SYDENHAM'S WORKING MEN'S CLUB.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10591, 21 October 1910, Page 1

SYDENHAM'S WORKING MEN'S CLUB.

(Pek Press Association.)

Christchurch, October 20. The report of the Commissioner apjointed to inquire into the charges in 'oiinection with the conduct of tiie Sydenham Working Men's Club has )een published. f The Club has arranged for a dcputa.ion, consisting, of Messrs J. Hooper president), John Austin' (secretary), md J. A. Beattie, to wait upon the vlinister in Wellington at 11. o'.clook. on Saturday morning. . - 'The report;" after -setting N out the ,orms of the. Commission, goes on to leal as follows with the charges:— I.—That it has. been the practice of ,he Club to allow cards to be played or drinks. The weight of evidence supjorts this charge, and goes to show hat when'members play cards in the Jlub it is the practice for the loser .o pay for drinks, which usually follow ;he completion of the game. If no Irinks are consumed: the loser hi many ■ascs hands to the winner a, ticket in he form shown in exhibit "C," which ■ntitles him or any holder to drink iii .he Club at a later date. Sometimes Aw winner pays for the drinks, but his is tAic exception and not the rule. game is played without, its csuUTbeing followed by refreshment. 2.; —That gambling lias been allowed n the Club." (a) I consider the praciee of the loser iu a game of cards laying for drinks or handing to the vinrier a ticket which enables the holder--0; drink at a later date amounts to gambling within the meaning of Fuller '. Fouhy, 7 Gazette Law Reports, 575. b) There is also evidence to show that it the time of the principal rare meetng.s hold in Christchurch, viz., the J rand National meeting, New Zealand . Jup meeting, and Easter meeting, it liis been customary for some of the Jlub members to make up and draw .weeps oh the result of some race run it each of these, meetings. The drawng usually takes place on Sunday moriing iii the Club's hall. Slips, of paper >n" which are written the names of the lorses taking part in the last Grand National race meeting (exhibit "D") md otlier slips on some of which are written tlie names of members of the 31 ub (exhibit '-E") were found in the Dlub's Hall about the time of that -neeting. The drawing of these sweeps ■s gambling within the meaning of the Gaming -Act, 1908, and it has been lone with the knowledge of some of the Committee of the Club. 3. —That the locker, system has been flagrantly abused by the storing on Saturday nights of demijohns of liquor and by excessive drinking from these on Sunday. The evidence- in support of this charge shows'that there are 18 ordinary lockers and one-large locker on the Club's premises: that these lockers either belonged to or were shared by certain members of the Club; that the practice is for those members to purchase varying'quantities of liquor on Saturday nights and place it in their lockers for consumption on the following Sundav; that about forty members arc to be "found at: the Club on Sunday mornings or evenings, and that they consume each Sunday on an average about 20 gallons of liquor. Some ' of these men have been seen under the influence of liquor .on Sundays. I consider the evidence discloses an abuse of the locker, system, by'a certain section of the Club's members. At the enquiry almost all the members and committeemen examined stated that they were.in favor of the abolition of lockers. It is clear that they are used for the benefit of a.small section of the Club's members, and the .only- purpose they serve-is to encourage drinking on Sundays. - ■ • *.'•'■','.. ■ :?4.—That drunkenness has been permitted on ' the premises. This charge covers- cases of.: drunkenness which originated on the Club's premises as well as" cases w-here members have come - into the Club either - intoxicated ■ plunder the influence of liquor. The evidence in support of the charge eon■=ists of positne statements of Me~*is Aveiv, M.n field, and Marsh W.th regaid to the causes of di unkenness n-thm the Club's picmises, the evidence of Air Batgcr as to persons leaving the piemises m «i state ol intoxication, the evidence o< the chief custodian that he has stopped tne -apply of hquoi to as many as a dozen men in a week, the evidence of scveial nembdis oi committeemen, and paiticu,ul, Mr Manning, -who deposed to •ncinbcis coming to the Club on Saiuil.i\ nights undei the influence of hquoi, md bv some means oi othci obtaining noie hquoi at the Club, the secretaiy s etter cf the 16th Septembci, 1908, to His Mathews (exhibit "F"), his lcUeis ,f the 25th Ma%, 1909 (cxlubrt G ), md 'of September, 1909 (exhibit tl ), o Mrs Spiers, his lettei ol the 2;tn \pril, 1910 (exhibit "I") to Mi \arey, pI letters oi the 27th April, 1910 (exion; "J"), to Mr W A Dohcity, he sccietaij's lettei of the 19th June 910 to the chief custodian (exhibit 'V') calling his attention to the lact hat hquoi had boon supplied to per(,ns in a state of intoxication, and the ict that membeis and visitois consume ,n in aveiage neailj 300 gallons of louo, pel week, exclusive of spurts and oit dunks the evidence foi the Cub onsisted of a geneial denial that hunkeimess had been peimrttcd on the nem-ses. and the nauation of steps ikeu bv the Committee and custodian 0 pi event its occurrence In my .pinion the weight of evidence suppoits lie chaise, and goes to show that boles ttie offenders dealt with bj the Jommittee there must have been a rieat numbei of cases that have nevei ome under then notice or been report- ■ d b\ the custodians ■jJLThat liquor has been sold over he bai on Sunday The petitioners uled to piove the charge. 0 —That bad language has been used n the Club The only complaint m-amst members tor this offence was nadc by Mr Gia-y, v. ho lives next door o the Club's piemises He complained >n Wo occasions, once to the president, vho had the matter investigated Ihe illier complaint was made to the police, jut no.court pioccedings followed, ihe ,ccond complaint was made nearly a ear a>*o The language complained ot vns heard at night m a right-of-way jeLwcen the- Club and Gray's house, md' he stated that lie Tiad been annoy•a by hearing bad language on a numser of occasions in tins right-of-way There is a presumption—that the language complained ot was used by members of or visitors* to the Club, , but he offenders were,not* identified by Mr 3tray as being either membeis or ivisitois It is admitted that bad language has been used' m- the Club but i not more than is usual among a large body of men such tis members of this or similar clubs. Members of the Committee sa-v that cases of bad language are dealt with either by reprimand or suspension, aiid the secretary's letters of the 25th May,-1909, and Ist September, 1909, to one- Spiers,(copies of which are * attached to" the , evidence as exhibits ' "G" and "H") indicate the method of ; dealingiftrit'h, such offenders. On the I whole, r Y am" not' prepared to say that 1-—„- *> *%, ' *- ?fv *%'''<¥ ' - ''• ~"~

