THE POWERS OF LICENSING COMMITTEES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2198, 9 May 1891, Page 3

THE POWERS OF LICENSING COMMITTEES.

Oamaru Mail. We are in a position to state that high legal authority has given the

opinion that the Licensing Committee is not possessed of power to close the whole of the hotels in Oamarn. This opinion is, we believe, based upon the ground that as a license can only be withheld because a house is badly conducted or that it is not required, it will be impossible to show a sufficent reason for refusing all licenses. He holds that the fact that a majority of ratepayers have pronounced against the issuing of any licenses is not sufficent evidence that there is no I a licensed house in the town: for upon that point the minority, whose opinions must receive respect, have an indisputable right to be beard. But outside of all consideration of the wishes of the residents of the town, there is another class whose rights the law will compel the committee to respect. These are the travelling public, wbese comfort, convenience, and accommodation the Licensing Act especially recognises. The legal authority to whom we have referred, and whois, we may add himselfateetotaller, not only does not dispute the right of the Licensing Committee to refuse licenses, but upholds that power to a very great extent; all he says being that that power cannot be exercised in such a manner as to virtually altogether set aside the Licensing Act, which permits the existence of public bouses, and that while they may close a number of the bouses on the ground that they are not required, they close the whole, because such a course would be destructive ef the rights of a large body of people, and were the committee to refuse all licenses, an application to the Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus directing them to issue licenses would be successful.

The opinion which we have given above is borne out by a recent judgment of the Judicial Lords of the House of Lords on an appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeal; It is unnecesary that we should discuss this question at present, because the time for decision has not yet arrived, and we have referred to the matter now merely for the purpose of directing attention to what may be expected to happen when the committee proceed to give effect to their pledge to refuse all licenses.