NEW LICENSE GRANTED

Hokitika Guardian, 10 July 1920, Page 2

NEW LICENSE GRANTED

FOR WiATAROA, DISTRICT. Considerable interest was shown at the meeting of the Westland "Licensing Committee yesterday over the application of Thomas Foster for, an accommodation license at Wat&roa. Mr Mur doch counsel for applicant pointed out that he, was relying on the section in ' the Licensing -Act which had been fra«n , ed by a prominent prohibition solicitor i residing in Dunedin and it was upon i this statute that he relied to give the | Licensing Committteef 'jurisdiction to J deal with the application. He traced , the history of the legislation and refepi ring to the remarks of Mr Isitt M.P., iin the House of Representatives on | this subject recently, counsel thought | it would be better if such a complaint had been made by someone outside the party responsible for the legislation. If a remedy existed for a fancied defect in the law, surely the remedy ]ay with the legislators themselves. Hie was satisfied that the people of South Westland themselves and the travellers to and from the Wailio Glacier were better judges of the requirements of the district in the way of accommodation licenses than gentlemen like Mf Tsif r, who had never visited the locality. 'A petition signed by all the residents of” the Wataroa. district was presented together with plans in duplicate for an accommodation house containing ] I rooms. The evidence was then ;„aken of the applicant Thomas Foster, also his brother a returned soldier, who undertook to manage tho premises; also [ of Mr M. Keating, Clerk of the Grey County Council. Inspector Cruicksha-nk and Sergt. McCarthy appeared for the police. The Inspector stated that from a legal point of view he was hound by' the provisions of the Licensing Act and as this Act defined 1 the only objections which could be raised by the police to matters beyond the circumstances of the present application he was unable to offer any objection. On the bare facts lie could see no objection personally to the granting of the application, I especially seeing that at the last Licensing election the electors had expressly voted continuation of licenses existing- in Westland and this application would not increase that number. After deliberation the Committee decided unanimously to grant the application subject to the following conditions—That the house he built within six months in accordance with -the plans submitted the satisfaction of the Committee; that the applicant maintain a ford on the Waitangi river until the bridge over the river is built and open for traffic.