LICENSING COURT. HAMILTON.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 786, 16 June 1877, Page 2

LICENSING COURT. HAMILTON.

June 14th, 1877.

Present : W N Searancke, Esq. (Chairman), and Messrs S S Graham, and John Runciman, Commissioners.

John Wood applied for a liceuse for a new house at Piako.

Mr Hesketh said that it was stated that one of the members of the Licensing Court, namely, Mr Runciman, was not qualified" to sit as he was said to be interested in one of the houses for which application for a license was asked. He did not himself raise an objection to Mr Runciman, nor indeed was it for him to do so, but he simply wished to -ask the Bench if, as reported, Mr Runciman hacl entered into a bond for the security ot the rent of a certain house. He (Mr Hesketh) had no objection to Mr Runciman, but he thought the matter should be settled, so that no illegal action should betaken by the Court in adjudicating. It was reported that the objection would be raised at Cambridge to-morrow, and if such was the c,ase, it were better

the matter should be settled at once.

[After an interval of a few minutes] The Chairman said, that the Court had consulted together, and that Mr Runciman, the Commissioner alluded to, considered he was not interested, so as to come within tlie meaning of the Act, and that he would take Lis seat and the responsibility of so doing. The Court then proceeded to consider the application of Mr J Wood for a new house at the Piako, to be called the Nottingham Castle Hotel.

* Mr Hay with Mr O'Neill appeared for the applicant. There was no opposition. J Wood, sworn, stated : He was the applicant for the license. There are nineteen rooms in the house, as shown by the plan. They are ready and fit for public accommodation. There is stabling for from 16 to 20 horses. 1 opened the house because it was required in the district. I was asked by a great many settlers. The honse at present licensed thore was not in its present state whon I commenced building the house. Sergeant Greene, sworn, stated : That he examined the house on the 24th May. The building was completed then, but not papered nor furnished. The stabling was all completed, except the rppf a v that time.

m The Court then postponed its decision until after the application of Mr Crawford for the existing house ;at the Piako had been, heard.

Renewals.

1 R. G wynne, Hamilton Hotel. Hamilton West. — Granted? \ ' W. Walker, Commercial^otel/ Hamilton We^t. y

; ; yM*r O'Neill, on behalf of the ap*' plicant, applied for an extension of the hours from 10 p m toll p m on Saturday nights, and from 10 P m to niidnight on ordinary nights. _ Sergeant" Greeii^ iii" reply to th'e Bench, stated he knew of no reason why the alteration should be made. The requirements of the public, were satisfied as matters stood,— The ap. plication lor the licence was granted, but the application for extension of hours was refused- as unnecessary. T. Dawson applied for a renewal I ef license to the 'Royal Hotel, HamutonEast, '■-■•■■.' x. t ■

The Sergeant of Police drew attention to the fnct'*^ the balcony of tihe house was out of. repair.— Applicant promised to- have the necessary repairs, made,.and,.the application was granted.

Piako Hotel.

Alexander Crawford applied for a renewal, of license for the Piako Hotel.

Mr Hesketh appeared for applicant.

Application was opposed by Mr Johu Wood, for whom Were Messrs Hay and O'Neill.

The objections urged by Mr Wood Were first, a technical objection as regards notice of application; secondly, that the house did npt possess the accommodation necessary in a country hotel, and had not been conducted in a manner fco.-merifc a renewal ; thirdly, that oW* good house was sufficient for the district, and fourthly, that a retail store was carried on under the same roof.

J. Wood, being sworn, said : I know the Piako Hotel. .■ It is a little better than it was* when I commenced building. It was then in a poor Btate to accommodate the. travelling public. There were five rooms, including the store. There was a ti-tree house for a stable. There was no closet. One has been built since. I have seen no urinal. There is a small place now put up as a stable. I erected my house because I was asked by the settlers to do so, because there was insufficient accommodation for themselves and none for their horses. I slept in the house one night. I cannot recollect the size of tho room. Ido not consider the house has sufficient accommodation for the district. I have dined there. It was not such a dinner as I should have*been furnished with in an hotel fit for the district. I dined there on the day that the people mustered to object against the iand rate. A portion of the house is occupied as a retail store. The bar and the store were all one in one room when I was there last, a week ago. The application for renewal was not filed by Mr Crawford by 5 -o'clock- on the 16th of May.

To Mr Hesketh : 1 do not. say the application was not filed on the 16 th May, but it was filed after hours. One good hotel, suoh as I have built,, is amply siiflicient for the requirements of* the district. The accommodation was meagre before I: began to build. J was not aware of the nature of the licenses held by Mr Crawford at that time. Ishould not call Crawford's a goocl house.

To tlie Court : Tho store is carried on under the same roof. I have bought things at that store. < Sergeant Greene's report was read, stating that the house was in a fair state of repair. A new building had been erected of six rooms, in front of the old building. There was a stable for three horses built of ti-tree and raupo. Tbe house had been conducted satisfactorily.

