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THE LICENSING SYSTEM.

DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER OP JUSTICE. Yesterday a deputation, consisting of Messrs. R. J. Roxburgh, N. J. Isaacs, Fitzherbert (solicitor), T. Mill, and Finuimore, waited upon the Hon. Mr. Sheehan, at the Government Buildings, relative to the present working of the licensing law, especially with reference to the recent decisions of the Licensing Commissioners for the Wellington District.

Mr. Duncan, who introduced the gentlemen forming the deputation to the Hoc. Mr. Sheehan, said that they had waited upon him to point out that o large number of persons whom they represented felt that the present system of granting or refusing hotel licenses was most unsatisfactory, and in some cases inflicted great injustice. The practical result which the deputation trusted wou'd result from their interview with the Minister of Justice to-day was, that the Government would, during the recess, cause an inquiry to be made into the working of the present licensing system, with a view to legislative action being taken next session to amend the law as it at present exists, whereby great injustice is often committed. In Wellington, at the present time, there were houses erected of a very superior description, aud a large sum of moneys—some £IO,OOO or £20,000 —had been expended upon tl.em ; yet the magistrates who composed the Licensing Court seemed to have no knowledge of the increasing trade and commerce of the place and the necessity for hotel accommodation of a superior kind, and refused licenses without assigning any reason whatever for the course of action they had taken. They had granted a license to Mr. Plimmer’s house, no. doubt very properly, for it was a house in every way worthy of a license ; but there were others equally deserving to be licensed, which were refused. Travellers and .other visitors to Wellington suffered by this, to say nothing of the injustice done to those capitalists who laid out large sums in erecting the houses. The commissioners had been waited upon by a deputation headed by the Bishop (the Right Rev. Bishop Hadfield), praying them to grant no new licenses, and their Worships appeared to have been swayed by i them, although such action was not in a manner contemplated by the Act, aud respecting which an opinion had been expressed from the bench that such a course was irregular. The members who formed the deputation, clergymen, and others, who 1 advocated the cause of the Good Templars were, no doubt, very good men, aud acted for the best; but the deputation felt that their best course was to wait upon the Minister in order to lay before him their views that there should be an alteration in the present constitution of the Licensing Court, by adding to the number of the commissioners, or in some other way.

The Hon. Mr. Sheehan said that in the first place the deputation would undestand that he could not join in any condemnation of the action of the Licensing Court. He must assume that their Worships had done their duty fairly and impartially, arid in their refusal of licenses they had done no more than he had frequently seen done in other parts of the colony. He was, however, of opinion that the Licensing Commissioners had overlooked the fact that hotels were built not so much for the accommodation of the resident population here as to supply the wants of the travelling public. He considered that the present mode of constituting the Licensing Courts were unsatisfactory, and indeed a great mistake. Formerly applications for licenses were dealt with by the whole bench of magistrates, but they had been said to have done all kinds of bad things, and therefore an alteration bad been made, and under the present system we still had justices of the peace composing the tribunal, but only a limited number instead of the whole bench. He thought it would be an improvement if the former system were revived. As to the general question of the working of the licensing law in the colony, the Government stood pledged to bring in a general Act next session applicable to the whole colony, and in the framing of it the views expressed by the present deputation would receive every consideration. The deputation having thanked the Hon. Mr. Sheehan for the courtesy with which he had received them, and listened to the observations made to him in reference to the matter under discussion, then withdrew.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18771212.2.17

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5218, 12 December 1877, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
739

THE LICENSING SYSTEM. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5218, 12 December 1877, Page 3

THE LICENSING SYSTEM. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5218, 12 December 1877, Page 3

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