LIQUOR LAW REFORM.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4212, 19 September 1874, Page 3

LIQUOR LAW REFORM.

EDITED BY THE HON. WIIXIAM FOX, M.11.K. I'Tlie Iviitor oi this journal is not responsible for the opinions herein expressed. The column is solely under the charge of Its special Editor.] DRUNKENNESS AT PALMERSTON NORTH. During tiro debates on the Licensing Act in the House of Representatives Mr. Fox denounced the conduct • of Provincial Governments in following up road parties on the public works and newly-arrived immigrants by the establishment of low bush public-houses, the object of which was to fleece the poor immigrant of his hard earnings, and -the result of which was the demoralisation of numbers who, instead of investing their savings in reclaiming their land, helped to build up the public-house on the ruin of their own prosperity. He referred particularly to the Province of Wellington, and when called upon to give an instance ho specified the establishment of a certain shanty at Palmerston on the arrival of the Scandinavians, and the commencement of public works there ; and he stated that frightful drunkenness occurred in consequence, and that ho had been told that numbers of them on pay day after being stripped of their earnings would bo carted away in a state of incapacity. Ho expressed his indignation at the conduct of the Government in such oases, which for the sake of a few pounds of license money could place temptation in the way of the newly-arrived immigrants and laborers on the public

We suppose we need not state that the chaise against the Provincial Governments is substantially correct. Everybody knows it, and everybody has on his travels met with such public-houses in localities where they could have no other object than those alleged by Mr. Eox. His allusion to the Scandinavians, however’ seems to have excited the indignation of some of that body, and an anonymous advertisement appeared in this paper a few days after the debate, of which the following is a copy Coktrcdicmov— The Scandinavians at Palmerston North challenge the Hon. Mr. Fox to prove his libellous charge—“ The Scandinavians there were taken out of the village drunk, in cartloads. The advertiser or advertisers not having had tiie courage to put his or their name at the bottom, Mr. Fox might very well have refused to respond to the anonymous challenge ; but as he could have no object in not meeting it fairly, and would bo quite ready to admit the fact of speaking on tho information of others if ho had at all overstated it, he would not avail himself of any such excuse. So he immediately wrote to several settlers whom he remembered to have heard--re-peatedly complain of the establishment of a certain drinking shanty at Palmerston, and who had many times stated to him what its disastrous consequences were. It is now throe., years since the events happened, and some of the persons appealed to appear not. to recollect very much about the matter j - but quite enough * appears to convince anyone that Mr. Fox did not speak without hook, and that though ho may have attributed more of the intemperance to the Scandinavians than their exact share, he had on the whole very good grounds for his assertions, -A,s the parties who give the testimony have no wish' to be dragged into a, newspaper correspondence, they will be allowed to exercise the same, privilege as the anonymous challenger ; but their letters are on our desk, and can bo verified. No. 1 says ; “ It was not from mo that you got this information about drunken men being taken off in carts. I did not see any of that done. There was a good deal of drunkenness and riot in the so-called shanty, which I recollect being a disgrace to be called a licensed house, having no accommodation save a bar. The Scandinavians, as a whole, are steady and respectable, and although a few may have exceeded at tliat time, you will excuse my saying that I think your remark in regard to the Scandinavians hardly merited ; but the scenes of drunkenness of other men at the time quite warranted your censure. AVhat I mean is that you might wisli to explain that the Scandinavians were not in particular those who exceeded, as I should be sorry to bring discredit on so fine and successful a body of immigrants." No. 2 says ; “ I certainly remember that three years ago from some authority that I believed to bo trustworthy, though whom I cannot remember, on some occasion about that time drunken men were carted *away from the streets of Palmerston.” No. 3 : “.I prast say that the publichouses are as great a curse as ever to roadmen and the public works, Sunday being their chief clay. In reference to the Scandinavians, they are as a people far better behaved than onr Britons. It is only on special occasions, such as Good Friday, Christmas, New Year, that they frequent the pnblichouse. They mostly bring the grog to their own homes. I never him a cart-load of drunken men carried away,, hut from what I h.*we heard lately I believe such was the case, but they happened to he English. Had the Scandinavians supported the petition for shutting up the hotels here it would have been done.”

