THE Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, 19th APRIL, 1906. DRUNKENNES AND POLICE RETURNS.

Southland Times, Issue 19799, 19 April 1906, Page 2

THE Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. THURSDAY, 19th APRIL, 1906. DRUNKENNES AND POLICE RETURNS.

11l a Jcceiil leaderoi t'■ drawing ali.' iiti'm to Hu; prev alem c of drunkenness in Christchurch during- rhe Luster holidays the Lyttelton Times expressed a dm;l;i whether tin- police records lui'nish d retuible iiiionnal ion as lo the amount of drunkenness in any town, uur contemporary poinled out that a man has to hr drunk and incapable, or drunk anti very noisy and pugnacious, before t lie Police will lake him in charge. That this is so will be borne out by many who have remarked on I he freedom witlr which intoxicated men are allowed lo follow their devious course through the streets ~f the town jwithoiU, challenge from the o I beers of the law. Of course (he police, are confronted with the old and insoluble problem : “ When 'is a man drunk?” Some inloxicattd men are perfectly capable of hiking cure of themselves, and the t olice may reasonably argu; that in such cases their inlerterence is not called for. In many cases, also, drunk men are inotreiihiye, and' cause no public annoyance or inconvenience beyond the pain caused i.,y so pitiful a spec! ad _■ as that of a man who has deliberjalely dispossessed himself of his son|.se.s. Should such men be arrested? I The police are probably guided by long an varied experience, and, even under their present guarded rule, they 'come under criticism occasionally for [wrongful arrests. .There are some, however, who declare bluntly Hint the police “ water down " the law us far as possible in favour of the publican. The article in the Lyttelton Times gave Mr T. K. Tavlor nn opening for a characteristic speech, I in which ho made charges against the police in this connection. Ho I declared that ho possessed a copy of the circular issued by the present Commissioner of Police and in the

hands of ovcvy constable ih the Colony. The circular instructed the, police, if they saw a drunken man going into licensed premises and I thought, that there was a chance .of a blench of the law, that they were not, to try and secure a conviction, j but instead they were to go to the licensee and warn him so that ho might avoid a conviction. Mr Ttvylor added that “ they must pay something fee the agreement with ! the Hqu-'h- trade and the Homan j Cal holies which had .resulted in a victory at the polls on Oth DecemI her, and one outcome of that agree'ment would; bo that the liquor trade I would be allowed to till the streets of the towns in the colony with ! drunkards, only a small proportion jof .whom would appear an the public I records. The trade were being paid for services rendered.” It will be 1 seen that Mr Taylor spoke with his ■ customary directness, and there is j always the possibility that the sweep \of such statements may extend too jiur. The departmental circular al- • baled to by Mr Taylor appears toils ■Hi afford no evidence of an attempt to convert the police into an OrganiJ sal ion for liie protection of the pubj beans in unlawful practices, as Mr (Taylor would have ns believe. It is ■a proper thing- that hotel keepers i should be warned against committing any breach of the law, and the oincius of the department would lay ih.-niseives open to public disapprobation if they permitted an offence io i>e committed in order to swell the number of convictions. We can hardly believe that the police department has been corrupted for political purposes; but Invercargill will shortly furnish a searching test of the local branch of it. In loss Hum three months the sale of alcoholic liquors within the electorate will be unlawful, but the town will he surrounded by places in which liquor may be obtained. Under these circumstances the position Of ih- 1 [-olive wilt be one of extreme dlliletilfy, and wo can imagine that (he prospect has little relish for the local force. Whether special depart menial instructions bearing on the subject have been issued we know not. but unless we are very much mistaken, both the integrity and the energy of tile local police are. likely to I.C tested before many months ili.ive elapsed.