ILLICIT CITY BEER TRADE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1065, 2 March 1911, Page 4

ILLICIT CITY BEER TRADE.

A MEANS OF CHUCKING IT. Dr. A. M'Arthur, S.M., chairman of the Wellington Licensing Committee, had something interesting to say at the quarterly meeting yesterday in referent# to the suppression of sly grog-selling in the Wellington Licensing District. Tlio committee, lie said, had been considering the seriousness of these sly grog cases, which had been coming before tho court so frequently recently. They vero of opinion that the real basis of theso cases were the wholesale dealers, who, from time to time, supplied unlicensed persons with largo quantities of liquor. The committeo sympathised with those wholesale dealers, and those hotelkt'«pev9 who were oarrjing 011 a legitimate trade. Not, onlv were these affected pecuniarily, but also, because n good deal of tho drunkenness resulting from the siy grog t radii was put down to the door of tho legitimate dealer. The committee, ce.niilined flic chairman, had unanimously decided to ask tile police to furnish t,io names of those wholesale dealers, who had been supplying liquor to thvsa sly grog-sailers, so thr.i; the committeo could deal with them at: the annual lionising 'meeting. The police had been much worried over these eases, and Mm commit, toe wore determined to do all in their power to assist them in stamping out tlio illicit traffic. Inspector Ellison thanked tho chnta man for his remarks. On tho whole, said the inspector, Uioro was not much to complain of, as far as tho ivholesalo dealers were concerned. But (hero was one man, whom tlib police suspected of doing a largo business with bloj grojr people, and tlio police .had experience!! great trouble in obtaining any information from him when they were endeavouring to suppress theso offences. The other wholesale dealers appeared ready enough, however, to furnish honest information to .he police.