ANNUAL LICENSING MEETING.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5363, 5 June 1878, Page 3

ANNUAL LICENSING MEETING.

Tuesday, June 4. - (Before J. C. Crawford, Eaq., chairman; J. Gr. Hoidsworth, Esq., j. Moore, Esq., and T. Kehbell, Esq., Commissioners. PRINCE ALBERT HOTEL, WEBB-STREET. John Duff renewed his application for a license for the Prince Albert Hotel, Webbstreet. ■ . , , Mr. Moorhouse, who appeared in support of the application, said that on' the last occasion the Bench was pleased to intimate that in the event, of certain additions .and improvements being . carried out, in the interim, the Court .would grant a license. . Me proposed to call the architect to. prove that the alterations and additions had been carried out. - Mr. Turnbull, architect, informed the Court as to the alterations and additions that had been made. The accommodation was now equal to the general' standard ; of hotel accommodation in : Wellington. It contained nine single bedrooms, four double rooms, and two ; sitting rooms. The increased accommodation consisted of six bedrooms and a kitchen. Sergeant, Smith deposed that Mr. Doffs hotel was distant 150 to 200 yards from the nearest public-house. ! Mr. Ollivier apologised to the Bench for not. having been sooner in Court,. He was in-, structed by the same parties as before to oppose the application. He would . call one witness to show that the alterations were of. the most flimsy character, and not of a substantial nature at all. , - Mr. Moorhouse submitted that he had not, had notice of what his learned friend proposed to do, and further, it was not .before the Court that proper notice had been given. ~ _ _. : The Bench decided on allowing Mr. Ollivier to call his witness.' _ : John Yule deposed that, he resided in the, neighborhood of Duffs house. He and others, had opposed this application for a license, which had been four or five times before the Court. The objectors to this license had been put to considerable expense on each occasion. He understood the decision of the Bench on the previous' occasion was that if the Bench was similarly constituted, and improvements done which Duff said would be carried out, the license would be granted. Mr. Duff proposed then to build an extra storey, with ten rooms, and he had not done so. He had merely pulled down a kitchen and built another, with a room between the kitchen and the street, which said room had been divided into two. There was a flat above that extending over no part of the old building. He fancied it encroached on the yard space, which was very small before, and much too. small in his (witness’) opinion for a hotel. East licensing day a petition was presented against the issue of a license, signed by 234 of the nearest inhabitants. In every case in which he had conversed with people, they expressed a desire that the license should not be granted. That feeling was pretty universal; no re-action that he was aware of had taken place. Cross-examined by Mr, Moorhouse J I have heard Mr. Ollivier state that the improvements are of a flimsy character, I am'not In a position to prove that they are of a flimsy character. I have never been on the premises. I don’t know how the rooms stand in relation to these of the Empire dr Occidental Hotels. I cannot tell how the rooms in Duff’s house compare with the rooms in respectable'hotels in Wellington. I have never been inside the house at all. ' / Mr. Moorhouse : How dare you, then, come into that box, and speak about it ? (Laughter). Do you know what the population; of the neighborhood is?—l don’t know what population it contains.—Have you ever seen a mapof the town ? (Laughter.)—l have.—Have you ever seen this map J (produced)—No ; I don’t, think I have.—That, map, as ,you ; will see, shows a large area that is entirely ;un« served by a public-house. How many people came to you voluntarily to sign the petition ? Not many ; they knew I was going round. Some people, who thought I forgot to call, upon them, came to me and signed.—That area, you will see, that is not served by a. pub-lie-house,; represents about, one-fifth of .the city.—l don’t know that. —And because you have got 284 signatures to a petition yon have the impudence to come into Court, and say that a license should not be granted; 234 out of 3000 1--I called at every house, and with the exception of one or two the people signed the petition.—And the result was that yojrgot 234 signatures out of a population of 3000. You know nothing about this bouse, or the requirements of the district; and yet-you have .the impudence to come here and oppose the issue of a license. ■ ■ ' .j The witness then left the box, , 'Mr. Ollivier said the witness had been subjected to a great deal of brow-bcatmg by his learned friend, but this did not alter the fact that evidence of. a very legitimate nature.had been given to show that a licensed house was not required in the neighborhood. • Ho submitted that the opposition had been so consistent and had been brought forward at such an infinite amount of trouble, that the Bench ought seriously to pause before granting a license. If a license were granted it would be forcing a licensed house on a number of rewdents whose chief attraction to that district was its comparative freedom from the nuisance of a public-house. , • . . , Mr, Moorhouse said he would not take up tho time of the Court in replying to the statemeats of his learned friend, or the evidence he had brought forward. He would .^merely direct the' attention of the Bench to the evidence of Sergeant Smith, who deposed that Duff’s house was distant from 150, to 200 yards from the nearest public-house. would also direct attention to the fact that two years ago the proprietors of the two nearest publichouses signed the petitiou m favor of a license being granted to-Mr. Duffs house. So it would appear frpm this fact that the proprietors of both those houses did not consider Mr, Duff’s sufficiently near to do their trade any harm. The greatest diligence from bouse to house only produced 234 objectors out of a population of 3000. ■■ The Chairman (after, a brief consultation)!; The license is granted. ,

