The Oamaru Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1069, 23 September 1879, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1879.

Now and then we hear of sudden deaths, arotind which there is more or less nn-Uery. These sometime occurs in the country, away front medical aid. and. if trx-juests are held concerning these they are more matters of form than anything else. We suspect that if the troth were elicited, tales would often be told ill connection with these sudden deaths that would harrow the feeling of humanitarians and add other powerful arguments t«» the at ready long list brought forward by temperance advocates. A man, apparently in the best of health suddenly succumbs. Not many hear of his death, or if the news happens to be published in such a manner a* to make his death known, but few pors.>ns do more than scan the paragraph stating tiie fact, for but few knew hint. The excitement occasioned by his death is confined to a iimit"d circle of a half dozen or s»> persons whom tie hits met, perhap.; in the fte-td. perhaps in the staop. To rh■ - ■ r.ho sudden death of their oropantot; is appalling, hut only for a moment, for when the shock id over they can call to tuind many auch sudden dsaths, and the novelty of the tast one diminishes. V- hat

iat the cause of this insidious mowing down I Strong drink. It is not our intention to preach a teetotal sermon, atthottgh ne might occupy our time less phitanttiropicatty. Iliat excessive indulgence in intoxicating is a curse neutU no announcing. Finger-posts pointing t» the physical arid moral ruin to which drunkards &ra travelling meet us at every turn. Hut we avowed that we would not obtrude our opinions, on this

question at this time. In passing, v. e merely wished it to be understood that we recognised that over-indulgence in what is termed " good ii»pior " is a eurse, but that the imbibing of spurious imitations of that ti«tttor is a stiii greater curse. A premature and miserable death by means of the llrst is certain—tiie second is a

more speedy and cheaper instrument. That ia to a.ty, it doci not cost the sciler so much, whilst it tickluS the palate of the imbiber and bunts away his vitals quite as etfcctually and more specdity tfwti the genuine article. Whatever may be true regarding thesals' of genuine liquor, the sate of spurious li>t«or L a murderous act. Yet there are those whose greed of gain is such that they sell this atuit without a MttaU. They see men, v.-h>» spend the greater proportion of their warnings in their houses, swallowing lie-ir ! poisonous decoctions—for a •"thimbleI tut " of which they charge sixpence. They see them, .lay l>y day, sinking lower ami tower, and they know that they are contributing to this result, as surely as though they were piercing their victims to the hear;. I Such persons as these do not drink tiieir own poison. They keep a special bottle. Such viltainy could not be too severely dealt with. A craving for alcoholic beverages is so strong in some people, that they will have "them—-whatever may be the restrictions—if they are at all obtainable. This is an admitted fact; but ic is as much a fact that tlie doctored stuttproducesati aggravated craving, whicn :is only satisfied by "More, more, and that onty momentarily. This habit of selling doctored liquor is -more prevalent in the country districts than in towns, and station hands are its victims. Tiie fact,is. that a" least one-half of the station hands who die from the effects of alcoholism have been poisoned just as surely as though they had been shot, butchered, or made t«> swallow strychnine. If ic were known that people were being insidiously poisoned by some murderous monster, who had neither license nor the pan.pheriialis of a grog shop, infocmatti >n wowtd at once be to ,t. t , ~ rtuth'H'ities. the matter

TCcuiti '(>«• ptvperJv investigated. ami the 3f.nm.Wl punished. eau.i>»: see th»: the cireiiiaatantxs <>! hoMiug a license, prufesainjj to lie an awlully j«Hy fellow, ami smiling as eacfi sixpence is laid down fur each pennyworth of some villaiious ci mpsUßil, alters the ca«. Neither do we believe that anybody thinks that it docs. People have got accuatomejl to seeing other people poisoned before their ©yes. They have become familiar with every stage of the infernal operation.

They know that " bad liquor" has something to do with it, but they cannot prove it to the satisfaction of a magistrate, even if tile/ inclined to take the trouble to •trr.ii-.rn the poison vendor for his crime, t here not 'jrt.-.'tt necessity for a tester,, or ! i.ti.er otficial shouid be " told ■ ;V" to :».Tf';rni tin; duties of such an jttici: ? <»ur opinion is that if it were only possible t<> brini.' the vendors of poisoned malt liipior.-i to justice, the majority of our country shops would be closed. \V._- rh.it Home attention will be paid I -.•>' -ir The police could render .• s i sen ice by sending some of the j uysii'iious mixtures occasionally to be • ui-it wira t" the Coverntnent analyist.