PUBLIC HOUSES ON SUNDAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4480, 23 March 1876, Page 1 (Supplement)

PUBLIC HOUSES ON SUNDAY.

To .the, Editor of the Herald. Sik, —" None so blind as those who won't see," an oW saying of which I was forcibly ; reminded «u-Sunday morning. Having occarsion to come to 'town by the traiu, we were little past it struck eleven as I jwentaloiigCMstcza-honse-street. Fusing the 4t Sailor's Home .Hotel"—astrauge misnomer ty-the-by for Hie .hallowed term "Home" Irwo men tapped.at/the closed door, which was so on opened on;.the jar, and they (stepped in. The- door then closed upon them. Going along Queen -.street, opposite the TVaverley Hotel, two .men were again tap-! ping &t the closed -door, it was opened at. once>for admiyyiou and.elosed again. Passing along Queen-street .opposite the Greyhound Jbiotel, three travelers —I suppose tHey would be called, ,fur they travelled across <Qixeen-street and Jooked as if they had come from an adjuining lane, for one was without his coat; they ; al&o wont through the process x>f tapping at the aide door under !rm? archway 4 . and were at fui.ee admitted*: men jiiay have been all Jodgers, but looked siraugely like men of another; fSjass. • I aUo ;met a policeman in Queen--Bk*efc in his Sunday attire, white gloves in- ' Wuded, J f but he looked straight before him,; and ; ,°f: course '.could * not .see anything, ia violation.of .the.law, and .a/ter thej e Pe»ted adverse- decision* of the 2sench, j the police Lav.e attempted to.de their 0 lu>t wonder at their present in- ' Jjufsrence. , What I complain of is jfche. .injustice done to upright io.tel-' . rigidly keep .the law, when trt allowed the of selling J Wfomers Sjjjgt&iy, andtkj;s I

offer inducements for them to frequent the * r Tiah no chance, with these such modes 6f"pfo*cecdiiig. w> *lE is all very well to talk of the. difficult of. procuring .evidence ■'fo'coiWicfc-^but'while^it'remains"'a 1 mattec of privilege for .a person, to ohtaiii and not a 'matter : of l "nght,;'there can be-no diffif S^ty o, in v 'jHthK6ldmg ' the'license ! from a person who'is hot disposed to-obey the laws of God, OI -the laws jfl£ ~,The . police know- these; men who. violate the law, and if the "Commissioners -'wished to obtain ;the information they could easily do so; but the whole system .13 debasing and corrupt, and, until the people _are consulted in these matters, under some, proper. Permissive ■ Bill, rTequiring the hotelkeeper to' obtain the written consent of ['one-third' of the .population of the ,we shall get worse-'and worse.: The report from;the Police Court this morning is a disgrace to .the .whole community; we are all'more or less implicated in allowing such things, .to exist. Two men charged with kicking and otherwise beating their wives; six others fined/or being drunk, from ss ' to 20s one. discharged; after being confined -for madness, brought on by drink ; a nest-of prostitutes broken up, mostly fed and sustained by drunkards; . and yet we quietly look, on and say,_ "Am I my brother's keeper ?" . After trying our present, course so long,' and utterly-failing, 1 can-we not try - some other.plan ? Instead of watching the poor drunkard,\with: whom in many cases the vice has become a disease, and dragging him to the Police Court as soon as he is seen to .fall, -which, he. of ten . does within. ten : ya.rds of the place where he procured the drink, let' the -publican pay the fine; and after three convictions, let him be debarred from holding a license. . In the .name of all tliat's goodj and to the terror of " all that's us try to stop the evil that is destroying, our very humanity.—l am, &0., . • - :;•■■■ Joseph NEWMAN. : March 20, 1576. , , .