The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1877

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 364, 23 June 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1877

Me. John Cogvi>~ called at our office this morning, and ordered us to withdraw his advertisement from our columns, evidently stung with the favorable notice we gave the unfortunate widow Mrs. Scott, and our unfavorable comments upon some of the Oamaru " boardinghouses." We can assure Mr. Cogvin that our remarks were not intended to apply to anyone in particular. What we implied in the paragraph referred to wa3 that respectablyconducted boardinghouses would secure the greatest amount of support in the end ; and that there were some in Oamaru in which it would be difficult to discover the slightest semblance of respectability. They are squalid, unwholesome, disreputable places outside, and that is, we have heard —for, thank the gods, we are not necessitated to seek shelter in such places—the best of them. When passing some of the worst of these cribs, it is not unusual to see a man skulking about, apparently with the object of seeing whether anybody is coming ; and this is indicative of a violation of the laws of our country in reference to gambling, drinking, &c. The beds—save the mark—in some of these houses are bundles of goodness km.ws what, and we have heard that some who have sought to rest their weary limbs upon them have not attempted to dive below the counterpane. Now, we are sure that even Mr. Cogvin will acknowledge that this is really too bad. The majority of these houses depend for profit more upon the sale of the vilest of intoxicating liquors —compounds that rasp one's throat in the operation of swallowing, and irreparably damage the membraneous lining of the stomach. The least the proprietor of these drink-shops could do, after skinning their victims of every copper, and intoxicating them in a manner that can only be described by those who have suffered, would be to give them a " shakedown " such as would be prepared for a respectable dog. We are informed, however, that anything is considered good enough ; and whilst the proprietor slumbers on a bed of down purchased with his ill-gotten gain, his victims (this is their

proper designation) are allowed to sleep off the effects of the abominable potions with which they have been Better for him that he had been content with the straw shake-down that he was accustomed to prior a proprietor of one of these'infamous houses. Now, we had not the slightest idea that Mr. Cogvin could be reckoned in this category. Indeed, we., are under the impression that we have been conferring a benefit on all respectably conducted boarding-houses in writing of them as we have done, and we presume that Mr. Cogvin thinks his establishment respectable. It, however, looks bad to withdraw an advertisement under these circumstances, and, if we had been in Mr." Cogvin's shoes, we would have increased our patronage rather than otherwise. Our duty in the matter is plain, and we intend, should the culprit be even as important a personage as Mr, Cogvin, to do our utmost to rid Oamaru of men whose premises, under the cloak of "board and lodging-lionses," are the scene of one uninterrupted state of drunkenness, filth, and pillage. We would caution ''board-ing-house" keepers that a law is now in operation that will bring them to grief should they neglect to comply with its provisions.