SOME INEBRIATES I HAVE KNOWN.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 51, 28 February 1906, Page 3

SOME INEBRIATES I HAVE KNOWN.

By E, EC BAKEWELL, M.D.

I suppose that I shall be the victim, as usual of torrents of abuse, for these papers,, because T giye utterance to my own impartial opinions about the treatment of inabrjates. It is curious how little freedom of opinion is tolerated by the democracy, and how, when they cannot prevent a man fi'Orn publishing his opinions or advocating an unpopular cause, Demos at once sets to work to write him abusive letters such as no newspap-r would publish. NdW I stand in a peculiar position; I am no Prohibitionist, in fact I am very much opposed to prohibition, but I detest the practices of those fiends in human form who deliberately make people drunk, and that too with adulterated liquors. The man who said "in medio tutissimus ibis," had never lived in a democratic community. Take a side, be a blind partizap, make even a plausible pretence of beinw an enthusiast, and you will get the applause and support of at least one party. But try to be impartial, try to show that neither of two opposing parties is wholly in the" right, and-thf.t something may be said in favour of both, and you gist assailed by both and supported bj r neither. '

Such has been my fate through life. I never was a man- of • stroug; Convictions or one-sided views. I never held an opinion /which "I would not have disavowed at the first twist of the rack or the thumbscrews, or of any. of those ingenious machines which oiir amiable ancestors were so fond of using in order to convert heretics. I was not made for a martyr. Ex quovis b.igno. non. fit Mercurius.

For all that I thihk the opinions I have deliberately adopted after many years' experience and study, are faivly worth attention, and decent discussion. I don't in the least object to have anything I have written discussed however sharply, or subject to ridicule, if my opponent can make mc ridiculous, but I do not see .why in Auckland alone, of all the many places I hay.3 lived in; the bare enunciation of opinions which differ from those of others, should subject a man to the foul-mouthed, vulgar abuse, which the democracy of Auckland alone seem to delight in. In all my travels I have never lived in a place in which the mass of the public was so vulgar and so illiterate.

When I first came to this colony, now thirty-three (33) years ago, I was victimized a good deal by inebriates who belonged to the upper middle class, or were ou the friuge of the aristocracy— most of them had been officers .in "the .Royal Navy'or the Army. : They were always, at the time they first made my acquaintance, to use" their own delicate phase, "absolutely impecunious." , They were mostly remittance- men, and they wen? invariably liars-of-the first niagmtnoe.- A- dipsomaniac, whatever his character may have^beiau,-and -whatever

bis position in society, .Will,, when b« wants to get it. I used to be gulled, but lam too old a bird now to be caught by any tales an inebriata can tell.

One of them I knew in the earlier! days of my life in New Zealand was* when sober, a very pleasant and highly intelligent man. His was a case of pure dipsomania, and no more amenable to moral, treatment than an attack of acuta rheumatism is. He had been in a good regiment; one of his cousins had been commander in the Queen's yacht, he was well connected all round. He had a remittance of ten pounds a. month, and yet after the first week of the month he rarely had a sixpence. He lodged at » low hotel in the outskirts of Duncdini and used to get a little money when hard up by painting in water colours, in which he was very skilful. One day he came to mc, and asked mc to lend him 5/ to buy paints and brushes. I lent him the money, and he insisted on giving an lOU for the amount. Now when one of these men, who has been a gentleman, borrows money and insists on giving a promissory note or an lOU, or any other document; that, is a legal proof of the debt, you, may be sure that he does not intend to repay you. As long as it remains ai debt of honour, and you continue in friendly terms, you may possibly get your money back, if you can catch your, debtor just .when he has got bis remittance, and particularly if you can Bay; j that you are hard up yourself. Two days after he applied for a second loan of 5/, as he found that was not ! sufficient to buy the brushes and tubes he wanted. Very reluctantly I gave bun the second sum, and he gave mc another lOU.

