THE SOBER CRIMINAL.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13610, 18 January 1908, Page 3

THE SOBER CRIMINAL.

.. ' : (ToJtto'lJ^orU.; ;:^. ' ;:,'; Sir, — The v articls in..' ablate , issue '^ of • yput paper and ujide.r;the! above 'bVafl- ' ing_ opens up' the' whole^ question* 'of ; jbne re|ation 6f drink to ['crimp.' Similar 'articles to^ tHe ohe re£oi*red'' ( *to : ,have appeared! in vacioug .^lewspap^'rs,, ahd jare^ ,ibal?ulated,'' jiorKaps"inten'3edy^t6 'ihrow, dpiibt v on" the contention „tha'fc 'driKK M.and, criria^, go . together. Ti'.^ie opinion of ,; tHe [■ juclge-^aijjil'r riuinerqvjs pthir^r judges I'and/ 'tob-^-is on"one f ßido'an<il to th» Qff^jt thair 'crime isjargely catised Jb|:;dr il^bft ilreVot^ side is the opinioii. of tfip' f 'd^fecw^th^|; , criminals ofj'a cortairi' N claais'^|^] in?-' Variably, sober m*>n.:. ; Yea 3\3 \ fh^v/'lifita need be. .^e're, " jsir^ is '.the/apini^|g r /of a man in v a'(idiffe,reut ' prb'fe^sionTentirely, an author. .' 3fr. 'HalT'Caine, in [ a note at the end : of one of his"nov©ls, ; gives "The-^oll.Call of Dritflt," ahd

says: <: It is a dark and difficult problem,, but one thing I see clearly, namely, that driiil? "is tho greatest and most baneful hypnotist on earth at .present, and' t&aiits- influenco is more awful than any plaguy, more devastating than any^ war. Looking back from more j than middle life, I can hardly remember a case of wreck and ruin that hak not boon, directly or indirectly, the result of drink. It ia a terrible roll call my memory goes .through, of men of £ood and even brilliant gifts, and bright and -glorious opportunities, who aro dead, or worse than dead, at the hand 3of the great hypnotist. Against that record I cannot „,recall a single casf> of a man >yho, froo from the tyrra'nh'y of drink; lias been utterly' destroyed by misfortune. The h«rdest blows of Eaie seem powerless to slay the, man -whom, the -.great hypnotist i cannot subdue. • And, though I think S intemperance is often as much a consequence as a "cause, I truly believe Unit iC drirk could be utterly wiped out "of 1 the'Vorl'd 7 ' -hxiiiia'nity would atv'airt 1 in the morning ivith more' than half its "sorrows and sufferings gone.'' : 'AH ; these" opinions are worthy of great respect %nd, consideration, -but here are facts, gathered right at home', > which cannot be got away from. In your issue of Saturday you give a rosumo of the S.M. Court returns for 1907. These returns concern 390 cases that appeared before tho Court, apari from civil cases, and if we classify them we find that 257 cases have to do with drink — two-thirds of the whole; and if from the total we omit about 60 cases, dealing with borough by-laws, school attendance, and dogs, we then find that three-fourths of the work of the Court, in connection with crime and offences against good order and morals, is the result of drink. A little study of the returns referred to is not encouraging, for it reveals this fact: That, in spite of the said-to-be-well-conducted houses, the year 1907 is a record year for drunkenness and for prohibition orders — 11Q of the former and 50 of the latter, against 73 and 27 in 1906, and 54 and 37 in the year 1905. Hoping you will give this a place in your largely-read and influential paper, — I am, etc., G. H. M.