PROHIBITION AT CLUTHA.

Evening Star, Issue 9582, 31 December 1894, Page 2

PROHIBITION AT CLUTHA.

The ' Press' sent a commissioner to the Clutha to ascertain the effects of Piohibition there, and these are the results of his observations:—

I did not see anything extraordinary during the remainder of that evening or the following day, but-I did see sufficient, and had seen mfficient, daring my visits far the various districts to leave no possible donbt on my mind that Prohibition bo far in New Zealand waft proving as much of a failure as it is reported to he in America, and, nearer home, at Mudura. Idonotsay thatapoUoemaiiJn plainclothes or a well-known detective could go into the Olutha district and pureha«e liquor atafcjbt off, bat from what I raw, and from my own personal experience,'"! tan eonvmeed tha£ ftvFrablbttion business is a complete farce from beginning to ' end, and that the sooner fresh-poessc* are granted to the respectable ejus ofjiowaiftlie better. With the tnepttan of thfc two4«ats above e%ad. I oannof- »y dnmkenneaa my weejc*a jrajjibliL ont 1 wiineweUßnffldent in the Olutha <»uldbe|mrGhatrf-ua^^

fell '•-o'-

they will have it; and ? 4> vS disposed for, and in any * sfe*-« tnm the ten <ot firo-sallon ke « L& tankard, from the two-gallon jar, the "bottle, half-bottle, pocket "targiven various name*, but under' '. f'' 1 t it is served it is equally in- „:~<- u ~vl|MsMßnfr~ I gained too, reliable information aa nwh liquor bow goes into districts in various quantities "*' in various packages as. was the case prior to - fee ottning into force of the present Licensing £ct Moat of the bars appeared to be kept " open, and at .various hours of the day and daring the evenings I saw a good many people • - enter and,come "out. In some cases the bar door would be closed during the time of service, b.ttt {MI often as not tho people would be served with what I could not always tell, gometunes fhey would go into an inner .room, and come out with a jovial smile and the back of their hand crossing their lips. I saw people served with beer and witi whisky, and in a number of instances saw it paid for. ■ How far Prohi ition affects the ordinary business of the several towns and villages I am not prepare to state with any degree of certainty, but from a number of sources I gleaned that it had not so far produced any visible benefits, while on the other hand there * has been an increase of rates to make up fpr serious loss of revenue through the absence of the license fees and the great depreciation in the rating value of hotel properties, houses which are now regarded as of no more value for rating purposes than an ordinary dwe ling". At a Jittle place called Heriot, above Tapanui »nd Kelso there is one hotel, and at the last licensing election only a solitary vote was cast in favor of a continuance of licenses, two for a reduction, and fiftyeight for no license. At this place. I was assured that over.thirty persons who voted straight out for Prohibition in March last quite recently signed a petition in favor of a wholesale license being granted to the ' closed, house. In addition to.this sign,., there is "already a pretty widespread feeling that at the next election the original retail licensing system Will be again reverted to. How, far this may be true, of course, has yet to be proved, but one thing is very certain—houses of accommodation are unquestionably required, and while they are conduoted in a proper and legitimate manner there, should be no reason why a* moderate number of licenses be not granted. So long as alcoholic beverages are manufactured, so long will certain sections of the community use them, and it is. infinitely better to allow them to be sold under the eyes of the law than in the manner in which they are. now disposed of in those places in which the doubtful experiment of Prohibition has been tried. I had scarcely got over into the, borders of tho Clutha district before a fellow passenger, in reply to a question I put. said: " Oh, Prohibition is a bit of a farce. By giving a wink you can get as much liquor as you want. It seems to me that some of tho hotelkeepers are better off than thev were before, as tbey sell as much whiskv as ever, and don't have to pay a license. I have no knowledge of the quantities formerly sold, but from my own personal observation I can confidently, assert that Prohibition in the Clutha district is so far a complete fiasco.