Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, SEPT. 8. 1896. Otaki Licensing Committee.

Manawatu Herald, 8 September 1896, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, SEPT. 8. 1896. Otaki Licensing Committee.

From time to tim 3 we have had, in the public interest, to make some severe remarks about the manner the Otaki Licensing Committee con* ducted their meetings. We have attended many meetings of public bodies, and have had a fair experience in the way such meetings are conducted, and, we regret to have to say it, the Otaki Licensing Coin* mittee has been the worse conducted of any, and the members have shown but little appreciation of the respon* eibilities attaching to their position. In support of this opinion we have to quote the remarks made by the Chairman, in open Court, at the end of the last meeting, which were duly reported in the Otaki Mail, which are a.3 follows :—" The Chairman mentioned that at almost every meeting of this Committee there were applicants who, in some form or other, did not comply with the Act in taking the necessary steps preparatory to their applications being heard. In some eases notices had not been properly inserted in newspapers ; in others the necessary documents had not been lodged with the Clerk, and so on. The Committee could not tolerate such negligence, as such informalities were accumulating to such an extent that it was hard to say where it would stop, unless the Committee "drew the line." Future applicants not fully complying with the Act might ba surprised by a refusal of their applications." Standing alone this statement is an acknowledgement that the requirements of the Act have been ignored by the Committee, and the concluding portion is merely ft reiteration of the Committee's neg ligence. It may very pertinently be asked if the Chairman means what he said, and we thoroughly believe he did, how it was be permitted so much laxness to creep in, and the applicants to' obtain a grant to their applications when the Act was not fully complied with ? We are unable to reply, but imagine Mr Stanford would say that he was'outvoted. It will be a most unfortunate thing if any dispute arises as to what has taken place at the Committee meetings as no minutes have been kept, and therefore no record of resolutions or amendments or the voting upon them. This omission of the Clerk was brought under notice of the Chairman and Committee more than once by one of the members, but ignored, the anxiety of the members having been exhibited more in getting their own way than in properly administering the Aot. The result, this strong rebuke by the Chairman, for er&n the committeemen must see that whilst blaming the trade for laxity, the Chairman calls down condemnation on those anawerable for this laxity. We say we uphold the Chairman in his remarks, and hold that he could have made them stronger, as will be seen from the following instances : — At the last meeting it seemed fit to the Otaki Licensing Committee to grant a transfer of the Albion Hotel, Shannon, from A. Keith to August Hoffman, though the Aot had not been complied with ! The ordinary proceedure in such cases, is for the licensee to apply to the Chairman and two members of the Licensing Committee for a temporary transfer which section 90 of the Act says shall enable the licensee to carry on

the business until the next quarterly meeting. Section 88 of the Act directs the holder of any license desiring to transfer his license to give notice of his intended application " in the same manner as notice is required to* be given of an application for a license,'* which is asiollows i— " Every person who shall desire to obtain a license under this Act. * .

at least 21 days before he shall mate his application shall deliver to the Clerk of the Licensing Committee. . . . and not later than aforesaid affix on thu outer side or front of the principal front door. . > . and publish on three consecutive days in a newspaper circulating in the place. . . » a notice in Writing signed by such applicant setting forth the applicant's name, abode, addition, and such desire." Now all that was done in the Albion Hotel case was merely the placing on the door of the hotel the notice of the temporary transfer, but no notice as above was placed on the building, and jio notice was given to the Clerk of the Committee! Yet the Committee granted the transfer* We have in this town the position of the £ost Office Hotel, which has been one of the wonders of the time. The late licensee got into difficulties and the house remained without a bite or sup for travellers for nearly two months. The late licensee became bankrupt and left) and bailiffs were in charge of the premises, but as there wa3 no liquor to sell no application was made by anyone for a temporary transfer. The property of the license became the property of the D.O. Assignee, bub the application for a transfer was made out in the name of the bankrupt by his attorney. It may be a matter of law, but to a lay jnind it appears curious that a bankrupt should possess property by his attorney. Put* ling this ticklish position on one side the licensee failed to carry out that which he was licensed to do, that is, to provide meat and drink to travellers, not for a day or two, but for two months, and yet the Committee thought it should be transferred, and thus practically renewed. Section 135 of the Act is very authoritative, as it declares, " If any innkeeper shall permit any person to manage, superintend, or conduct the business of his licensed premises during his absence for a longer period than fourteen days in any one year without the previous consent in writing of two members of the Licensing Committee, or shall whether present in such premises or not, permit any unlicensed person to be in effect the keeper thereof, or shall fail to maintain such premises and the accommodation thereof at the standard hereby required, or if the license in respect of such premises was granted prior to the commentement of this Act at the standard heretofore required, or shall allow such premises to become ruinous or dilapidated be shall be liable to forfeit his license." From these cases it is evident considerable laxity has been shown, and others of a like nature could be quoted, and it is a pity the lina was not drawn a little earlier in the existence of this Committee.