MEETING OF THE LICENSING BENCH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5139, 12 September 1877, Page 3

MEETING OF THE LICENSING BENCH.

Tuesday, September 11. (Before H. S. Wardell (chairman), Major Paul, and .7. Moore, Esqs., Licensing Commissioners.) The Commissioners sat at noon for the purpose of hearing applications for and transfers of publicans’, licenses. DEPUTATION. A deputation, consisting of the Ven. Archdeacon Stock, tho Revs. Paterson, West, Ogg,Reid, and Coffey, and Messrs. Holdsworth and Powles, waited upon the Commissioners to present the following petition : “To the Chairman and members of the Licensing Court, Wellington District.—Gentlemen, —We, the undersigned residents in the

i- city of Wellington, being strongly impre-sed ? ■with the evils resulting from the immoderate e use of intoxicating drink, and believing that any 1 addition to the already large number of licensed B houses would increase the vice of drunkenness, respectfully urge that no new licenses should f at the present time he granted for the sale of 1 intoxicating drink within the boundaries of > your district.” 1 The petition was signed by,269B.adult resi- > dents in Wellington. The Chairman asked if this petition had I been forwarded to the Clerk of: the Court, in accordance with the terms of the Act ? ; , Mr. Baker said it, had not. The Chairman said he did not think it could be received.. Archdeacon Stock said that the petitioners and the deputation believed that it could he received. They ’ claimed that the Licensing Commissioners had power under the 31st clause of the Act of 1874- to take notice 1 of any matter which ‘ would be an objection to the granting of a license whether notice of the objection had been given or not. He further observed that the Act provided that the Court could receive evidence which might not he strictly legal, and that at all events this petition was strong moral evidence of the feeling of the community. ■ ■ The Chairman said the question was not as to evidence, but as to whether the memorial could be received or not.- The 29th section required that any objection should come in the form of a memorial as provided'by the 23d and 24th sections of the Act of 1873. The Archdeacon and the Rev. Mr. Paterson asked what was meant by the words in the 31st section, the Court “may of‘its own motion,” &c. The Chairman said he understood it as enabling the Court, when , acting from information that may have come into their hands, which, in their opinion would amount to an objection to the granting of a license, to take notice of . such objection, and to adjourn for fourteen days to give notice to the applicant, so that if it turned! out that a valid objection existed it mighthe dealt with, although the notice required by ? the Act had not been given. As regarded this petition, its being offered so. numepusly signed would have an effect on the minds of the Court, even if they were unable to receive it. He did not think the clause upon which the petitioners relied, gave the Court power to receive the petition. After consulting, with his colleagues, the i Chairman announced that they differed from ( him, and were of opinion that the petition could be received, and therefore it would be ] received.

The deputation thanked the Benoh for their courtesy, and were about to retire, when the Chairman remarked that some observations. in the report of the Inspector of Police might be of interest to them .' In the report, the distance of the public-houses in Wellington from each other was stated, and he certainly was surprised at the state of things revealed. Several of the houses were within a very few yards of each other, in some cases next door to one another, and in very few cases far apart. APPLICATIONS. : The following applications were then dealt with ; An application by Mr. Charles Moody for a license for the Tramway Hotel, Adelaide-road, was withdrawn on the application Of Mr. Fits Gerald, for Mr. Moody. < John Pestridge’s application for a license for the Worcester Hotel, near the Railwaystation, was also withdrawn. Applications for extension of time from 10 to 12 o'clock for the Royal Oak Hotel and the Albion Hotel were withdrawn. The following transfers were granted without opposition , From S. Cemino to Adolph Brown, Wellington Hotel. ' From the trustees of M. Kennedy to ,G. Milner, Kennedy’s Hotel. From J. Bertie to S. Dawson, White Swan Hotel. From Mary Power to H. Bennett, Commercial Hotel. From William Blackey to Allan Oarmoht, Horokiwi Hotel. .......