Two more days elapsed, and then a third application was made. Then I told him plainly that I did not believe a word he said, that I.was certain the money had gone in drink,,and that if he did not buy what he needed with the third crown he might starve until his next remittance was due, for anything I cared. He made no preterfces this time, took the 5/, gave mc a third lOU, and I congratulated myself on having got rid of him cheaply. What was my surprise : tncr'efore on the Ist of next month to see him enter my, rodms, flourishing a cheque for ten pounds in his.hand, and asking mo to change it for him (it was crossed), and give him £9" 5/ and the three lOU's. This I did very joyfully, as I had never expected to sec a fraction .of the. money. He "carefully scrutinised the lOTPs and then tore them up... ... •_

The next morning about ten he came to? my rooms looking a most wretched object, and begging mc: for the love of heaven to give, him a sixpence to get a drink! "Why, what on earth have you done with the _9.5/ I gave you yesterday?" said I. "Oh! I went down into Stuart-street and spent it all amongst the girls." I would not give hini any money, but gave, him half a. pint of bottled beer and some medicine. I should say that at this period of nrj)

life jTC still entertained some hopes of reforming these Wretched creatures, but I have long '". since -renounced ' all hopes of that - kind. This \tVy man rushed into my consulting room one night after ten .o'clock, drunk, and, flourishing a florin in one hand.'

"Look here, doctor!" he said, "comfr and have a drink; come and have two drinks! Here's a florin, and we will just .have two drinks a-picce."

~ I intimated pretty sharply that we would have nothing o2 the kind, and told him to go home. . .. y ; . V.'!He:. then said in TaAslow and moUrnful ■ "Well, if you won't 'have any 'drinks I. shall 'be obliged to have four drinks insfea'd of two, and then I shall be drunk," and you will be responsible for it.". Even this,ingenious argument failed to persuade mc, but I offered to accompany him to his lodgings,.as he was just in the condition to get into trouble with the police. So we went out together; but when we reached the Octagon, Bletsoe, as" I will call him, sudenly stopped short and said, "'Look here, we must have our, drinks now, or we shall be too late." I, of course, refused, and as he held out the florin in his open hand I made a snatch at it and said: "You shall not have any drinks until you get home." "Give mc back that florin," said he in a stately tone. "No, I won't." There was a police, constable standing within a yard or two, and Bletsoe turned to him with drunken gravity and said: "Constable, you see this 'gentleman?"* "Yes! I know him," said the constable. "You' have, seen him commit robbery on the Queen's highway. Now, constable, T charge you to take him into custody on a charge of highway robbery!" The constable, in a very surly voice, re< ■ plied: "I'll take you into custody if you don't! start off pretty quick." Bletsoe, not a bit awed by this, said* "What is-your number, constable?" The constable pointed to the collar of his greatcoat, and Bletsoe said very im» pressively, "I shall report you to the in* speetor to-morrow morning, constable." And then he walked off, I with him. After walking about a quarter of a mile, without a. word' on either side, he sud-< denly stopped and said,'"l'll not go one step further unless you give mc, back.that; florin, and then I'll walk back like a little lamb." ' .'",.,"....", After some remonstrance I threw th_ florin to hinrand left him. I could tell several:amusing stories ol this man, showing what a hopeless casa he was, but have only room for: one more. He came to my rooms one'night, to meet another man, an .ex-officer of the R.N., who had sworn off for the time. They talked together for an. hour, service talk—the usual talk that goes on among officers, when all at once Bletsoe drew himself up With a yawn, said he felt very sleepy, and wanted to ,lie down. I offered hhn a couch, but he;sard he should prefer to lie down on my bed! I absolutely refused to allow this, and he turned round, and with difficulty supporting himself against the table, said slowly: "I consider your conduct, Dr. Bakewell, most in-in-hospitable, and ungentleinanly. Henceforth, sir, we are strangers!" "He stalked with an imposing air from the room. Now, the curious things about this was that Bletsoe was perfectly sober when ha came; he had nothing to drink in my house except coffee; he talked for an hour as rationally as anyone could do, and, then suddenly became obviously drunk. It appeared that he had had ha_! a bottle of whisky before he came. After this I saw no more of him for months, when I met him in Prince-street; looking exceedingly hale and hearty. He told mc that he had been up in TaranaJd bushfalling; that he had.met a carpenter, a very decent man, who had been at tha bush work before, and wanted a mate. "We went together and took contracts for bushfalling, and I've got a cheque •for £73, after all expenses were paid, for mv share. And. now lam going to have a 'jolly good time!" I never saw him or heard of him again. I (To bo.continued.)j Arthur-street, Onehunga, . ;j_jj " -February 9A. i*3& ~.