QUESTION OF PUBLIC BARS.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 September 1918, Page 4

QUESTION OF PUBLIC BARS.

DECISION OF LICENSING COMMITTEE. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, Last Night. An interesting point as to the meaning of "public bar," and as to the number of bars allowed on licensed premises, was raised at a meeting of the Christchurch Licensing Committee to-day. The first case was that of P. M. Brewett, who applied for a reneM'al of the license of the United Service Hotel. This application was adjourned from the last annual meeting because it was stated that the hotel had more than one public bar.

The chairman, Mr. McCarthy, S.M., said he had visited the hotel and was satisfied that, according to the Full Court decision, there were four bars on the premises. The chairman also quoted the section of the Act which said that no bar shall bo opened or Used.after the publican's license has been granted except the one mentioned in the license, and if extra bars were opened the publican would be deemed to sell liquor without a license. The chairman said that the committee had no jurisdiction over the private bars, but because a bar was marked "private" it did not necessarily mean it was a "private bar" according to the Act, which defined a public bar or bar to be any room or passage on any licensed premises that opened immediately to any street, highway, public place, or public thoroughfare. The Magistrate said this matter had not been fully considered by any licensing committee in New Zealand. The committee did not wish to differentiate in this ease, and would adjourn the whole question of extra bars until the next annual meeting. In the ease of. the Dominion Hotel, T. J. Sutton's application, which was adjourned from the last annual meeting on the same grounds as those of the United Service, namely, of having more than one bar, the application was granted, the question of the number of oars to be decided at the nest annual meeting.