A VICTIM TO HOPS.

NZ Truth, Issue 128, 30 November 1907, Page 6

A VICTIM TO HOPS.

Qaartermain Quartered.

The unusually thirsty person who vtloesn't take a biscuit and a cut of cheese with each nip, and who has a 'nasty habit of accosting- the police •when he is sosselled, is getting a tiard time of it under the Habitual JDrunkar-ds' Act m Christohuroh. The case of Alfred Quartermain is a particularly sad one. He assists his brother m the management of a second-hand shop, which does a, big business m Lower High-street, but ican't keep away from the foeer. He will often graft like .the devil for hours, and then duck out to the ,pub and stay there- Besides his ordinary salary he gets money from England, and when he starts boozing he "sets them up," and- the crowd follow him routod. But Quartermain can't carry jas liquor, and. lias . struck the polices jCells so often latterly as to bring himself under the new Act. He wste deemed! to be an "Habitual" not. long ago 1 , out the S.M.

GAVE HIM -A 1 CAST SHOW, and fined him a fiveir, Mr Gassidy appeared for the prisoner on Monday and wanted to know if there was no hope of the inflictiojn of a fine ; it .was certainly a vary difficult . case, as Quartermain had a mania ' for drink.- There was a prohibition order against frim^byt.agb had net effect,

Day, S.M., said that the Act provided for a substantial term m seclusion ; that persons were usually sent; to the Samaritan Home, for two years, and that term would be allotted m this case. There was no alternative provided by the Act. The Government could, however, be petitioned to reduce the term at any time if they thought it advisable. So the drinky Quartcrrnain, with a woebegone look, stepped out of the dock to mix with the multy society of the Samaritan Home for the period mentioned.