There was some applause in Court at the decision, aud it was immediately suppressed. • TRAMWAY HOTEL, ADELAIDE-ROAD. Mr. 0. Moody applied for a license for this hotel. Mr. Fitz Gerald appeared for the applicant, and stated that on last licensing day the Bench stated that if certain additions were made the license would be granted. He proposed to call the architect, with a view of showing that the wishes of the Bench had been complied with. Mr. Schwabe, architect, stated that the additions consisted of two bedrooms and a store downstairs, and five bedrooms and a bath-room upstairs. A fire engine-house had also been erected on the premises, and this would be handed over to the fire brigade. .: The Rev. Mr. Coffey said he appeared again to oppose the issue of this license. He wished, in the first place, to call the Sergeant of Police as a witness.

Sergeant Smith deposed that he knew the house in question. He did not think a licensed house was required in the neighborhood.

The Rev. Mr. Coffey said that as in all probability the application would be granted, he wanted to have a locus standi, as he intended to appeal. The Chairman ; I don’t think you have a right to appeal. Rev. Mr. Coffey : I think I have. The Chairman: I don’t think there is any appeal provided for. Rev. Mr. Coffey.: My desire is to do what I can to have a locus standi if I appeal. I submit that under the Act the Bench has no right to take into consideration the qu.s'/.oa of accommodation, but whether there is a necessity to grant a license. , The Chairman: Excuse my interrupting you, Mr. Coffey, but your logic on tho subject is perfectly unintelligible, because our first duty is to have plans lodged a week before the Bench sits, to see what the accommodation is.

Rev. Mr. Coffey: I submit your first and only duty is to inquire whether there is any necessity to grant a license; and, having satisfied yourself of this, then you dome to a secondary question—whether the applicant is a lit person to whom a license should bo granted, and whether the house is sufficiently good for the accommodation of the public. Of course, it a man sinks his. capital in building a hotel, it is a sort of guarantee that be will conduct it properly. The Chairman : You are just coining to what the Bench consider it their duty to act upon in the granting of licenses. Rev. Mr. Coffey: Quite so; but I maintain that the intention of the, Act is to regulate the sale of intoxicating drink. There is not a word in the Act about the accommodation.

The Chairman : You are taking tho text, and not the context. . ■

The Rev. Mr. Coffey proceeded to read the remarks made by his Worship on a, former occasion with regard to this application, and submitted that the license ought to be refused. Mr. Fitz Gerald said : it was clear this house was required in the district, considering the progress which the , city was making in that direction. The learned counsel also drew the attention of the Bench to tho 28th section of tbe Act, which provided that in the event of frivolous opposition the Court could order the party so offering it to pay the costs. The . Chairman said the Bench would not make an order of the kind in this case.

