Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 1895. Usurped Authority.

Manawatu Herald, 5 March 1895, Page 2

Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 1895. Usurped Authority.

A careless use of power leads to most unpleasant consequencies. The Clerk to the Otaki Licensing Meeting addressed letters to the members of the Committee informing them that the " Magistrate " had instructed him to adjourn the meeting that should have been held to-day until another date, the 14tb March, as the *' Crown Prosecutor " was unable to be present I We are naturally surprised to find that anyone Bhould suppose a Magistrate and a Crown Prosecutor has anything to do with a Licensing Committee, of course until they have done something they should not have done. The chief of the Committee io the Chairman, who is only chairman when attend* ing the meeting, as subsection 19 of section 7 of the Act of 1893 clearly shows — At everjr meeting of the Licensing Committee, the aforesaid Resident Magistrate, if present, shall be Chairman (hereof, and in the event of his absence the members of the Licensing Committee shall elect one of their number to be Chairman thereof. It is plain that only " if present " the Magistrate is Chairman of the Committee ; thus when absent, or there is no meeting, there is no Chairman of the Committee. The orders issued by the " Magistrate "

to the Clerk of the Licensing Committee are therefore of no value he j having no authority. The Committee under the 1898 Act were ordered to hold their first quarterly licensing meeting occurring after their election and for a guide for the conduct of their business they have to rely upon the provisions contained in "The Licensing Act 1881." Therein it Is stated If any cause shall prevent a tjtidtuffl of the Licensing Committee being present at any licensing meeting on the day advertised, or at any adjournment of a meeting on the appointed day, the said meeting or adjournment shall si and adjourned from day to day umil a quorum can be present to hold such meeting. It iB thus clearly shown that any adjournment can only be made " on the appointed day of meeting " or from lapse of a quorum the meeting can only be adjourned from day to day. Section 43 recites how an adjournment may be agreed to, viz. " at the discretion of the Comn mittee holding the same," and anyother way of securing an adjournment must be illegal being secured by usurpation of powers not held by any member of the Committee. We have no hesitation in asserting that the Magistrate, acting in the wrong belief that he was always chairman, had no power to give any instructions to cbe Clerk of the Licensing Committee, and any attempt to put matters on a better footing by the Clerk " day to day " adjourning the meeting will be useless as the members of the Committee were illegally warned from attending at the fixed date of meeting. The trouble may be even greater yet, as to-day (we know not) five members, the legal quorum may have presented themselves at the meeting and claimed their undoubted right to hold the meeting and determine the business in hand. If they have had such business acuteness this is what they would have done, and thus to save certain persons trouble and expense, the Magistrate may have caused a great deal more trouble and cosjs to others. If a quorum met, the license from Manakau will have been removed to Levin aa members and the Crown Prosecutor and those oppo-ing the transfer have been warned not to attend. We trust the applicant and his friends have not taken this view of their rights, as we do not know how such action could be upset. ! That such a risk has been run is not complimentary to those answerable for it. There is also the other view, equally unfair, though in this case the applicant would be the sufferer. If the adjournment is illegal, and of that we have no doubt, the meeting which is fixed for the 14th, must be illegal, and the question arises when another meeting can be legally held. The Acts give the starting point, (the dates of the quarterly meetings as fixed by the Returning Officei) and the Acts permit from any quarterly meeting adjournments to be made " day to day " or to a fixed time, but if from any cause these arrangements break down, as they manifestly have in this instance, then we believo there can be no | further meeting of the Licensing Committee until the next quarterly meeting, which will also be the annual meeting, in June next. The risk is thu*, as we write, twofold : The opponents to the removal of the license to Levin may find it granted without even the appearance of opposition ; or the applicant may find that his cherished wish has to be postponed for a further period of three months. The Committee may be to blame, but there are others who are much more to blame.