"MORAL" AUCKLAND.

NZ Truth, Issue 66, 22 September 1906, Page 5

"MORAL" AUCKLAND.

The beautiful Northern city -is ■gaining a name for itself— but a name that will hardly be envied by other cities. Week-end follows weekend and Saturday never fails to find the main streets filled with drunken beasts rolling along, swearing, abusing, and using the filthiest of Janguaee. On Mondays the Auckland court-house, regularly as clockwork has its roll (no pun meant) of from a dozen to eighteen drunks. During the week drunks are still prominent m the same, place. There is no city m the colony where the number of "drunk" charges is so large. Of course it will be said at once that Auckland is the largest town. That admitted, the amount of drunkenness is beyond all proportion to the population: This paper isn't within a*, thousand 'leagues of being Prohibitionist; it isn't open to the charge of being faddy either. But it must be acknowledged that the amount of drunkenness m Auckland is alarming, even' to it. Of course. Boniface will pose as an extremely hardly-dealt-with person should prohibition ever be carried. He will wring Ms hands and. call upon heaveA to witness the injustice done to him and his by the forcible taking away of has livelihood. Yet the way the grabbing publican is going he is working straight into the hands of "Pro Mb." Richardson . and his parboiled, pulseless party, who want everybody to drink cold water because their own "innards" are too feeble to stand anything stronger. The police, too, are not entirely without blame for the drunken, boozy condition of the streets of Auckland. Look at the number of "drunk" convictions recorded day after day; week after weak, month, after month— a never failing stream—and then" on the reverse side of ttie picture .try to recollect when the last charge was laid : against, a publican for supplying one t>f these drunken sots \ with drink. There happens to be one charge this week against a publican for having a drunken man on the premises, but when was the last charge of the kind made ? So long ago that no one can rememlber. Yet the stream of "drunks*' continues to flow on at the Court House every day without ceasing. Every man charged with being drunk must get the "poison to _r make him so somewhere. Do the police take the trouble to spot the nublican who makes a practice of letting hhn get übHnd"u bHnd" m his hotel and then turning hhn out on the street to be mercilessly run m ? The police are experts at shutting their peepers when it suits them to do so. Half a dozen charges of supplying drink to intoxicated persons would soon reduce the "drunk" roll, for the publican doesn't like to ■•- suffer himself, thpugji he dosen't give a damn for the poor dievil who, having got tight on his firewater has to breast the Peter for it/ But even worse than the drink .scandal m Auckland is the immorallity existant. Take last Friday's 'charge :■— I.- Thomas Bowden, 20 years old, idle and disorderly, and consorting with prostitutes. (In common phraseology, a bludg- ' er.) Convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called on. $. Ettie Wilson, a young woman, an unfortunate, consorting with prostitutes. 3 months. 8. Florrie Chadwick. charged with keeping a brothel. Convicted 1 and ordered to come up for sentence when called on. '4. 'Annie Jenkins, assisting m! the management of a brothel. Convicted likewise. 5. David. Bowman, young man, idle and disorderly person and living with prostitutes. One ■ month. 6. Harry Wong, a mongrel Chow, idle and disorderly and living with prostitutes., Adjourned for a week. A lovely, lot, truly, and these cases were tak~en but from one day's charge sheet. Yet the police force of Auckland is supposed to be m a thoroughly equipped condition and to be doing its duty manfully and well. It doesn't ssem to strike these complacent noodles that it is because they taka life so easily, and don't see, or won't see, the immorality that is going on all round, and will not move .a, finger tb stop it until the scandal becomes so great that they are forced to make a move, that the side streets of Auckland to-day m "The Corinth of the South" are about on a level with Picadilly Circus, Londbn,' or the Boulevarde m Paris, as regards bludgers and prostitutes^ Yes, Auckland. is gaining a reputation right enough— for drunkenness and immorality !