FEET OF CLAY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 47, 1 May 1942, Page 4

FEET OF CLAY

AS was to be expectcd the collapse of the County Coun- . "cil's representations Avas due entirely to that body s unwillingness to substantiate its complaint or to follow the matter up a. little further with a view to remedying an evil which as all councillors freely admit is definitely en.' Had the logical course been taken of accepting Jthe .invitation and taking steps to find the evidence ,or even of producing proof of the effects of the alcohol traffic on the Natives the Council's agitation ~iveuld have had. a far more genuine ring. As ii: 'was, a grand opportunity has been lost of seizing the initiative, taking a bold stand and having gone so .far, of pressing the matter home in a firm determined manner which would assist to stamp out the evil and give the Maori communities a fairer chance to live decent useful lives. While we hold no. brief for the manner m which reflection was cast upon the integrity of all taxi drivers, neither do we hold with the scathing criticism to which the police were subjected to by one speaker, we feel nevertheless that the Council was guided by the correct impulse when it sought to do something to stamp cut a practice which for years has; become a blot on the life of our community and an open scandal on our associations "with. the. Maori race. Evidence is hard to obtain! We admit that it' is —and also that few people relish the thought of giving evidence against their fellows. This however is a matter that must be cleaned up or else we. will rue the day in years to come that we closed our eyes to our laxity. We owe it not only to our friends of the Native race but also to our own town and district in the interests of peace and order. Already our courts are full of Maoris charged with all kind.s of offences committed whilst under the influence cf diink. and yet, we are prepared to be blind to the reptilian minded persons who run the 'booze traffic' to the pahs, flouting every law and all decency. How long are we going to be content to sit d,own and say 'We all know its gcing on' and not raise: a little finger to seek out the culprits lespon sible? How long are we going to shrink from the duty of even attempting to produce evidence because of our personal feelings. Here is a clear cut case of duty and conscience,, are we going to be so spineless and weak-kneed that we will continually seek the easy way out by shelving and floating away from a little honest-to-goodness truth. When o'iie hears of wholesale drunkenness on Christmas Day in isolated; pahs, with women fighting and children neglected, it is surely not a. time for hesitant niceties to interfere. We do not wish to be associated with sloppy teetotalism in this matter or any such negative flapdoodle. Surely it is manly and decent to take hold of this thing, whether me lik/ our spot or not. Drink is reaching the Pahs, it is disrupting native life, the habit is undermining like a canker the youth of the race, it is destroying and nullifying all the constinctive ideas engendered by education and scheme control. We know these things are so! It is freely admitted on all sides. How much longer are we to tolerate its insidious influence among Maori women and children. Surely we have sufficient for an enquiry that will expose the; whole rotton traffic and led to the arrest of the culprits. Here is a,n opening for the collection of evidence in which our religious leaders should show the strength of their condemnation for we have seen just how far words can go. A strong movement to trace down all evidence, to co-operate fully with the police and to act as men not mice, will ultimately root cut the evil and give our Native race a decent and honest change to work and achieve side by side with the pakeha.