LICENSING INTRICASIES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 31, 26 June 1914, Page 2

LICENSING INTRICASIES.

ON THE WEST COAST. Per Press Association. Greymouth, June 24'. Jn the Magistrate's Court.Oharles Wagstaff applied for a writ piotestin" iigainst the i-siie of an accommodation license to Anne o'J)oiuiell Waiuta, and cited as defendants the chairman and members of the Westland Licensing Committee and Anne O'Donnell. Mr. P. Kitehingham appeared for the applicants and Messrs Hannan and Sargent for the defendants. Mr Kitehingham stated that O'Donnell applied to the Westland Licensing Committee at the annual meeting for an accommodation license for premises situated at Waiuta, to be known as the Empire Hotel. At the committee meeting the application was objected to by the plaintiff, and the Inspector of Police on the ground (1) that the said premises had not reasonable accommodation; (2) That the licensing of such premises was not required in'the neighborhood; (3) That the Licensing Committee had no jurisdiction to grant the application. When the application by Thomas Harris for an existing accommodation license in respect of premises at Humphrey's Gully was called on, counsel for Anne O'Donnell objected to the removal thereof, on the grounds that the premises ia respect of which the existing license was held had been deserted for more than fourteen days, and applied to the committee to forfeit Harris' license in order to clear the way for the granting of a license to O'Donnell, but the Committee declined to make the order forfeiting such license, and Thomas Harris obtained a renewal of his license. Humphrey's Gully is in the County of Westland, approximately 66 miles from Waiuta, the latter place being in the county of Inangahua. Anne O'Donnell's application was afterwards adjourned by the Committee, although counsel for the plaintiff objected to such adjournment. He also stated that the premises in respect of which the application by Anne O'Donnell was made consisted of one room, 10ft. by 9ft., that the room, has no bar accommodation, and is situated in the bush about 50 milea from Waiuta; that no license had lapsed which would entitle the Committee to grant an accommodation license to Anne O'Donnell, and that the Committee has no power to gJ'&nt the same | or deal with the application in any way. His Honor stated that if the Committee had no jurisdiction, as stated.bycounsel, why should he consider the motion for prohibition? Mr Kitehingham pointed out that the application had come before the Licensing .Committee, and the Committee had dealt with the' application to the extent of adjourning it v His Honor: You must show that the Committee .has no jurisdiction, even to refuse the application. Mr Hannan quoted a New .Zealand case to the effect that the present motion for prohibition was premature. (His Honor held that when an application for the license came before the Licensing Committee, it would he for that Committee to decide whether they had power or not to grant the license. If the Committee, in the opinion of the plaintiff, wrongly decided on the point, it would then, be for the plaintiff to apply to quash the license certificate. He ruled tha* the application before the Court was premature, and the motion was dismissed, £lO Ms costs and disbursements being allowed the defendant (Anne O'Donnell.)