the ofience is one of more than of ordinary, occurrence. 7 —That the management of the Club gcneially has been bad. I think,the findings on the charges of card-playing for drinks, gambling and drunkenness on the Club's premiess, and the abuse of the locker system aie sufficient to show that there is considerable room for impiovement in the management'or the Club. The evidence points to the fact that the Committee have no systematic method oi supei vision over members, and that many cases of breaches of the nilcs aic unrepoited," and consequently not dealt with. That they have acted so in a number of instances during the last two yeais is evident from the secretar>'s letteis (exhibit "L") to various membeis ovoi and above those specifically lefened to The unpleasant duties which neccssaiily fall to the lot of committeemen in the course, of management do not seem to* have been equally shouldered by these officers. Some say they have seen and hoard membeis committing breaches of lules on. a number of occasions, but have seldom checked or leported the* oftcndeis One member stated that he consideied this woik should be earned out by the custodian, but in a numbci of instances then* lias been a fadme on the pait oi the custodians to ciuv out tins, part of then dul\ Tins is seen hoin the societal >'s Icttci ol Novembei 10th, ] C )(W Lo the second custodian (exhibit "M'), icpiiiiiandiiig lmn foi failure to icpoit a divtmbance, and iiom the secretary's letter of Jnncrflth, 1910, to the chief fiistodian (exhibit "K"), calling aLTeiitioii to the custodian's neglect of dut\ in solving intoxicated persons. Fuithei evidence is iound in the statement of Mi Manning 1 , who sajs that the custodians lino oitci been lppiimanded

for neglect of duty. It may be assumed, with some certainty, that if the 'cases of misconduct referred to in the secretary's letter have boon reported and .dealt with in two years, a considerable -number of offenders must have ■escaped correction. ' Laxity ..'of system is also snea- from a perusal .of the visitors' book. The rules provide that each visiter to the Club- must sign the visitors' book, as must also the member introducing him, but it would be safe to say that fully one-half of the visitors to the Club enter and leave without signing a record of their visits. The book is incomplete, and of little value. The; full evidence taken at the enquiry is appended to the- report.; ■ '".