Correspondence.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 139, 23 April 1864, Page 4

Correspondence.

•»• Our correspondence columns being imvartinlly o]>en to nil .ilimlee or opinion, It must be untleratoou tlmt we <to uot luuiiUrj- ourselves Willi any opinions expressed tuurotu. ♦ OIJOG PEr.LTNfr HY NATIVES. To the Kditor of tlie New Zealand lleiiai.d. p llt) I saw n letter in your paper of the 21st inst. from Mr. .1. MoLer.il, Kiiipiini, in. l-uforciioe to the natives selling drink tn the linmpoima there. T may mention that 1 have u s,iw mill at Vi'ftnpiproa, iibotit lij milii.s from Cornuiandcl, mid that T am continually j mmoyi'd bv natives selline: drink to the workmen ; it | is rarried on by a few as a regular business ; two or | tlirre of them'start with six bottle in a kit. and cm 11 at tho varum* crocks to sell it .It f.bnut. K.q. por bottle, aud if the six h- taken tin* price: is .t'2 : this is nnt all, fur out of the dir/cu oriafiually started with they make fiulitu ,, " bottles, su you may sec it is n very good ]mying game, aud im onitnttßiupts to stop tln-m. When f t<-ll tli.: .intlmritins uf it they can do nothing in the nuittf-r. I have heard to-diiv that there was a case tried last week (it (.'' inniandfl, but instwid of puniiliing tin , nuti vr for sf.-llinjr thy grocr without :i licence from the Native Offiro. thoy want to know who *old tho gi-oj; to them ; tlie nutivcs know the dodge and won't be done; " it was their brother who bought it." In the"name of. all that ia right, when are we to have just law-makers r Thoso that mako one law for KuropC'iins iii.d anothnr for natives are unworthy of the name. .lust us it suits the Magistrates; atone time they urn natives and no law can touch them, at .-mother time tln-y lire liiitish subjects and are under the protection of tin) law. It is no use trying to punish them, for they will only obey the law so tinas it .suits, their own purposes. I, for one, am entirely iit their mercy. Last week two natives vmit unit sold grog to niv men that were building a dam. tin; consequence was that some of them μ-ot drunk, along | with my fun-miiu : so instead of the dam being linwhed'aml shut .-.. as T may get loirs to my mill, T | initrht be di-l.ived fur weeks. ' | 1 think 1 hiit any undertaking tlmt cosU over | tIU.IHUI to hi- at tin- mi-i-i-.y (.f the natives, to wiy tin li'ii>t «.fit, ti.u bad. Th'i-v nmv nmkea f.-w I'Oiinds by i:.. but mv luss throueh it is oviir £oU(j u-week, but that is nothing tu tht> Native Olliee. You often write about inen-asinjs our ]irodurtions nnd ex|)orts. W'liitt eneo\initreinint has any ono to entrr into sinvthinsr of thr: kind, so long us such illicit tnillir: is allowed to be carried on r Mr, Editor, 1 am sorry to take up so much of your valuable spare, but you will see from other different letters in the papers, that 1 am not alone, but that many persons and companies are interested in »toppiiik' the sale of grog by natives to 'Europeans. There was one- ca.se at my mill of this My grog selling. A mini jumped into the water, the worse of drink, and was nearly drowmd. It was some hours before he lvcovcn.'d. I huv.j si-eu a number of natives drunk iu Corumamhl at one.-. There was a great light amount them on St. Patrick's Day. If I remember l-itfht the fines amounted to about Cl'2 ; but it is of no use. I have known tho natives to be teetotallers in Coronmndel, and when a few miles uwiiv drink grog like wittor. There was an article in the Simthrrn Cross lately telling the i.n.pri.-Kirs of «iw mills to lisive books, papers, bagatelle board*, k>:, for the men, and large I rouiiis. I may state thatiiU the above are at my mill j for tlie u.sf of the men, but you see it is no use so long us thu natives are allowed to sell grog without being fined. : Trusting to your able pen to (lu some-thing towards • rectifying "this'great evil, I will now leave it in your j hand.-. I ' lam Sir, yours, &n\, i Thomas Ckaig. Custom House Street, April 21. [We ar.; quite awaro of the •".•.;tvt evil which is bi-ing perpotnited in country dist.;.'ts, and in Coromaiulel in particular, by the indiscriminnte sale of spirit.-. At Coroiimiif'i-1, f<>r instance, there are only I 100 Kiivnpi'ans. 'I'heie are two licensed houses, and we uri! .-urry tu lc:-.rn that thu applications of four ctiier persons to up.ri i.ublic houses have been recom-nu-uded by Mr. Domett.—Kn. X. 'A. U.I I