THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 199, 9 August 1911, Page 5

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC

POLICE COMMISSION ER'S

REPORT

DETECTION OF SLY-GROG

SELLING.

[SPECIAL —BY TELEGRAPH. ]

(Own Correspondent.)

Wellington, Aug. 9.

I During the year ended 31st ; March there were 196 prosecution® j for sly grog-selling, resulting in 117 convictions, as against 235 prosecutions and 154 convictions during the preceding year. The police, remarks the Commissioner in hi® annual report, are often blamed for failure to detect illicit sales of liquor, he therefore repeats what he said last year in his annual report as to the failure on the part of the public to afford the polico any assistance in this respect, and that, for this reason, it is found ■; necessary to resort to method® j which are distasteful both to the public and the police. Legislation I last session has had a good effect i in abolishing the bogus locker system which was used in some districts to defy the law while extension to proclaimed native areas of the provisions of the Licensing i Act requiring notice to be given I of liquor sent into No-license disj tricts materially assisted the po- | lice in gaining control of the liquor 1 traffic in these areas. “I regret to I observe, however,” he adds, “that i there has been a disposition on ! the part of many dealers in liquor i to disregard the provisions of the I Act in this respect, or to regard* ' them as vexatious requirements to ibe disobeyed or evaded. It is a I very valuable provision as it enI ables the police to promptly trace ■ liquor consigned to persons with- | in prohibited districts and to fol- ; low it up before it has been disi posed of illegally. A number of | prosecutions for breaches of this 1 section have taken place and aS ; there can now be no excuse of the i law not being understood, further , prosecutions will follow whenever ■ circumstances warrant such course i being adopted.” The Commissioner goes on to ! say, that legislation is required to ; control the output 'sale of New ; Zealand wines. He has received a 1 report which shows grave abuses I result with the present law-. The fines imposed on sly grog- ; sellers during the year amounted to J £1862, as against £2358 in 1909. Direct cost to the Dominion in dei tecting and prosecuting sly grogI sellers during the year was £BOO.

INSOBRIETY RECORD. During the year ended 31st March last, 1061 more persons were arrested in the Dominion for drunkenness than during the previous year, the figures being for 1909: 9875 males, 782 females ; for 1910: 10.898 males, 820 females.

It is interesting to note that ; 37.81 per cent, of males and 65.98 i per cent, females arrested last j year had previous convictions, and I that 5.44 per cent, of males were ] not permanent residents of the Do- ! minion. I The numbers arrested in the four ; chief districts were as follows :— Male. Female. Incr,se j Auckland .. 2508 167 829 | Wellington . 2741 317 220 I Christchurch 1603 143 17 Decrease. Dunedin .... 757 51 38 Invercargill 250 3 The number of arrests for drunkenness on Sunday in the four cen- ' tre-s were as follows: — ‘ Male. Female. [ Auckland 13 5 i Wellington 33 7 J Christchurch 15 2 | Dunedin 11 1

The large increase in the number of persons charged with drunkenness, remarks the Commissioner of Police in his annual report, calls for notice, but no definite conclusions can be drawn from the figures, as offences of this nature are governed by a variety of conditions such as increase of population, influx of strangers, prosperity of the country, and last but not least the vigilance of the police.