Sergeant Greene, examined, said : There is no constable stationed at Piako. I base my report on the conduct of the house by visiting it. I liave visited it once, and made enquiries, and have heard no complaints. There is a store cm nected with it. The bar aud the store were" in the sume room, but applicant stated he was going to shift the bar into the new building, and partition the store off from the public house businoss. There is all the accommodation required by the Act, except a urinal. The stable is not a four stall stable (four horses might stand in it), but there is only proper room for three. It was of ti-tree and raupo, There was a closet.

Te the Court : I stayed a night at the house. It w--s conducted in a satisfactory manner. I, and my horse, were well accommodated. The stable was divided by rails, not by stalls.

Mr Hesketh admitted 'that the application was not lodged until the evening of the 16 th May. * Mi- Hay having spoken against the renewal of the license, Mr Hesketh, for the defence, called Colin Woolley, sworn, said : I have frequently visited the Piako Hotel, twice a week for over twelve montlis. I hacl a vehicle and four horses with me. I was very well accommodated on such occasions with good room, bed, aud food, and plenty of it. The accommodation was clean, and the food wholesome. I was received with attention and civility. For my horses, I used a stable of my own, and provided my own horse-feed. I had never anything to complain off.

To Mr Hay : I never had to sleep on the floor. I never saw the place full. I have seen others sleeping on the floor, before the addition was put

up. The new stable is a weatherboard building, and a good oue. 7 4 5T 6 * a^&MB& whare, and fc^^S*^u S edal S o aß*%|wl-ho^e^rWo.odcVinenced MiMjng thejne-KbWa before appli- && ° om^ e #^ fe addition. .Bef^e^e add&fon 4§ \made, the > T-iako Hotel waiquit^od enough ■ %*\^trict^ liiver knew of go to Mr Ticklepenny's for accommodation. Mr Wood's is the better house of the two. commenced overdo months ago, close on tliree, I believe. '-^oin^a^dbnald, a settler re " siding .. t Piafco, d^ sed £ had frequently visited Crawford's «nce Au ? ust ; last.;! have .stayed th? night, and obtained meals tVe. The food wasquite good and Wholesome, and the accommodation good. I had no fault to find with **&. r 1 *W>4 -both, cleanly. I couldr find accommodation there. _;.w.a B ,always well and civily heated, l was consulted by Mr Crawford with respect to getting timber for the addition as far back as Ohristmas last. That *as before - : .J»-? ; Wood C9mmenced building. The delay m his getting timber was caused by the sawyers u P S^ : %eiasaru m otu: befor Christmas that a new hotel would be. built. It .was before I heard the rumour that Crawford spoke to me about- the timber. I frequently use the house. James Coombes deposed that he had frequently visited the hotel . during the last, nine .. months, and found the accommodation very good. Witness gave similar evidence on -tfeis L . matter, as the two preceeding ones. Hay : I took horses there, but did not stable them. To the Court : I have, on one occasion, seen people sleeping on the' floor. Alexander Crawford, the applicant, being sworri, said : I entered the house about August last, obtaining a transfer of the existing licensed I paid £400 to enter on the place. Since then, I have added certain necessary additions to the house. I , have made no objection to Mr ' Woods application. I set about getting the timber some nine months . ago, but the sawyers were working for Mr Woodward, and I had to '• wait my turn till till they had finished Mr Woodward's contract. I- have nearly completed a weatherboard five-stall stable since the police inspection. With the additions, I have the accommodation- required by the act. Before tho additions, I had one sitting-room , and two bedrooms, and accommodation for two borse3. I have never received any official complauit againsfc my house, and have done, my utmost to give satisfaction. Part of the premises is used as a retail store. It was there when I went there. I have also the post office. Both were there when the license was transferred to me. The bar and the store are now separated. The store is at the back. The bar at the front of ' the building. Till you pointed it out to me this morning, I thought my license was a bush one. To Mr Hay— There are passages from the store to tho main building. I remember Captain Owen and Mr Hunt coming one. night. They did not leave because of want of accommodation. Captain Owen would not stop, because he said he was like a morepork, and preferred travelling by night. To the Court— Mr Evans, the , previous licensee, never informed' me he had been" ordered to remove the sbore out of the building. I -frave no plan of additious to show them, as I have done the work myself. The addition is 33ft x 16ft, with a .16ft stud, having bedrooms upstairs, Mr Hesketh theu, iu a long and eloquent address, defended the application. The Bench, after a short adjournment, came into Court, and the Chairman stated that they had come to the conclusion that two licensed houses were not required for the Piako district. The liconse was granted in June lust, by a full Court, to Mr Evans, on the conditions that the store was not to be held in Ihg public-house. He was then told that the certificate would not be granted, unless the sbore was removed. It was, therefore, contrary to the express order of the Court the store had been kept on in the house. Mr Crawford had neglected to read his licence, and had thus, unfortunately, come in conflict with the expressed order of the Court. — The application was refused. In the case of the application made by Mr Wood, the license lor the Nottingham Castle was granted. In this case, the Court, would recommend a fee of jfii.O.