Hawkes Bay Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1899. THE CHASE AFTER ALCOHOL

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11126, 19 January 1899, Page 2

Hawkes Bay Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1899. THE CHASE AFTER ALCOHOL

On Tuesday an entertaining farce was performed in the local Courthouse. Unfortunately the show was not advertised, or there would have been a large attendance of the public, even if a small price for admission had been charged. The result, however, of that travesty was rather serious to one member of the congregation, and the decision affects so many people in the community that it is as well to point out the dangers to which almost any person in this town who is engaged in trade is submitting himself. He will assuredly, in a very short space oi time, according to the way things are going, have our very zealous sergeant and his energetic corps oe his tracks. Martin Quinn, in short was fined for having the presump. tion to sell what purported to be t temperance drink, called Kolt bitters, but -which, had two and a hal, per cent of alcohol in its composition This criminal imposition on th< public was visited with a penalty and an injunction not to do i again. This decision is likely to seriously affect the sale of temperance drinks and the man who at present in dulges in them, finding that thosi who have hitherto vended " sof tack " are delicate about supplyinj them to customers when the übiqui tous limbs of the law are ever read; to pounce upon them for doing so and seeing that the only alternate iB water, or whisky with some watei will probably take water with somi whisky in it, as he will then be act ing in conformity with the awfu majesty of the law. This probibitioi of temperance drinks is evidently ai artful Bcheme on the part of th< drink party to circumvent the pro hibitionist in his endeavors to mak< us a sober community. We trust however, that the temperance organ isations will rise to a man and pro test against this action on the par of the intemperate section of th< community. We have it, on doubtful authority that the police aret about to rai< evsry grocer's shop in the town 3?or a considerable time past tht grocere have been selling sugar, anc there is much more than 2\ per cen of alcohol in this deleterious sub stance. The greengrocers and fruit erers every day without the slightes compunction are selling cabbages ' onions, potatoes, apples, and apri cots, and they all contain a larg< percentage of alcohol. The soonei this insidious method of introducing the bete noir of the temperanei crank into the public system ii stopped, the more likelihood is then that our vendors of liquor will re ceive their rights as the sole dis tributors of alcohol. If anybodj wants alcohol let him go to the hotels. If he has formerly obtained ; it at the greengrocer's or the stores ; he must be taught to go to the hotels for it. In the matter of the vending of this indispensable spirit • there is a gigantic system of corruption, and the sooner this is recognised and put a stop to the soonei i will the clauses of the Licensing Act 1 be strictly kept. "We suggest the following remedy : Any baker (for bread unfortunately also has alcohol in its composition), grocer, greengrocer, butcher (meat contains a great amount of this shocking Bubstance) must have an expert in chemistry on the premises. If a customer comes in for any article the chemist must take that article, resolve it into its constituent parts, and taking away the alcohol, deliver the remainder over the counter. Such a procesß undoubtedly possesses the disadvantage of taking up a certain amount of time, which would perhaps give the lady shopper more excuse for her long stays, but it would be distressing to the ordinary impatient male. If the drapers can find any alcohol in their fabrics, and as it is pretty well everywhere it is probably there, this would be a delightful innovation for the female ; who wants a yard of calico or a reel of cotton, and could ransack the shop while she was waiting for it without appearing to trespass on the time of the man behind the counter Another method of coping with this great difficulty would be more satisfactory to the male portion of the population. An edict should be issued that any substance or article containing alcohol must be sold only on licensed premises, If a bunch of parsnips, a bag of sugar, or a sirloin of beet' IB wanted, let them be obtain-' able only .at the hotels, Ifc is true that this plail would considerably magnify the importance of the publican and attract a much .larger proportion of the inhabitants to the hotels, but the law would at any rate be acted up to, and that would surely satisfy the guardians of law and order, and aJso appease flypn the most rabid members of the temperance brigade. Such a system would also tend to smoothness in domestic life. At present when a brute oi a husband is asked to call at such-and-such a shop he forgets, or is sure to bring back the wrong article. Under the conditions we suggest there would 'be no such carelessness, and it can easily be imagined how the head of a household woujd enter into the delights of shopping, and inquire every morning after breakfast, '-'Is there anything you want down town to-day, dear ? " The awful crime of Martjn Quinn and the effects o£ his terrible breach of the law may easily be estimated. He sold a drink which contained 2£ per cent of alcohol. Ordinary whisky, for whisky varies according to the desire of the publican to become rich, contains 53 per cent of alcohol ; is composed of say half whisky and half water. Now the average man gets what iffl vulgarly termed " screwed " upon half a pint of pure alcohol. If he gets drunk on less he is not worth considering, for the smell of a cork will demoralise him. We have obtained these facts from a man who has drunk whisky, and knosrs all about it, so they are reliable, According to this estimate any degraded person who wanted to get drunk would only have to enter Mr Quinn's shop and order 21£ pints of kola bitters and drink them off at once. He would have to swallow that 2\\ pints at once, for if he spread its absorption over a period and only drank at intervals the effect would go off in the process Thus any unprincipled prohibited person could go to Mr Quiun and order three gallons of kola bitters to be put in a bucket, or a bath if there were no large buckets about, and intoxicate himself. The risk of such a state of things is apparent, and the law is to be commended in the endeavor to put it down with a strong and firm hand. It is a great pity that the law cannot make alcohol wholly unnecceaary. From a scientific temperate publication we take the following;— It is asserted that alcohol will not contribute in the slightest decree to the permanent fabrio of the body, and from that ifc ib inferred that it is useless. The

assertion is quite true, but tho inference is unsound. Fat, sugar, and starch, the primary bases of carbonaceous food, will not contribute a particle to the permanent fabric of the body, and yet some one or more of those substances are essential to life, and cannot be discontinued with impunity. This is another way of saying that alcohol is a necessity, and if we do not assimilate it in one way, we do so in another. We doubt" if even the most ardent advocates of temperance would think a temperance drink worth anything if it did not have some percentage o£ alcohol in it. The man who lives on vegetables and cold water ia continually absorbing alcohol in some form, as it abounds in plant life. The system, even of the most ardent abstainer, craves for it in Home shape. The plan, therefore, of prohibiting its presence even in the smallest quantities except on licensed premises has the tendency of increasing the national grog bill. If this system of restricting its • use is pursued there will shortly be no temperance societies in the country, and such a dire' calamity is to be strenuously and actively opposed.