There was a short consultation amongst the, members of the Bench, and the Chairman ultimately announced that the license was granted. (Applause.)..... : >. .• ; Kev. Mr. Coffey : X wish to give, notice; of appeal. ~,, , ■ ,■ . The Chairman : I am afraid you won’t find any particular form. However, if you can, I shall be willing to assist you iii the matter/ Not only is there no appeal provided for,: but an appeal is barred. j Rev. Mr. Coffey : The ground of my appeal is that the, Act has been administered on a wrong principle. The Rev. Mr. Coffey and the Venerable Archdeacon Stock thereupon retired from the Court. ■ : .1 CLUB HOTEL, TAHADTANU I. • Mr. Samuel Prosser applied for a license for this hotel. . Mr., Gordon Allan and Mr. Buckley appeared for, the applicant, and, Mr. Ollivier on behalf of Mr. HiUen, hotelkeeper, Pahantanui, - who opposed the application. . : - Mr. Prosser was examined as to the accommodation his house afforded, and Constable Ryan gave evidence to the effect that the granting of a license, to Mr. Prosser’s hotel would not be a disadvantage to the house. ' r The .Bench considered,,,[however,;.that one licensed house, at, Pahautauui was sufficient, ‘ and refused! the application, r RENEWALS. ■ Henry Berg, Clyde Hotel, Olyde-quay;—-No objection. Granted.' . i i John Bertie, .Prince of Wales, Tory-street.— Sergeant Smith ; deposed r; that information ) was given to him by the' police on beat that the house- was. kept open after; hours. Mr. Bertie said he closed the house at ten o’clock, and shut up altogether as soon aspossible; but he had theatrical people and others staying at his house, and of course he could not close up the house against them. ; In ireply to the Bench, Sergeant Smith stated he had never heard of the applicant admitting persons to the bar after ten o’clock. The license ; was granted. ■ ■ : Samuel R. Dawson, White ; Swan, Cubastreet.—No objection. Granted. ; Robert Elliott, Caledonian Hotel, Adelaideroad.—The Bench said there was no, stable accommodation. Mr. Elliott. stated he i had erected a two-stall stable, and buggy house within the past fortnight. The license was granted. William A. Emeny, Royal Oak, Mannersstreet. —Mr; Quick applied for a renewal, and also an extension of the house from ten to twelve o’clock. In support of the latter application, Mr. Quick pointed out that Mr. • Emeny’s house was the only one in the midst of a circle • of public-houses which suffered from the disadvantage of having a ten o’clock license, and the house was in close proximity to ’ the Imperial Opera House* where the performances did not terminate until after Mr. Emeny’s house was shut up. Mr. Emeny was examined, and stated 1 he found it very inconvenient to shut up his house at ten o’clock. He kept a good many boarders, and they told him they would not stay at his place if they were shut out at ten o’clock. Sergeant Smith opposed the extension of hours, on the ground that drunkenness and rowdyism was on the increase in the, locality. The Bench granted the.license, but refused the extension from ten to twelve o’clock. Robert Gilmer, : Duke of Edinburgh, Mah-ners-street. —Granted. ; Alfred ; Fisher, Imperial, Cuba-street.— Granted. : ■ '' ■ : Eliza Levell, Nag’s Head, Cuba-street.— Granted. , Walter Hart Haynes, Newtown Hotel, Newtown.—Granted. , Several applications were made for extension of the hours from ten to twelve o’clock. Some of these.were withdrawn, and others refused. 1 ' ' i • The following renewals were granted on the former conditions : ! i J. K. Brown, Queen's, Lambton Quay. John Brady, Thistle, Maigrave-streot James Bright, Princess, Molesworth-street ■ Charles H. Gillespie, Sheppard’s Arms, Tinakori-road Thomas Carter, Karon Hotel, Tinakori-road John Maginlty, Koyal, Tiiorndon-qUay Ann Elisabeth Osgood, Wellington* Molesworth-strect Josiah Beatty, Metropolitan. Molesworth-street Albert Carter Deavill, Provincial, Molesworth-street: i Charles Martin, Albion, Courtenay-place William Swaln.'Unlon, Wlilis-street John Murphy, Cricketers! Arms, 1 Tory-street Chas. B. Press, Royal Tiger, Taranaki-street George Milner, Bank, Manners street George Spinks Nlcholis,'Panama, Taranaki-street . Alexander Macfarlane, -Victoria, Abel Smith-street Nicholas B. Murphy, City, Clyde-quay : Prank Mountain, New Zealander, Manners-street James McArdle, Te Aro, Wlilis-street John Valentine, Foresters’Arms, Ghuzneo-atreot t John Walkley, Brunswick, Wlilis-street,. ■ !' Mary. Power, Albert, Wlilis-street , Wm. H. Wiuiams, National, Lambton-quay - John B. Coker, Occidental, Lambton-quay Fredk. Wallis, Branch, Lambton-quay Samuel S. Downes, Pier, Grey-street John Mclntosh, Melbourne, Wlilis-street Jacob Lichtscheindl, Empire; Wlilis-street Wm. Light, Barrett's, Lambton-quay Salvatore Cemlno, Prince of Wales, Grey-street Joseph Harding," Post Office, Grby-atreet : 1 Henry Bennett, Commercial. Wlilis-street Joseph Ames, Star, Lambton-quay Thomas Bailey, Theatre Royal, Lambton-quay , Frankland Valentine, Criterion, Lambton-quay Henry Sullivan, Central, Hunter-street James Cotterlll, Waterloo Hotel, Kaiwarra Allan Garment; Horokiwl Hotel, Horokiwl Valley. William Chapman, Ngahauranga Hotel, ‘ Henry Cook, Rainbow Inn, Kaiwarra; stabling to be put in proper order, ■ Henry HiUen, Junction Hotel, Pahautanul Daniel Rivers, White Horse Hotel;* Ngahauranga F. Taylor, Ames’ Hotel John McGrath, Fotlrua Hotel. , TRANSFERS, John Livingstone, Victoria Hotel, to Alex. Macfar- ' lane J, R Brown. Queen’s Hotel, Lambton-quay, to John Robertson ' - '