The Evening Star THURSDAY. APRIL 13, 1916,

Evening Star, Issue 16088, 13 April 1916, Page 4

The Evening Star THURSDAY. APRIL 13, 1916,

Too much prominence cannot bo given to the following statement Soldiers and by lho Hon j A] , en> Drunkenness. y \ inhtel . o{ Defence:Statistics that have been placed before me convince me that there is less drunkenness among soldiers than among ordinary civilians, in spite of tho special

temptations that are placed in the way

of soldiers. It disposes of many loose allegations that have been made by well-intentioned folk, whose sentimentality was obviously stronger than their sagacity. It ought also to dispel the apprehension of many mothers who have been encouraged to infer that the military training camps are parade grounds for tho Devil. Tho statistics show that since the inauguration of the camps only three men have been dismissed from the forces for drunkenness; and that during the. first three months of this year (the thirsty season) only 265 of 12.000 soldiers in the different camps were convicted of drunkenness, as 'against a total of 653 males and 62 females similarly convicted in *he civil courts at Wellington. This is an excellent record, and fully substantiates the contention previously made in this column that as regards sobriety our Army need not fear comparison. It has to be admitted again, however, that there has been more drunkenness among our soldiers during their period of training in the Xorth Island (the Minister apparently has not deemed it necessary—or prudent—to give the complete list of military convictions for drunkenness since the inauguration of tho camps) than there would have been if the National Government, with a courage not characteristic of their war policy, had enforced at the outset even reasonable restrictions of the liquor trade in the vicinity of the military camps. It is true that- they have resisted the demands for the establishment of wet canteens, and their firmness in supporting the deliberate opinion of their military advisers that liquor in camps is not conduciye to and not consistent with the proper training of troops in New Zealand deserves unqualified commendation. There is special significance in the statement that "wet canteens are not " conducive to the proper training of the " troops in Xew Zealand." In Great Britain the military authorities have behind their methods uie tremendous adva-itf-ge of a century of discipline. Here the raw recruit has to be made a competent soldier in a few months, and has to acquire a discipline that is strange to his normal life. The authorities must be spared the handicap of drunkenness among soldiers—a condition which hinders effective training in almost record time. And if stern military punishment were inflicted some of our humanitarian politicians would "go on" about it for a decade. The best course to take is to reduce temptations. It is satisfactory to observe that the National Government arc at last inclined to believe that reasonable regulation of the liquor trade would be advantageous to our soldiers while in training for a serious business that demands perfect physical fitness. It appears from the Prime Minister's reply to a deputation from the War Necessities Committee at Wellington yesterday, asking for the establishment of wet canteens and the early closing of hotels and club bars in the Wellington district, that the Government had intended to impose certain restrictions, but had found the law did not give them power to do so. Now that that discovery has been made the Prime Minister has" no doubt that Parliament will be asked during the coming session to amend the law. It is a great pity that the Government should be about twenty months behind public opinion, but " better late than never." It is to be hoped that Cabinet will deal courageously with the question, and will introduce early closing of hotels, so that the civilian and the soldier may be placed on an equal footing as regards curtailment of liquor.

In addition to restricting the traffic in liquor the Government ought also to deal with -what the Minister of Defence de.scribes as " something worse than illicit trade in liquor in Wellington/' Mr Allen considers that an atta'ck on that evil (unnamed) would be more advantageous to oar soldiers than the early closing of hotels where liquor is sold under license. Why not give the Police .Department full power to deal with that particular evil, and remove a loathsome menace to our soldiers in their own country? Why pretend that temptation is only in Cairo? Doubtless there are many difficulties and spurious deiicacy to contend against, but if there be more evils than the evil of drunkenness the Government .should 110 t hesitate to attack them boldly. It is oDifous that if the hotels arc" closed at 6 p.m. daily those soldiers who have acquired what the deputation called an " accumulated thirst" will find many haunts open to them where liquor and probably something worse than liquor will be obtainable. There has been far too much paltering with these difficulties, and it is time for courageous action.

It has been often stated that only a ray small number of our school children cart swim. The Public Baths are filling a _ long-ielb want in this direction, and with a view of festering interest union* the children in tjiis useful art th ft &mmming Association and the Life Saving Society are holding a carnival on the 29th lnst. If this carnival turns out a success the fixture will be made an annual 0110." An extraordinary case of an operation on a wounded soldier has been complicated to the Academy of Sciences at i'aiis with full particulars and photographs, b-' Dr Guepin, n surgeon in the Pean .Hospital. _ The soldier in question has \-J<i one-third part of his brain removed, juki now to all appearance ho is in his normal state of health. His movements, speech and thoughts seem to be exactly what they were before he was wounded ; &v£ this in spite of the facts that certain imi" vous centres have undoubtedly been removed, and have been preserved as anatomical specimens.

