PUBLIC MEETING.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 75, 17 September 1879, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING.

A public meeting was held m the Town Hall, Palmerston, on Saturday evening, for the purpose of . sympathising with Mr.; Schultze, and to take sOmb steps tp indue* the Licensing Bench at Foxton tp gran a license for. thpi Awahuri Hpte.l. , The t-hanv was taken by his Warship the Mayor, and although the attendance was.not numerous, ■che principal representative men of the district were present, and warmly supported the resolutions and applauded the various Speaker?/ "'• In pn'ening the proceedings, the Chairmari said' that perhaps the reason why the. meeting was ridfc mbre nmnerously attended was; on account of its; being Saturday even-ing-still he was ple-ised .to .see that those, •present were: ;pf the , particular; class \vho> interests and (Millings; gayp their vpir-es 'aiid: vites a cortsiclerihle weight uppn such an pccasiph. Jurlging from the gathering thp3e who had attended had done so because they had- felt it their duty m the fir t place to protest against a gross mj notice V ■"»-■ ' - • _■■'-■ ;;.>.' - * '":•'■■'.

upon a member of the Community ; and also that the action of the Licensing Bench m closing up:.the Awahilri Hotel was a very great upon the travelling public.' .His own persqhal view of the matter was .-." that' Mr. Schultze had been treated m * most unfair— -he "wodtd say, tyrannical — : manner. As far back as six or seven years ; agojit wa's fully recognised that a necessity etisted for^a licensed house m the locality, audit was perFectly absurd to argue that i now, when Feilding bad sprung into exist* "ence and increased the traffic of travellers and stock along the road, that necessity bad ceased. A great deal had been said about the evils resulting .from hotels, Bui *his own* :.Qpinion,waß .that they were purely mythical i and imaginary. Of course' "he' alluded to : hotels— siieh -as the house kept by; Mr.;--Schultze^ was acknowledged tor- be— not-, drinki'ng4ho r p^.-'-7lt was all'very -well to ad-"' , vocate. the establishment of Temperance Ho« tels, but those... who had considered the question had been 'forced to admit that/Jhary proprietors of- such establishments would ; ;• be'totally unable to provide the same- table;, pr give equal accommodation to travellers' 'from 'the profits 'arising fppm hoarders alone. i Mr. Schultze had always kept a most orderly house ; the laW ' had v compelled him tb-em* bark his whole capital m the erection of a house which was a credit to the district, and by thVarbitasary action of » majority of the Commissioners: his.- vested interest 'had ■ been ruthlessly swept away, and- unless the. license were, regranted his prospects were" irretrieyahly ' suinad, ; r . .Those present khewi too well the position of Mr; Schultze's- - hotel with regard tp the "distance from other accommodation, and consequently it. was not necessary for him to dwell upon that point. Most present, had • travelled along the road, either on the way to Sanson . . or Feilding, and could not only bear testi^- "' iriony — as he could— to the.' veff excellent inanner-ih which the house was conducted, but: also hovtf. very acqep.tab.le a glass of hob liquor, was after, an eight miles' drive upon a! wet or; cold dayy jje might, say that, he; * ; heartily sympathised "with Mr. Schultze m the very- unjust arid/ arbitrary, manner in.' which he had been treated, and he felt com- : lo'dgfei his .earnest protest against the plea upon, which' the license had been refused— the want of necessity. He thought" tlie matter one, upon which eyery member^ of the cbmmuhityshpuld take action— both :. ! viptpTi public and pergonal- grounds^pubiu-y . hopaas;«t'o*ae.of tlio. residents of the district was most unfairly treated ; and "personally,; because the closing, of the house would prove a serious inconvenience to each on*,, travelling the road. In" conclusion, ha, might say that he. by no means endorsed the .ideas; held; by some with 'regard to hotel- *"■ ikeeperirf-he would not call them publicans.*-: "It had been the customs with some to argue ?tnat the members-of that body were all that was badTj-the loeustsof society, and similar^ e^pressions-^b'ut'his" experience of thejclass. had been somewhat different. Hewas' aware 'that tK*eywerene)t only compelled* '• i to contribute largelyito the revenue, but m; their voluntary contributions, if not ahead," tli ey were riot certainly' behind the " rest oftlie community, giving: liberally not only to\ the various amusements, but to the many wants of -th&'needyiand r the; "poor.- J The fol-lowing-petition had been placed before him, whicli -he would read, *a^hd he trusted' each* one at the close of the meeting would gor forward and sign it. It was to the following". ' ' ," : ;. *•.;'•"*. r :\C^V*..