THE COASTGUARDS.

Southland Times, Issue 19102, 21 November 1923, Page 4

THE COASTGUARDS.

Last March the Coastguards, whose stations for many years had been part of the coast scenery of Britain, were disbanded as an arm of the Customs in the interests of economy. They were regarded as a picturesque survival of an earlier age, and in the face of an urgent demand for retrenchment few people took the trouble to protest on behalf of this ornamental organisation. The withdrawal of the Coastguards left long stretches of the coast practically unwatched, and it seems that in some quarters at least there is a belief that the withdrawal of the Coastguards has some connection with the increase in the smuggling of habit-forming drugs. The growth of the drug menace in big cities is alarming the authorities, and the concern which is displayed in America finds echo in both Britain and France. London has been a lucrative field for the drug distributors in spite of the energetic efforts of the police, and the operations of these demoralising agents are causing as much, if not more, anxiety than was the case just after the war, although in this part of the world we hear fewer sensational stories of events in the Old Country. There seems to' be growing in Britain a demand for the restoration of the Coastguards to provide better protection against the illicit drug trade, which in spite of the efforts of the authorities makes large profits for a few desperate people at the expense of the nation.