West Coast Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1860.

The Public House Ordinance, passed during the last session of the Provincial Council, and assented to by His Honor the Superintendent on the* 26th of Inst month, effects so many important changes in the licensing law of the province, that it will be useful to many to have its provisions explained. They affect not only the interests of the keepers of licensed houses here, but the interests of the public at large We shall not go through the clauses "of the Ordinance seriatim, but in general terms describe their operation. The licenses at present held are to remain in full force until the end of the term for which they have been granted, but all offences committed after the commencement of the new Ordinance are to be heard and punished under its provisions.

The licenses to be issued are for the future to consist of four classes : —

1st. Hotel licenses, the holders of which will be required to provide a house containing a bar, a bar parlor, a dining room, two private sitting rooms, and at least ten suitable bedrooms for the use of the public, with necessary closets and stabling - the rooms to be conveniently furnished to the satisfaction of the Inspector of Police ; the hotel license fee to be £3O.

2. General Licenses, for which also a sum of £3O will be charged "on the Westland side of the Dividing Range," the holder of which will be required to provide for the public accommodation a convenient bar and at least one bar parlor.

3. Conditional Licenses, authorising the holder to sell spirituous and fermented liquors, subject to such conditions as to fee, (not, however, exceeding £11,) &c, as may be inserted in the body of the instrument by the Licensing Bench.

 4. Wine and Beer Licenses, for the sale of wine and beer to be drunk on the premises, but only by persons taking refreshments — one convenient room to be set apart for females, and no taproom or bar to be kept license for under this class. All licenses are to terminate on the 30th June next following the date of issue, whether granted at the Annual Meeting or at any subsequent Quarterly Meeting. No conditional license is to be issued for any house that is at a less distance than five miles from any other licensed house.

Magistrates to be for public convenience. A license, howqver, of this class may be issued, for any Refreshment House attached to a Railway Station, and used exclusively for the accommodation of travellers or intended travellers.

We come now to the mode in which Licences may be obtained, for Thirty days before any Licensing Meeting, the applicant must cause to be delivered to the Resident Magistrate of the Court nearest the house, an application in writing according to a form scheduled, signed by himself, and by at least ten respectable householders resident in the neighborhood. Within seven days the Magistrate must cause a list of all applications received to be affixed to the door of the Court-house or Policeoffice of the district for public information, and must transmit a copy of the list to the Resident Magistrate at Christchurch, who shall cause its publication in the Gazette" and in two of the newspapers of tho Province, together with a notice of the time and place of meeting at which the applications shall be heard and determined.

Tho Annual Licensing Meeting is to be held in the Court House of the district on the first Tuesday in May, and Quarterly Meetings on the first Tuesday in September, December, and March, three justices forming a quorum, and the senior justice on the Commission of the Peace being tho President. Any meeting may be adjourned after being duly constituted. In tho absence of 11 quorum, the Resident Magistrate must signify the same to the Superintendent, who may then with the consent of the Executive exercise all the functions of the Licensing Bench. On tho application being heard the applicant must satisfy the majority of the justices that he can fulfil tho requirements of the class of license applied for. Failing to do so, his application may be legally refused. No Justice of the Peace being a brewer, minister, distiller, or dealer in wines, spirits, or beer, or otherwise interested in any house in question, is competent to act at a Licensing Meeting under a penalty of £IOO. In the case of applications for renewal, the justices at their discretion may postpone the application to an adjourned meeting ; giving the applicant fourteen days clear notice of the time and place of hearing, and stating the nature of the objections felt. And it shall be then allowed to the applicant, if he please, to substitute the name of some other person for his own in the form of application.

The customary regulations are enacted for the payment of the license fee to the nearest sub-treasurer, for the issue of the license &c. Licenses are to be forfeited which are not taken out before the Ist day of July. The Superintendent may however, on reference to him, and with the consent of his Executive Council, within thirty days direct the license to be issued on payment of an additional fee of not less than £lO. In the case of licenses granted at Quarterly Meetings, they are to be forfeited absolutely if not taken out within fourteen clear days from the day on which they are granted.

The following penalties may be enforced under the Ordinance: — For selling retail without a liceence £50; for hawking or exposing for sale in unlicensed premises, forfeiture of the goods by order of two justices on information. Goods seized to be sold, and one-half the proceeds to be given to the informer. For selling liquors or permitting them to be sold on the promises during any hour on Sundays, Christmas Day, or Good Friday, or on any other days between the hours of eleven at night and six in the morning, twenty-five pounds. Exception is made in the case of bona fide travellers not having any residence within three miles, and of lodgers sleeping in the house. No outer or street door loading to the bar however is to be allowed to be opened within the prohibited hours. Special permission may be granted on application, by two Justices of the Peace, for houses to bo kept open after hours on occasions of festivity, and for business to be conducted by holders of licenses in booths on public occasions, &c. For failure to have the name of the licensee and the nature of his license painted in a conspicuous part of the front of the House in letters not less than three inches in length, Twenty shillings;  for permitting- gambling of any kind to be carried on, Twenty pounds; for supplying liquor to intoxicated persons, Ten Pounds; for allowing wages to be paid on the premises, except those of the servants of the House, Ten pounds;  for neglecting to keep a large lamp burning at night Twenty shillings.

Upon proof given to the satisfaction of three Justices of the Peace upon the testimony of three credible witnesses, that any licensed house is conducted in a disorderly manner or that frequent cases of intoxication occur there, that gambling is allowed, or that liquor is sold in it contrary to the provisions of the Ordinance,  they may in addition to inflicting the penalties incurred for the offence, suspend the license for any period not exceeding thirty days, causing a notice of such suspension to be aflixed on the door of the house, and to be published in the nearest newspaper. In case of complaint made by a constable the Chief Officer of Police is to forward it to the licensee within twenty four hours of the complaint, and then lay an information before a Justice of the Peace. Any person, on the other hand, convicted of drunkenness or riotous behaviour in a licensed house, and of refusing to quit it, may be fined and imprisoned in default. In the event of a third conviction, within six months a fine of five pounds and imprisonment with hard labor for a term not exceeding fourteen days.

Any constable, may enter any licensed house on informtion of any breach of the ordinance ; and the chief officer of police other than the Commissioner of the district, may enter any hotel between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. to ascertain if the accommodation is in accordance with the condition of the license, and the officer is required to report to the Justice of the Peace every three months or at the quarterly meeting, the result of his inspection. ,