THE LATE LICENSING COURT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XVI, Issue 136, 13 June 1881, Page 2

THE LATE LICENSING COURT.

To the Editor of the Express. Sir, —I was not present m the Court House on Taesday last, -but, judging from the newspaper reports, the proceedings were such as call for some comment. Those who take an interest m the Temperance cause have often thought that the police generally were not qcite so watchful as they might be over public-house doings, and that a great deal of evil goes on which might be prevented if they were a little moie zealous m the matter. So far as our own town is concerned, many temperance people have observed with satisfvition that the police were apparently waking up to their duty and making. an honest attempt to see that the Licensing Laws are obeyed, and it was with great grief that they observed that, the proceedings of the late Licensing Court, were not such as to give them heart to persevere m their laudable endeavour. It is pretty clear, perhaps, that the decision of the Court could not have been different from what it was, but there are one or two things about the whole proceeding which go to show that, m such cases, one of the sides has rather an uphill task before it. The owner of a licensed house can well afford to give almost any fee you like to mention, to a lawyer, to bamboozle the police, and thus to secure the renewal of his license. The Inspector of Police, on the other hand, is not provided with the assistance of a solicitor, and cannot afford to pay for it. Indeed, it seems difficult to determine what is expected of Sergeant Goodall, whether he is expected to be a policeman or a solicitor, or both combined. Evidently an unequal burden is laid upon the man m his position, and the feeli ig is natural that the side which he represents, which is that of law pnd morality, scarcely gets fair play. It is hardly to be expected that a man m his position should be proficient m all the formalities and proprieties of Court procedure, which a solicitor is supposed to know only as the result of years of professional study. Probably it may be necessary for Mr Goodall to study these points a little if he hopes to be more successfill with future cases, but if he does, it is to be hoped that he will not take lessons m Court etiquette from the example shown him by the learned counsel on the other side, who is reported to have spoken of "smashing heads," a very polite and legal way of patting wrong things to right. Indeed it seems to me that i f "me people had their will the pn' : .!e wo-.ii-A Uelitlleelsebutauexpensiveand inuli-sa ornament, only required to perform some rather needless work about the streets. The policeman meets with every encouragement when he brings up some one for the heinous offence of chancing to leave bis gate open, and so letting his cow or horse stray m the public str; ets for a few minutes, a thing that must, no doubt bs put a atop to ; for if horses and cattle were allowed to roam at large some one would probably be killed. Such a thing might occur once m a hundred years. But the policeman is ra'her frowned upon, and mnbbed as a forward ami meddlesome man that does not know his place, when he dares to interfere with the respectable vices of drinking and gambling, which have brought ruin and death upon numberless individuals even m our own small town within the last ten cr fifteen years. If we are to believe some people this is a very beautiful world indeed, everything conducted very properly and very beautifully ; aocording to them it is alia delusion to suppose that there is too muoh drinking anywhere, or that anybody gambles. But we cannot believe this. Every now aiid then some one dies of delirium tremens, or some other disease caused by excessive drinking somewhere to produoe such results. Every now and then some young man is convioted of embezzling his employer's money, and it comes out m evidence that the money had gone m gambling. A good deal of gambling must go on somewhere before it could produce such results as these. These half-hidden sores — drinking artd gambling — deny it who may, exist to a fearful extent m our land, and are draining the very life blood of the nation. It behoves every man with a spark of humanity or patriotism, to exert all all his might to atarr.p out these vices whereover thty can ba discovered. In any honest effort which the police may make m this direotion they ought to be regarded as the real friends of all that is good, and they deserve to have the sympathy and support of all the well-wishers of our country. Hoping that you will find room for these few thoughts, —I am, Yours, &c, Abstainer.