A MOTHER'S APPEAL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 252, 21 October 1908, Page 3

A MOTHER'S APPEAL.

sr « k The following-letter, which appeared s - in the Ashborton "Guardian? of Seplt tember ISth, 1905,. speaks fer. itself:—7 SUNBAY DRINEiNG. Ie (To the Editor A ;-'"_ l- Sir, —Sihdly give mc space in your paper, and, with your permission, to '<■ answer the- remarks .of "Silver. Pen/* reL garding Sunday drinking. When: Mr. Davis said in the Court that there waa a good deal of drinking going-on on. Sundays he spoke the truth- Now r -sif, 1 will give you my experience of Sunday, st orinking.' It was.my.son that.was be- •" fore the Court last Monday; that is the !_ second time that the police have nm "my ie toy in on a Sunday.' It is six" years ago te since mv boy came into Ashburton from * Tinwald to learn his tra.de. .He ..was then fourteen: years old and he had never tasted intoxicating drink tip to s- then. He is now twenty years old, and !l " has been up before the Court twice for \W drunkenness. Once I sent for the police ie and had a sly-grog shop raided on a Ty Sunday, while- my boy was there all.the lJ day; and how many times lie.has been m brought home to mc drunk I could not il- tell you—numberless. And all this takes !( 1 place in the No-license town of AsbburJf ton. Now, sir, I will give you my boys » s own words about the sly-grog shops of c- Ashburton. When he , came: home- on rh Monday I--asked him if he would tell ine where he gets the drink front- He a said no: but he said he could get drink c- at forty places in. Ashburton; and my ?" boy is worse on Sundays than any day ___ in the week. The JJb-license people will In say far better tsyehty or thirty sly-grog ie s_ops than one licensied bar. Shame on h a them. They have not been put to the re tt.>it the same as I have, or they would ed not talk like that, for the sly-grog shop V" are a curse to Ashburton- R~6 doubt' tie gg No-license people think-they are-doing a id- grand thing for the young peoplej and I m- glory in their efforts,, but they wonld be cc doing a far better thing if they would __\ advocate l -"N'o-license,7no liquor Jr. I have he been wishing that someone 1 far_ahler ed than I am would have7taken.this "matro " tor up. Thanking yon: kindly, I_am_- - _-■—THE" : BoY«;'at_>TH£_r7 — 7 (MclJavis is Mayor of Aflhburton.>: •J~ v fc> -___iwfcl7 y . 77- ...7-- '*".--. i...-U".>" ■'':"'." 7:--- ■'■■:-.::7''*7v.::7 ■: . -■■■■:■■'. '-- : -r,:":-/' r .;. : '.,-^-.-'