The Motueka Star PUBLISHED TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS. "Te Oranga Moti Iwi." FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1901.

Motueka Star, Volume I, Issue 34, 6 December 1901, Page 2

The Motueka Star PUBLISHED TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS. "Te Oranga Moti Iwi." FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1901.

The quarterly meeting' of the Licensing Committee, held on Tuesday last was, to a great extent, a farce. The business consisted of the consideration of one application for the transfer of a License, the inspection of plans for new houses and the -reading over of the quarterly reports of the police. To do this work in accordance -with the provisions of the Act-, the Clerk had to call together the Committee, and they came in full force from Nelson, Wakefield, Motiipiko, Takaka and Colling - wood, necessitating a considerable loss of time to themselves and the expenditure of the ratepayers money. The whole of the business was transacted in less than one hour. The same thing occurs four times during the year. There is absolutely no occasion for it. The Act requires amending in this direction. Let the Committee elected by the people meet once a to consider applications for wholesale and retail licenses, enquire into the conduct of the houses and see that the public safety is attended to. If applications for transfer crop up during the year surely the Stipendary Magistrate, with the assistance of the police, could sanction them.-, The present mode of procedure costs 'money which conies out of the pockets of the ratepayer, who receives no adequate return therefrom. Even under" present conditions Committees do not attend to their duties as they should 1 do, as witness the late fife at WellingI ton, through which the man Crawford lost his life. It was elicited at the

inquest that'the Superintendent of the Wellington Fire Brigade some time ago drew attention to the state of the Oriental Hotel.: Instead of seeing that his suggestions were carried out the Committee took no action, possibly from a. fear of.offending the almighty brewer r the- owner of the house.