Investigations made by Iho Commonwealth, statistician as to variations in prices of food and groceries (46 commodities) for the month of February show an average result for 30 towns of 4.9 per cent, increase since the preceding- month. There has been an increase in the. pries of sugar, butter, and eggs in all the States. Trices of bread and flour have not changed except in South Australia and West Australia. In the former State prices of both bread and flour are lower and in the latter State the price of bread is lower, while the price of flour has remained stationary. Potatoes are dearer in all the States except Queensland, while meat is dearer in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. In Queensland and West Australia there has been practically no change in prices of meat. Compared with July, 1914, the mouth before ' the outbreak of war, the index-numbers are higher in all the towns, the aggregate result for the 30 towns showing an increase of 35.5 per cent.

Mr Paulin telephoned at 1.30 p.m. today : —Squally IN'.Wt to S.W. winds.

Our Christchureh correspondent telegraphs :—This week's mail brought bad news for Hod Cross workers as to tho destruction by firo of the entire shipment of 32 eases of lied Cross goods from the Canterbury and West land brunch of the Rod Cross. Tho lire took , place in I heship's hold on the night of her arrival in harbor at Salonika."" The value of the shipment was close on £1.500. ])r Acland, a well-known Christehurch surgeon, writes to the {peal branch from Salonika: "Wo know nothing of tho cause of the fire, and it is terribly disappointing to us that so much valuable material should be. wasted, and all your efforts come to nothing."

John Kelly, with the unenviable record of 115 previous convictions, was before the Court for drunkenness this morning. Tho old man, who is 72 years of age, was convicted and discharged. Thomas Laffey was fined 10s, or 24 hours, also for drunkenness. Run 534, Benmore, area 8,200 acres, was drawn at the ballot by Thomas Hall, who withdrew his application. The Land Board to-day allotted this run to Alexander Wilson M'Farlane, of Dunedin, but now away with the Expeditionary Force. Yesterday and to-day wardrobes and other articles of heavy furniture were being hoisted out of tho Bond .street windows of the Government .Buildings. Pass-ers-by need not imagine that the Post Office is committing harikari, or even running away from its creditors. Tho operations are merely the beginnings of the necessary move to the Garrison Hall, where, during tho demolition and rebuilding, tho Post- Office, business will bo carried on from Easter Saturday. There must be a. great- accumulation of old records in the doomed building. Some of them may be of value historically.

Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., gave his decision in the Licensing Act case, heard a few days ago at Outram, in which Amos M'Kegg, licensee of the White Rouse Hotel. Henley, was charged with, on January 19, intoxicating liquor to youths apparently under 21 years of age. In respect to the two charges of supplying to William John Sinclair, His Worship said he would give defendant tho benefit of the doubt and dismiss tho informations. In regard to the charge of supplying to Thomas Johnson, however, the case was different, and a conviction would bo entered. Defendant in this case would be fined £5, with costs. His Worship also made an order that the witnesses*!) expenses bo not allowed, the. witnesses in the case being the two young fellows who were supplied with the- .liquor. His Wor ship, after giving judgment, strongly emphasised the importance of licensees taking every precaution in. the matter of supplying liquor to young men. The whole matter was in their (the licensees") hands, and they should take no risks. His Worship said, further, that ho had seriously considered whether or not the defendant -M'Kegg should be called upon to show cause, why his license should not be endorsed, but had decided that, in the circumstances, this would not he. done. ■Senior-sergeant Dart appeared for the prosecution and Mr Hay for the defence. At the Port Chalmers Police Court this morning, before Mr A. Cable. J.P., a

first offender, charged with being helplessly drunk, was remanded to the 19th inst.

" I do not ever remember it being so hot in Dunedin in April as it is just now,'' remarked Mr Paulin to-day. •"The thermometer at 11.30 last night registered 68de,g, and at noon to-day it showed 76dcc in the shade."

