FLEET WEEK FICTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2842, 2 September 1908, Page 17

FLEET WEEK FICTION.

REPLY BT?^y|l&lrvEV. H. F. L. . The Rev. H. F. L. Palmer,, of- Sydney, wh^sa,. statements made t6. aJ^S^^^i^ 1 re * £KKrt«V tecentiy with. regarSi.t^J-^i^innount of drrofetfmej^ in AutgytendJ^iii^tg^ the v^PM^a^American ti&*sffkSSr been, causing'^ some discussion, is at present on a visit to' Dunedin. In- *s©nvere»fcibn smMh one of our reporters 'one ' day*: he- ,*efe!ri*Bd to~ the criticisms, publisned'i'iMr us l&st Eridey, which Dr Chapj>le a-nd S& Laurensoh hod 1 passed ■ on-^Kis statement about Aucldan-d being. toeSSSff'^ a " bacchanaliaji orgy." Mr Pa^aer pointed;, out w .that ho was peeuluifcly adisfLp&geou^ -ppsiUon to 1 "', See,, the^^unkenness. tn^''wnt^an.' 'MKirin'g; c J^<s^^o' )^>\ i '^^ t^' i W>-~ air meetings in Queein street SR^^^^^ 1 ' peranoa-'queatioii. . Howewe*;**w|l«m||B^--it.«br^&s- doesf Itepp^-^tteii^be^^gfeirer opi-^fiifSsujjject- 1 appears "in the street h*' fe-^fiaSilwfiately bombarded with- "questions and toa&gpfapni' tr(X^siitoi&&fi menj, -<3*i€hough I have been in the habit for years, worfc. tgtf&~-h&yg sjo&d air^g^,.^x-, periexicer' tfierein, Ti' never saw "euoh" ~t£ number of drunken anen as congregated at some' of/ my TmeetSfig^ in "AticMand. ' OtEfers ■ werej :only naemaL iOf ooui6e I. saw tens of thousands, of people, in,,, tie stree|s and in every centre, of .attraction; i Tth^) were not drun£ H bjjJ; I 'also a vfi^y. la,f^ number who- w^.. Probably Dr Chappie and Mr Laurensdn did not see' all that took plaice in Auckland. "I wonder Whether' they saw me there?- Probably not, aithougl I wjw very roUeh itf '^evMeriee-^too in'uefi % in<J§e3, to please t(he ' liquor-seKere'.' ' Dnringr my sta-y of a. week in Auckland I addressed no less than 13 street meetings, the ■ attendjancos ranging from 300 to 3000 persons; but probably my critics never ■ faeawl ■of me during that time. A- eorre^iondent in your columns last Saturday, signing himself ' Townie,' declares tibat he saw from the publiehouses of Dunedin an. . ' awful stream ' of drunken youn^r vosp* on an." Ip»Ji«ary(1 p»Ji«ary ( Ba£ursa,y mgbt, aad, I am informed that repealed ana frequent' protests' have been made ' from 'the "Bencn ' and ' from the Licensing ''Cotnmfttee >' &s to, ' "&e prevatenc drUnkeralesß 'among' the Ounedin i 'young-' men. If tftfef"^ <pl«ce on *•»' ''OtHiSßjty Satawfey '? night h*. Dunedin isiit not likely ;to be Accentuated in Auckland, at- a special time .such as 'fleet week ' 2 All my critics seem 'to, make allowance- for the special circttmsse.n«es < but I am. not considering any particular circumstances—l .am only stating the ffiite-. It raayT -be- said $&P ft l aE K, e . . of drunkenness is only to, be, expect,- at such a timeViiut tKe |heasiire of this oxpect^tion is the measqte; of our national shame,' and disgrace, and tKe meisure of lltie failure of 'the Hcens* system. In your issue 'of August 11 your own Atickland correspondeni inforiße' you that '-the Slfdwd' was orderly -upori tJie hill fjnear Admiralty Hoqse. -w-here» .preeumably, there are no publicbowsoe], . but asound, the hotels in town-tlie.re. weJse,^aj>y -uneeejnly scenes and drunjse-o, r<iwSt and - probably . to^avcda midnight Auckland would be no pjace for unprotected femp.les.' , I myself mad© no ijjot« severe charge .tlian tiiis in referring to the scenes I witnessed as a 'bacohanalian orgy.' One of my critics seems to think {hat I was accusing the American eailors or being chiefly resoonSrible, but this' was not so. For days before the - fleet arrived there was evidence of much- drunkenness, and I only described what I personally witnessed. My recent visit io lovewsargill threw my experiences in Auckland into stronger contrast, for in InveroargiU I 6ft&roh©d in vain for- hours for any sign of drunkenness in the streets."