H—3B

586. It is not practicable to. give details at length, but we refer to the following, which were quoted by counsel for the Commission in his closing address (R. 7733): —

587. A summary of the police return of the hotels was prepared by one of our members (Mr. E. C. N. Robinson) and checked by a witness and given in evidence. We set out the summary in Appendix B. The detailed police reports upon which this summary was based were subsequently checked by Mr. Stanley Einger, the Hotel and Motor Camp Inspector of the Automobile Association (Auckland), who has a wide knowledge of the hotels in New Zealand. He stated that in many cases there had been interior improvements in the hotel which had been omitted from the report. He could recall, in at least a dozen cases, improvements so omitted, such as additional bathrooms, showers, and lavatories, hot and cold water in bedrooms, and enlargements of the lounge (R. 7116 and 7117). 588. Subject to this comment as to interior improvements, the following facts either appear in the summary or may be deduced from it: in the Auckland Police District there are 116 hotels of an average age of 49 years having in all, 1,604 bedrooms. Of these, there are 18 hotels having in all 568 bedrooms with hot and cold water, 4 hotels having in all 19 bedrooms to which a private bath is attached to one or two of these rooms, and 5 hotels having in all 285 bedrooms which have private telephones. In the Wellington Police District there are 77 hotels of an average age of 45 years having in all 1,146 bedrooms. Of these, there are 14 hotels having in all 609 bedrooms which have hot and cold water, 6 hotels having in all 242 bedrooms which have a private bath to one or two of these rooms, and 7 hotels having in all 427 bedrooms which have private telephones. In the Christchurch Police District there are 129 hotels of an average age of 54 years having in all 1,199 bedrooms. Of these there are 17 hotels having in all 402 bedrooms which have hot and cold water, 5 hotels having in all 41 bedrooms which have a private bath for one or two of these bedrooms, and 3 hotels having in all 129 bedrooms which have private telephones. In the Dunedin Police District there are 100 hotels of an average age of 54 years having in all 1,004 bedrooms. Of these there are 8 hotels having in all 242 bedrooms which have hot and cold water, 2 hotels having in all 12 bedrooms which have a private bath for one or two of these bedrooms, and 2 hotels having in all 48 bedrooms which have private telephones. 589. The following statistics refer to all the hotels covered by the police reports: the average age of hotels in New Zealand is 45-34 years ; the average number of bedrooms per hotel is 11-80 ; the proportion of bedrooms to bathrooms is 5-7 to 1; the proportion of bedrooms to showers is 14-5 to 1 ; and the number of hotels which have less than 6 bedrooms is 282. 590. Commenting on hotels in Auckland, Mr. Luxford, S.M., a Magistrate with much experience in licensing matters, who was by no means unfavourable to the trade, said in evidence (R. 6458) : If licensed premises throughout New Zealand are in the same condition as those in the area known as " Greater Auckland," at least half of them should either be demolished and reconstructed or reconditioned.

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Hotel. : j Date of Erection. Improvements. Accommodation for Guests. Alexandra (Parnell) 1875 Nil 6 Captain Cook (Newmarket) 1870 Nil 6 Queens Ferry (Auckland) 1885 Nil 6 Thistle Inn (Wellington) 1866 Nil 7 Foresters Arms (Wellington) 1865 Nil 3 Cricketers Arms (Wellington) Prior to 1880 Nil 3