Returned Troopers and Drink. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 1 September 1909, Page 11

Returned Troopers and Drink. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, — I se© that your Invejcargill correspondent has sent a telegram in relation to a controversy that has ajieea in Invercargili in rega<rd to some words of mine in an axticle in tihe VaJiguard in relation to the drink bill of New Zealand. I had already written to Invercargi 1 that I did not make the charge alleged, and expressing my deep regret that I should have written any words which were capable of even being twisted to bear the meaning alleged. . To say, as has been said, that I asserted that 5000 contin-genters learned to da-ink in South Africa, and that each on bis return became the centre of a drinking circle, is, seei'Dig that the total number of contingents who. went from New Ze«Jan3 in our- own" contingents is only 5577, the wildest and most absurd rubbish. In talking about the increase of the drink bill of Now Zealand I was, of course, .referring to the actions of the proportion of tho young men of New Zealand as a whole who drink. It would .have been

j foolish in the extreme, and far less effec1 tive for my a-rg-ument, for me to confine such reasons for increase to the 5577 «mfcin>g©nts. ThercTar-e, because such a reading as has .beeT made n.sver occurred to me as possible, I did not take precautions to guard against itThe following letter has b^-en cant to Invercanrill and to tb.3 Vanguard, and I trust will remov-3 any doubt there may b> in the minds of any who may have read the original article : — It having been stated by the SouthJaEd Times. Tnv«roargill. and h«ld by several re turned troopers that an article from my pen published in the Vanguard saying »h«t in regard to the B-:er War that : — " Assuming that 5000 y:-ung men learcerl to drink during fchat time and continued drinking, in this case, as in every other, a fairly lzuige proportion would become heavy drinkers or drunkards," meant that 5000 contingenters themselves had"" * oecome driiikex« or drunkards, I desire to sta.-le that. in writing the sentence I did not wish it to convey any such meaning. Ar,y such statement wou'd be absurd, seeing that there were few more 'then 5000 contingenters all told,' the actual number boing 5577.

My meaning should have been perfectly c!ear fo any fair reader. That meaning is that through the excitement engendered by the spirit, of war probably 5000 young men in this country learned to drink. It is a cheap an-d ea«y criticism wlnda seizes upon portions of an article and twists the senss out cf them. If anyone can fairly sea in any words of mine anything which could, reasonably oe said to carry any imputation upon oui South African contingents I here and now express sincere regret fcr tush words. I am perfectly sincere in disclaiming any intention to convey any c uch imputation. —I am. etc., G. B. Nichoxls. • One George Arnold has been a member of the choir of Holy Trinity Church, Bosham, Sussex, for 80 years! He recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday. ; An instance of the high value of land in suburban London was illustrated at a Local Government Boarc inquiry at "Wood Goneen. Avhen application was made by the clisuict council for sanction to buy a site for a sub-fire station. The .price works out at £2966 an acre, which wai the price that the adioin«ntr owner was prepared to give.