PUBLIC HOUSE CONDITIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 53, 11 June 1910, Page 8

PUBLIC HOUSE CONDITIONS.

EXACTIONS OP OWNERS.

LICENSEES' .DISABILITIES.

By Telegraph—Press Association.

Hastings, Last Night. At the annual meeting of the Hawke's Bay Licensing Committee at Hastings to-day, warnings were given to several licensees as to the manner in which they had conducted their houses. At the conclusion of the business the chairman (Mr. S. E. McCarthy, SM.) said that a matter which had been under the consideration of the committee, which had been mentioned last year, and which they decided to mention again this year, was the conditions under which business was carried on by Hotel keepers. It had been brought under their notice that, whilst several hotel keepers' rents were largely increased on renewal of leases, a very substantial sum for goodwill had been extracted in addition from licensees. They had two instances before them, in one of which the rent amounted to £ll9l a vear, and in.the other to £llOO, in addition to which there were wages, upkeep of buildings, grocers', butchers' and bakers' accounts, and liquor ibills. Keeping in view the legitimate trade to be done iii Hastings, the charge was out of all pro-; portion if the licensee was expected to' observe the law. There was a case of, a widow dying and leaving the business as her only asset, and the children were deprived of everything but the few pounds realised on the furniture. Thel committee proposed communicating with! the Minister of Justice suggesting an) alteration in the law whereby .publicans! would ibe afforded a reasonable oppor-| tunity of carrying on their business and observing the law. Drunkenness and' the issue of prohibition orders hadl largely increased during the past year. The convictions for drunkenness for the' year ending May 31, 1909, were 179, and for the year ending May this year th convictions were 301. Prohibition orders issued last year in Hastings were 47. an this year the number was 53. Tin was only the natural outcome of th conditions under which .hoteikeeper were carrying on business.