The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1882.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3577, 28 December 1882, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1882.

The Chamber of Commerce of Wellington, at its last meeting, on the motion of Mr J. R. George, passed the following resolution:—" That it is desirable that tbe attention of the Government be called at once to the present state of the Licensing Act, and the administration of the same, more particularly the large power placed in the hands of local policemen." Although we in Napier have no reason to complain at any undue interference of the police in the matter of carrying out the Licensing Act, it cannot be denied that the question raised by the above resolution is of public importance. Mr J. R. George, in addressing the meeting, said a large amount was invested in hotel property in the colony, and the amount paid to the State in duties to carry on the busines- was, he thought, sufficient justification for calling attention to the working of the Licensing Act. In Wellington city alone there were be-

.. .. i* tween fifty and sixty hotels, and the coat of had and buildings alone of these hotels would probably exceed £250,000, taking the average cost of each at from £4500 to £5000. The first difficulty that now occurred to hotel-keepers or licensed victuallers was in obtaining a license. Each particular licensing com- . mitteee was sure to possess members with a fad. In one place they would see that lamps must be kept burning all night and not disturbed. This was not considered necessary. Some member of the committee was greatly afraid of fire rick, and hotels were all compelled in this district to erect outside stairs for convenience of access to or from the ground. Paperiog of certain rooms did not meet with the approval of a committee, and another had a cellar that was damp, and this must be corrected. Another must have more bedrooms erected or an airing room ventilated, and various other " fads" were made into a need of some forced expenditure. The hotelkeepers having succeeded with the licensing committee, the trouble commenced with the police, and once a policeman was offended the future of the licensed victualler was one of perpetual worry, and it was the business of every member of the force to bring the offender into Court on some charge or other. A large penalty wai , inflicted if spirits were sold below proof, y when it was well known that certain brands are imported as much as 80 per cent below proof. If a barmaid should inadvertently enter the bar after •■' 11 p.m. the hotelkeeper was fined. Fines' were also inflicted if cards were played<j if the piano was played, although it migHt , be in a private room; and in one instance a fine was inflicted because the landlord was found by a policeman playing a game of bagatelle in his own parlor with a (riend between eleven and twelve at night. In one case a friend of his was entering an hotel on a Sunday afternoon to book a seat by a coach leaving early the following morning, and was followed into the house by a policeman who, in a very insulting manner, demanded to know what he was doing there. The law was probably administered in accordance with the strict letter, but the effect of tbe law was to make every man who respected himself give up business, and leave it to those who were less scrupulous. The licensed victualler was a useful member of society, and contributed greatly to the comfort and convenience of the community, and more paaticularly to travellers. He was as much entitled to fair and proper treatment by the law as any member of the community. It was to be hoped, in the interests of those who travelled from home, that accommodation will never be limited to the class of entertainment provided by so-called temperance hotels. The hotels keeper, as the law was at present administered, was entirely at the mercy of every w meddling policeman who, walked the \ streets and a narrow-minded magistrate who sat upon the Bench, and who appeared to consider it to be his duty more ■ to inflict punishment than to administer justice. He thought the Licensed Victuallers deserved, in many instances, to be punished for the practice of refusing accommodation to travellers when the rooms were disengaged. Hotels were bound to provide lodging and refreshment, but the desire of many publicans was to limit refreshment to liquids alone. The spirit of tbe Licensing Act was intended to diminish drunkenness and its attendant evils, but the present administration had the effect of placing the business in the bands of unscrupulous men who had nothing to lose, and so increase the evil instead of diminishing it. Licensing committees bad, he thought, proved a failure so far; certainly districts should be made large, but a great improvement would be effected by abolishing the present system of bar trade, and compelling sitting accommodation to be provided, much in the manner ol a French cafe. He believed if bars were made large and well ventilated, with a chair and table provided for each customer, it would be a valuable improvement on the system of compelling thirsty men to stand at the coanter to drink. They could use the hotels as a means of recreation and refreshment, as is provided in the Continental cafe system. These remarks were intended to call the attention of the Chamber to the adminis- --» tration of tbe law, in the hope that the authorities "might be induced to attend more to the spirit of the law, and assist tbe licensed victuallar in the maintenance of order, in place of wasting his time and means in dragging him to Court on frivolous .and vexations charges. The supervision of tbe hotels should be confined to a higher grade off officers, who should be allowed discretion in the matter of police prosecution.