In the course of a speech at a reception tendered to him by journalists at Wellington yesterday, '.Mi- As-hmead-Bartlett linked the desirableness of more trust being placed in the newspapers by the. military authorities. ?o that their influence with the pubtfc might he better uliMsed. Ihere is ;u serious shortage of supplies in the cycle, trade at present (wires our Christchureh correspondent). .Some of the parts arc practically unobtainable. Altogether the situation is serious for those engaged in the trade, and some of the smaller men are facing the prospect of having to close their doors unless supplies can be obtained. Those engaged in the trade point out that rims, "which could previously bo purchased at os to 3s 7d per pair, now cost ss, and cannot be got at that. Pedals, which used to sell at Is 6d per pair, now cost 5s 6<l. Chains havejnereased in price from 2s to 4s 9d and 5s each. ThoiO are wholesale prices. Cycle spokes cannot bo got at all. A consignment of 20 gross, -which was delivered to a. wholesale house recently, was sold out in a few minutes. Another consignment of two gross of red reflectors, which tamo to hand during the morning, was sold out before lunch time. There is no great scarcity in tyres, but the price has increased about 10 per cent., owing to the increase in freight rates. l!rakes°are unprocurable, and lirooksis saddles and celluloid goods, such as pumps, mudguards, ek:., are orf the market. Lamps and bells have gone, up 20 per cent. The other day wo published, on. the authority of a well-known English journal, an account of the death of Scquah. the famous "much-travelled" dispenser of quack medicines and tooth-puller. .But it seems that he is very much .alive after all; at a.ll events, he iias enjoyed the rare distinction of reading 'his own obituary notice. His death -was reported to have occurred in hospital at Johannesburg. Concerning- this false report Scquah says, in a letter to the 'Daily Xews ' :—"Whoever the man in Johannesburg who "died penniless in hospital at the age of 72 and made fortunes amounting to a, million" may have been he certainly was not " Sequah." The founder of " The Scquah Medicine Company" in England and myself, "The Original Scquah," YV. Haunaway Powe, are both alive and well. Neither of us. was in the " London police " nor "born in Cornwall." The founder, a man hailing- originally from the West Hiding oE Yorkshire, has been a successful stockbroker for years, while I, born in Hampshire, have identified myself with medicine and dentistry practically all my life, except for the few years 1 -was on the "music-hall" stage. J lost my "fortunes" not by "squandering them." but by people, in the city, who formed a larger company out of the original and successful syndicate to the tune" of £500,0C0. Of course, being over-capitalised, it died a natural death. 1 was "demonstrating" in India at that time, and I returned to find another means of obtaining a livelihood. My house was then on. Brixton Hill, known as " Rowe's Nest," while another I had built on Clapham Common, and still called "The Prairies," after our "Prairie Flower" medicine. These had to go, and I went on the music-hall stage, not so much from choice ,iq from necessity, and gave what the public asked for and demanded—" public, dental exhibitions." I am now 75 years of ace, hale :pd stroii;?. "doing ray bit" very 'often for our wounded heroes by giving dra-••-fific and patriotic recitals'', and by the audiences and the funds obtained' they providently appreciated. I think it will ne -found that, the man who died "penniks* in hospital in Johannesburg" had V-.«en engaged as one of the agents of "■ciequah. Limited." This man has been a " Cornish miner." and migrated to South Africa gome years a,go. --V unique event in" the history of Royal Arch Freemasonry in Australasia, took place last night, '(telegraphs our Christchurch correspondent), when a room was opened in the new Masonic Hall, and was especially dedicated to the. purposes of Arch Masonry. The ritual, which had been carefully compiled by Most Ex. Comp. S. (.'. Bingham, was of a most impressive nature. Outside .of America, last night's ceremony is believed to he the only ceremony of the kind on record. 'There, was an attendance of over 70 Arch Masons.

Alexander T.aughton, a young married man, was admitted: to Duncdin Hospital last evening from the Catlins district suffering from somewhat severe injuries sustained, through a tree falling upon him. His injuries include several crushed ribs. The accideut occurred at Caberfeidh.

Watson's Xo. 10 is a little dearer than most whiskies, but is worth tho monev [Adyt.] We have to thank the Government Statistician of New South Wales for Parts 2 and 3 of that Stale's Year Book for 1915, dealing with population, vital statistics, and mining. No lady should be without Martin's Apiol and Steel Pills. Sold by all chemists and stores throughout Australasia.—{Advfc.] •

Every housewife would use No Rubbing Laundry Heh> if she only knew. Hunter and Etheridgc—[Advt.] Entries for the Middlcmareh Show on Easter Monday close on Saturday next at 8 p.m.

Overheard: "My word! but Watson's No. 1,0 Whisky is a treat! Must bo well matured.—[Advt,] The Aurora is to be open for inspection at Dunedin wharf on Saturday nnd Sunday afternoons. An admission fee of 6d will be charged, tho money to go to tho Red Cross funds.

Speight's ale and stout are acknowledged by tho Dominion public to be the best on tho market.—{Advt.]