No. 4 says, “When ’s'shanty existed I wrote to you about the Ist November, 1871, and am not sure if I said that I had seen men ‘ carted away by the dozen.’ If I did not use these words to you, I at least did so in writing to the Superintendent about that date, but they were Pnglishinen, If I did not write it to you, I am sure I told it to you some other time, and have also had communication with you and others, and regretted'very much that the Scandinavians were joining in with the drinUnrj to a very large extent. I nevqr heard, however, that any of them were taken away by the cartload. I believe they carry on their drinking in their own houses. Hast Christmas I was told there was more drink sold out of the licensed stores under the bottle license and two gallon system, than out of the public-houses.” No. 5 says, “ I enclose copies from my diary, but the disgraceful Sunday and week-day scenes are too numerous to relate, and_ the Manawatu settlers considered the granting a license to in an iron house 20ft. by 10ft. a public disgrace. Hxtracts —Seven of ray men drunk seven days from _ the tin house (the shanty referred to.) Compelled to discharge all seven. Norwegians and Swedes formed a combination, and refused to take the bushfelling at contract price taken by British settlers. Twenty British took the contract. At night the Swedes and Norwegians waylaid the men that had taken the work. This is only one of the 'most disgraceful and drunken frays springing from the house, commonly called the Government shanty, which gives me great trouble with the men. Twenty black eyes.” . No. 0 says, “ Allow me to mention a few of the many scenes of drunkenness which X witnessed there. On one occasion, when obliged to call at one of the houses there I saw a large number of inebriates, &c., and late in tno evening X counted twenty-five in and about that house; the greatest part of that number were in a state of helpless drunkenness. On another occasion I saw several persons ydio were in a state of beastly drunkenness lifted into a drag, and carted away. At another time I saw’ several drunken men lifted on. to a truck on the tramway, and thus removed. I have also seen on Sundays men in a stats of serai-drunkenness.” Now, lot us sum up this evidence, and see how far it bears out Mr. XBox’s assertions• Ist. Xt proves that the Provincial Government did follow-up the newly-arrived Scandinavians, and other men employed on the public works, by licensing a miserable shanty, 20ft. by 10ft., containing no accommodation but a bar for the sale of intoxicating drinks. (This, being in the township of Palmerston, was against law, which only permits the issue of hush licenses in places not within throe miles of any township.) 2nd, That the result was a fearful amount of drunkenness and rioting; and, of course, a corresponding waste of the hard-earned wages of those w)io drank and rioted. 3rd. That on several occasions, drunken men were carted away in a state of insensibility, or incapability, from the village. 4th. There is no evidence that the men so carted away were Scandinavians; but, on the contrary, as far as the evidence goes, they were • uo t though it does not appear -what test was resorted to to ascertain the nationality of tho drunk and incapable men that were carted awa y and for any actual evidence there is, they might be Scandinavians. sth. That the Scandinavians “were not in particular those that exceeded’’; that is, “ they went into the drinking to a very large extent,” along with the other nationalities which drank and rioted. _ . 6th. That one particular riot is specified, in which Scandinavians assaulted rival contractors, and this it is said “ was one of the most disgraceful and drunken frays springing from thcTproseiiop. of the house commonly called the Government shanty.” This was written in a diary kept at the time referred to. _ If, in alluding to this disgusting state' of affairs, which existed in connection with the Government shanty, at Palmerston, X ox did too prominently connect tho Scandinavians with it, he is quite willing to qualify his expressions to the extent which the above, evidence would show to be just and fair. _ Tho Scandinavians, if not misled by had advisers, will see that Hr. Pox had no desire to disparage their characters, and he fully recognises the statement, that they are an industrious, hard-working body of colonists,_ and quite equal—both in ability and morality, as far ns ho knows—to tho colonists from Great Britain, Ireland, and other places. His desire has been, not to impugn their character, but to save them from tho temptations _ and evils arising from the act of the Provincial Government in following thorn, and other immigrants similarly situated, to their new homes, and there licensing wretched shanties 20ft. by Xo£t., with. no accommodation, for the sale of those

intoxicating drugs whose presence, unfortunately, too many Scandinavians, and too many English, Irish, and' Scotch, nre unable to resist. How many of all races would be glad at this moment, if more of their hard-earnings had gone into the Savings’ Bank or the land, and less into the building of the big hotels which are founded on the profits of the more disgraceful, but hardly more injurious Government shanties. '