulcted in a variety of taxes too numerous to mention ; and last, but not leaßr, they are, forsooth, to assist in lighting up the city. Surely this is coming it rather too roughly upon the gentlemen in the Boniface line.