AUCKLAND HAPPENINGS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 July 1918, Page 6

AUCKLAND HAPPENINGS.

I Our Own Correspondent.] AUCKLAND, July 16. WHAT EARLY vJLUSIKG HAS Whatever the "Trade" may have -tnought about it, tiie general public, it may be fairly assumed, did not anticipate that G o'clock closing would spell disaster, or sometning very much.like it, for the licensed houses. But so serious has been the falling-off in the receipts of publicans in this city —and presumably in other parts of the Dominion as the result of early closing—that two of the biggest brewing companies in Auckland have just reduced ihe routs of the numerous hotels they own quite considerably. In one case the rent of a leading hostelry has been cut down from £22 per week to £.13, in another case Ihe rent has been lowered grom £9 per week to £4 10s, and other reductions are £l2 to £9, £lO to £4, £3O to £2O 10s, £9 to £3, £8 to £5, £l4 to £9. The experience of Ihe Auckland publicans goes to show that most of the drinking is done—or rather was done—in the evening, between "the present closing hour, 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. I observe that G o'clock closing in Victoria is to remain permanently in force, and almost certainly New Zealand will follow suit, that is provided, of course, that the carrying of National Prohibition does not sweep away the necessity- for fixing the hours during wliich liquor may be sold. NATIONAL PROHIBITION OR STATE CONTROL ? During the recent visit to Auckland of the Hon- G. TV. Russell, Minister of Internal Affairs, he said, in discussing the liquor question, that the apparently irreconcilable parties, the "Trade" on the one hand and the Prohibitionists on the other, were at last in accord, and that the recommendation of the National Efficiency Board that a poll be taken as to the abolition of the liquor trade by a bare majority vote was approved bv both parties. But the "Trade"'bore declares that "such a statement can only have emnuntecl from the imagination of the Minister, and is absolutely inaocnT'ofo," So. thore you are! 'BiHs i Ti little a<rree," ns T)r Watts so edifyinglv rmarks, but the and the will never, it Pp, fmr«d, tV 1 r? fie little biV«. Meantime, if Prohibition doe--; com* 1 it is n>ni/n™ to the cmip+ v v fom* r>-nrl "-bolf ™ill?rv*i <s{prli'n f T to compensate the publicans for gn-

ing' out of llie business. And where is the money to come from? Mr Russell hinted darkly that it might have to come out of a tax on our tea and sugar. But if this money has to be raised by taxation, why tax the necessaries of life ? Surely, there are other things that might preferably be laid under contribution! Motorcars, diamonds, costly gold watches, expensive furs, millinery, silks, and fal-lals for example. Perhaps these things, or some of them, are being taxed already. Well, let them be taxed further. As to the abolition of the liquor traffic, why should the traffic be abolished? It is chiefly ob-

jectionable now owing to the evils which have grown up with it. But substitute pure liquor for adulterated, do away with tied houses, see that drunken men and women are not supplied with drink, sweep away gorgeous bars, get rid of barmaids, and make the sale of liquor as much a matter of pure business as the sale of groceries or bread, or vegetables—and allow no drinking on the premises and only a limited quantity of linuor to be sold for consumption off the premises. Under such conditions the liquor trade would be transformed and deprived of all its objectionable features. And these reforms could be, and would be. brought about by State control. ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER! One of the most touching things in connection with the loss of the Wimmera was the way in which the Maoris of Te Hapua and Tae Maro hastened to the assistance of the shipwrecked passengers. The poorest, in point of worldly possessions and hard -cash, of all the tribes in the Dominion, is that to be found at Te Hapua, while those Natives resident further south at Tae Maro, are also far from well-to-do- And yet these kindly people not only faced the difficulties of getting the Wimmera passengers to their settlements, but lavished upon them practically all they' had in the shape of "food and clothing. Such generosity surely merits recognition, and if any reader of these notes has any old clothing or stores he can spare and would like to show his appreciation in a practical way of the self-sacrifice made by the Maoris in question, he should make the things up into a parcel and forward it to the care of Mr Robert Rew, Lower Queen Street, Auckland, who will see that it reaches those for whom it is intended. Mr Rew is acting on behalf of the Wimmera Relief Committee. Parcels should be addressed to him, and marked “For the Te Hapua and Tae Maro Maoris.

WOOD PULP DRESSES

Writes my Wellington colleague : "Do you believe that it is possible to produce dresses of the most beautnul texture and coloring from wood-pulp—the stuff >so largely used for tiie manufacture of printing paper? Well, it is—whether you believe it or not. I know, because I have seen and handled the material- A soft goods house manager showed the stuff to me. It was made up into scarves for ladies' wear. It is also used for frocks. It looks exactly like silk, and it would take an expert all his time to tell that it is not silk. The wood pulp is spun into threads as fine as floss-silk. I don't know about its wearingqualities, but it is certainly very beautiful- There is no attempt to 'deceive the public on the part of the Home manufacturers, because the boxes containing the goo-ls are plainly branded "wood pulp." The war is becoming responsible for many unexpected developments." SIR JAMES ALLEN ON HOME TRAINING. I am not a thick-and-thin admirer of Sir James Allen, but I must confess that I was a good deal impressed with some remarks he made in addressing a deputation of women that waited, upon him in Auckland a day or two ago on the subject of home-train-ing of the young. "It is too late to hope for reforms when your boys and girls are grown up," said Sir James, "unless the home influence be good and your youngfolks trained from"the very start to understand the perils and dangers of temptation, and to lead mrv'ol livf\s, ymi will never abolish social evils. There is urgent work for your women's societies to do. Got "down to the bottom of things, educate the public mind, educate

your children in the home as well as in the school, and create a healthy public opinion on tliose matters, winch aie of such treniecious importance to the wellare ot tiie community. ionng girls snouid receive instructions us to tne consequences ot wrong-doing, and it a* us in tins Worn that women s organisations could rentier invamunie service- .these be wise words, and parents would do well to ponder tiiem. We are spending- targe sums annually in tins country on the conversion of the heathen in foreign lands, but social reforms nearer home are comparatively neglected.

A VALUELESS CHEQUE SWINDLE!*. The ease against a party bearing tiie familiar name of Brown at the Auckland Bolice Court tiiis week, illustrated afresh how very easy it is for any plausibletongued stranger to obtain money by the passing of valueless cheques. Brown’s method of raising the wind at other people’s expense was as simple as shelling* peas, lie commenced operations by purchasing a cheque book at one of the local banks. He had no account at the bank, but appears to have' had no difficulty in buying one of its cheque-books. Once the latter was in ins possession the game of money-getting went merrily on. Brown drew cheques for various amounts ranging from £1 to £2 10s. These he readily induced strangers, shopkeepers and others to cash for him. He put up at a swell boardinghouse, and wore an ingratiating smile and a fashionably cut suit. These and the cheque-book formed his stock-in-trade. He explained to the Bench that he was alright in the country, but the temptations of town were too much for him. The Court failed to take tlie hint, and ordered Brown three years’ detention for reformative treatment- He was an old hand. I remember when some time ago a similar case was before the Court the Magistrate remarking that business people who cashed cheques for total strangers deserved to lose their money for their neglect of the simplest business precautions. I mu inclined to think that the Magistrate was right.