-v-..\ v ; 'VTo *rHB LioE»siir<j. Bench at S"ox- v :':,.;; Tax-— "'"■ \ : ' : 'y'". : '.- : ;' "y '"•''-.." "We, .the "undersigned •residents of Awa* hurl,.* Palmerston, Fettdirig, ". Halcoriibe,. Foxton, Sandon, 'and Bulls, would mostf respectf idly pe^tition^ your 'honorable .body tev "re tli^ application^ fer a license for the iHotel. '-'A». members of the. travelling public,' we sub..* mit that a licensed house afc Awahuri is a necessity,. being as it is.tl.e half-way bous» v between Jgalnierstor, feilding and r Sfihsbn. v W e wquld respectfully direct your atten-" tionito the f»ct tibat thejro, , has never been the slightest complaint lodged against ;fche_ houso; that the license only lapsed through'" a clerical error ; , and that on the day of* licensing, when the omission: was discovered, Mr. Schultze was distinctly informed by the^ Bench that when the formal course had; been complied Vfith the license would be; TJstoveC ," ';"'.'. -' :" ;-'■"'•'- . Mr. M'jN"ei*d said that he was present that evening to express his heartiest sympathy with Mr. Schultze, as he cc risidf re Ithat fche*r manner m which that gentleman had been^ treated had been the most gross piece of injustice, which had ever been perpetrated m, the district. Penhap3' there was not one m the room so competent to speafc Unon.the^ subject, or, to esxpressan opiiiion- as- to the. absolute necessity for a- licensed house at Awahuri, as he (Mr. M'Neil) '= was. He had. ■ travelled along tho Rangitikei road to Bulls long before, -"/here was an hotel at Awahuri, or the township of Sanson was thought of," and those who hael the same experience^ would remember what used to take .-'-placer then. Every third -Maori whare was a grog-shanty, and as the, traveller rode along' the road he was regularly rushed by dnsky. applicants toutingrfor, patronage. Then it was considered, a great feat to make tha w journey from Palmerstpn to Awahuri and. back m a day, while a trip from the same v place to Bulls' was not to be done uncler w Jwelve hours, and consequently traveller* were either compelled to ; take something m", their pockets or go hnugry. - To remedye : that' state of affairs Mi-V Schultze applied for;, and obtained a bush licanse foy. a whare on the left hand side of the road, the lease ofj-'-the: land- being held from the Maoris. This was m the days of Provincialism, and when^ Mr. Bunny -went along that way he considered the accommodation npt sufficient for. the wants of the travelling public, and Mr. Schultze was co.mpe.lled to erect more commodious premises, pu.' the 'other side of the^ road. In the mean time- the license hadj been.taken away,: and, as was -well known, as the licenses under the Provincial Govern-' ment were enly issued once a year, Mr. Schultze was compelled to wait four months £>r the pi-ope^ day to arrive before \-\ obtained the desired permission. . That addition cost him JB^OO, but after; a little time even -that acconunodavion ywas considered inadequate, anelln order to obtain a .renewal of the licensei Mr. Schultze wae.' necessitated to purphaso from tbe< MaorLn/ the land whereon his present building was^ erected, and to borrpw heavily to piifc up a" house to suit the commands of- the Licensing Bench. That had been- open for about eighteen months, had been admirably conducted, had entirely done away with fcbe^ sly-grog selling which bad so. largely prevailed before, was, a widely-admitted conven.'enee to the travelling public, and now. after the man's all had been sunk' "m the v property the renewal of, the lie-ensehad been refused upon the ahsurdl plea t* a thehouse was not necessary. He,, kn^ of "no class, who were so eomplethly' at ihe" mercy of, it* might be an Unjajst fowj as hbtelkeepers ; and he should say that lie : thought there was something radically wrong with a system which placed suoh abilrary,. pb -.ers m the^ hands of perhaps a few interested persons — nieri who m the nnmoring of some nobby or. the hidiugence of a favorite fad* bad it m their power to rob their neighbors of their very hread and butter. He. held yerj strong opinions' up m that question; and he certainly was of oji .ion that so .long as tho licensing laws were a -mm stereo after the present fashion the greatest care should be s taken by. the Groyer nment toVele.vate to the* position of Comnu^sionors none but ge^tl^

