SIR WILLIAM FOX.—NOW AND THEN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 387, 12 July 1879, Page 22

SIR WILLIAM FOX.—NOW AND THEN.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ZEALAND MAIL. Sir, —I went last night to hear Sir W. Fox " lambing down" the publicans in the Feilding schoolroom, as I heard him do in the same place about two years ago. Having heard Sir William more than. once giving it so hot to the publicans as a class that he created a feeling of sympathy for those he denounced as no better than cold-blooded prisoners and systematic robbers, I was prepared to hear him once more tell his hearers " that he never enters the door of a public-house without fancying he saw the blood of the publican's victims on the doorstep of the house." Such was the burden of his address about two years ago, and then few or none but thorough Good Tenrplars could sympathise with and enter into his views. But now he disclaims entertaining any thought of publicans being deserving of such immeasured abuse as he then dealt out to them, and the consequence of this moderation seems to be that men of moderate views and feelings here are turning over in their minds some of the arguments he advanced at the meeting last night. When Sir William addressed the Peilding public two years ago, he was then using his influence to start the now defunct Reformer, a newspaper whose subsequent outrageous abuse of all moderate parties did more defeat Sir William Pox's views on the local ojrtion question that all the influence of the publicans' organs could effect ; and no doubt a knowledge of this fact, and also of that hostility of the Good Templars roxised against their cause then by the circular that they distributed'among members of Parliament, had a moderating effect. Whatever may be the reason, Sir William Pox was last night a really tempei-ate gentleman, whose tact, patience, good humor, and ready wit showed to better advantage than I have seen on any previous occasion, and he also seemed to look jollier and in better health than I have ever seen before. I may say that the first time I saw him was in his place in Parliament shortly after his travels from Jericho and the River Jordan (not the Jericho and Jordan in Gippsland, Victoria, but that older one wo read about). I thought, as I looked last night on the strong veteran statesman, that in a few days more he would find himself the last of the three F's whose shadow will darken the floor of the House of Representatives. In addition to his talents, and experience he has now acquired a mellow and moderate temper that cannot fail to increase his power and influence in contributing to the settlement of -the crisis that will have to be mot by Parliament when it meets this time under the leadership of " promising George."

I recollect meeting Sir William Fox the day - after his Feilding address about two years ago, and how I had told him of the result of what I had seen in another colony of the Government using all its power to prohibit the sale of spirits on the gold fields. There* was a demand for spirits, and as the trade was illegal, no respectable man had anything to do with it, so that it fell into the hands of the worst and most dangerous class in the community, who sold poisonous spirits at double price in secret dens where crimes were constantly hatched, without any chance of the police finding a clue to guide them to the source of the evil. At last the Government put down the curse of slygrog selling by allowing the sale of spirits to be carried on openly in the bars of publichouses, under the eyes of the police. The same thing happened in Feilding before the first public-house was opened. As was remarked last night, beer was then bought in bucketfuls, instead of in pints ; but Sir William last night did not propose now to take any steps to interfere with the licenses of the existing public-heuses, but to organise public opinion to oppose any increase to the number ot the existing bars. There is no doubt that the moderate measure proposed now by Sir William met with much sympathy from many who never before supported his views on the liquor traffic. There was a suggestion made last night by Mr. Halcombe that struck a large number of persons as deserving of a trial. It was that the liquor traffic should be carried on in places separate from public-houses, so that those persons, whethet travellers or boarders, staying at a public-house, could have some comforts of a home by day and by night, instead of being, as now, disturbed by the bar trade which is carried on in the same house they are staying at. This idea of Mr. Hal combe's has been already taken hold of by a good many persons here, and it is thought that if drinking bars were licensed where no other refreshment but drink was allowed to be supplied, and without other sitting-rooms or sleeping-rooms or secret places where drunken men could get sober and begin again to drink, that drunkards would not be harhored, as now, day and night from their homes, and that the managers of drink shops would be forced to see drunkards cleared out of the bar as soon as possible, and put them on their way home. The idea is, that if the drink traffic is carried on separately from all other accommodation or, the existing hotels will soon be made into excellent temperance hotels ; but before any attempt is made to take the bar trade from the existing hotels, that provision should be made to supply the demand of the drinking public in public bars without any back or side rooms for harboring drunkards. Thinking these ideas are worthy the consideration of your readers outside of Fielding, I venture to job them clown for circulation, with your permission, in the New Zealand Mail. —I am, &c,

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