men of knownainpartialifcy.j _He T wbuld not allude to the very bad taste of those who held biaised ideas or warped opinions accepting positions which they vrere-perfectly aware they discharge with justice, eqjpuXf'or fair play/ He' would then read the ".fife^ resolution, *'with' tW spirit of which he most! b^^ilially agreed— "That this meeting is of opinidh-' tlikit' there is a necessitytfor^ , licensed hpuse at-, Awahuri, situatia m we J town«bi]p' l is— *&ight miles from?*?a.lniersto!l, sevftn^^nlfg from Sanson, anei-nflajiitf, *fLye { miles frpm^Feilding, and would K«j^-jpt^jlly o W,9Ahe J^'icensing Commission-fra^jrecon^ider their recently" 1 delivered deoision. ' - ' •*"*■ '* „ I. Mr, Pibbs E. Wabbuexon* *saicl lie bad very great pleasure m seconding the resolution. His_kn6wl6dge of the_-tuatter. liad been from what- had been gleaned from , the newspaper, and from' that Tie had learned that the only reason why Mr. Schultze had 1 " not receivedi hisHicehse'ithree' months ago r ' was on*atcount of that there had been any complaint, against the house, or that jts necessity had, not been then recognuid^Se' , lhougH_ 1 ' J if hotelkeepers did^not comply with the provisions of the Act aa £qWardin**,t]ieir appji(*atipns m proper time, the bettferAray would be to inflict a fine f or j everyday > i de'ay,. That, would be far more j'udicfous tnaii m shutting up the house, and inflicting the, punishment upon tbe public (hear, hear) jI He certainly pould not aff-jr jbjiej jjujticp of /refusing the license because it was alloged J *£hat a" nuiu : ber of Maoris— be ,th^v great or .small—; wi-hed th§h"dd£e7cltSeal "HieVremedy' -for the evil as far as they were concerned lay m their own hands-^ir'^hey-tfid'h-e/t iwahy'tb use the hotel, let them stop__away, but it was rather too much to argue that because they would "rib^^adt^ those who -Wished ti>j use the house for the purpose.: of ment should be debarred from so doing. The case bad twoicpliosea, or rather ifc-^o; hardghipgr^the^Jlrsfc, „and . nb^doubt by. far. the greatest ...hardship, was that inflicted upon Mrs^ch-alt2e, upon-^who-m the'closing^ of the house would inflict an irreparable injury j and_ next upoh r tbe ; trarelling-- public) jEven Buppo^h^;pi©bj_sl3id'nP.t.irequir^ thPi meals, it was very pleasing to that one could, get a.glass of beer upon the road. He h'eartifly 'sec6n'd*e'd !: the resolution so ably moved by Mr. MySeili^. ,-\ lu^h-j-aU: i.-ji.-; Mr. MjVOXIB said that before the resolution was"ptftj"iie- would* like to v say a few words *uVi*Buppor^pfi. it.-pHis^ivocafeio^n eas butcher and* dealer' iii 'stock,. a§/wdiild 'be admitted caused him to be' T freey upon 'the roads, and it w.as;with'.-v.ery great, pleasure that 'he bore testimony.not only to the -necessity for a .licenßed house .at, Awahuri, but particularly' *-tb l^^thfe -very -aeiaiirabiei: ■maimer m which the hQflse^h« I .d , been con-, ducted. -He; had visited' 'by ''day "and by night ? and at all fimes .found plenty of good for L man- ahef -beas-t.' J HeY could view the refusal of the license as a sad mistake, which.-wouidinflicta .grievous inconvenience upon persons, .who like himself, was cont-ijiua^yj.pn^ the., , road, ■wi.tji uajtock.;' ; Theresolutibh hadjhisym^ and he trusted that andj'the^petitibh would liave the. i desired- effect with the .Liconsine ■ Bench.-' y^-^y' '.-•> 'y y/- "¥ : The resolution was theuput, and carried unanimously. \-'---y&£-.n.if ■•:■<.., J. '-'..lr.:': Mr. hfehad-beeniaway; • from town'for 'some days; and; had merely. seen fhe paper.la-t^in the. evening ; cons.et . quently wheli-i'e'-awenaga* the; meeting J he did so be^catiae. he felfc* boSnd m duty' to exhibit his sympatliy'^itK' its' '•object. (^A9 ie 4*d not think helVould;bay e been called npbn to^*r«**p"art^a the.*pTOceMipgß-,i hfe'-wa^ not prepared itoiSay^mu^^ f qrtu*- ; patel; the jesolutibn^pdt into his hands <did not requijp much; r eldquence. He ; thought there was no: class more, persecuted .thjin , pnbljcans j. .and^nq ... .class /qoptributqd so - |argely cduntify. Publicans Vfjere restricted as., to how they .shouldlmUd.'they were restricted as to theyr^eejmmodafciqn,^, ,also t ;.a,s ; tQ- the. conduct of their "houses, while at' the same " time they were liable to b-efsubjected to a -number of harra^sing intrusions pnd annoyances from, which tlie'rest of the cqhimiihity •yere.tp'^lly'free.'- The 5 'case; tinder cohsidera-' tion he thought a par'ticular.ly hard one, and' he thought that, the Bench of Commissioners "from >li wh / 6nde' siieih a 'decision emanated required v<|ry substantial alteratio"n^ The -resolution whicb.>had>'been, placed m his hands read as follows :—- ----"That;the/ Chairman of this meeting be requested to forward the foregoing resblutiOn: together w'th the i pebition -just rejad, to the Cliairman of the liicensing Bench iwithou-ji delays* -r" Mr.^^THqi^iUi l^io-HT.brie^y seconded the motion, which 1 was carried unanimously. * , ThqrOk^&fe^^^ to the petition, when'-every* person m- the -room went np.dn the ; platform arid-sign'edHt, jnd a "vote of thanks to the Chairmah •terminated tljo proceedings.; ] \ ,