CONTINUANCE OF SLY-GROG?

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIV, Issue 819, 16 November 1905, Page 23

CONTINUANCE OF SLY-G ROG?

■■ . ■ ■ n: Coming from the sitting iheiriber for Ashburton, Mr John McLachlan, the publicly expressed opinion “that ; lie thought the System of State control preferable to so much sly-grog selling,directs the public eye once •'more to the baneful 1 effects of prohibition It has always been intended that some of the evils: of sly-grdg selling are bad enough in appearance, but there are others, unappareiit, > which left to the imagination lead one to echo the M.H.R/s words, and say that even State control is better than prohibition results. As the representative for a prohibition district, his opinion must have more than ordinary weight, he being in a position to know, and being in touch with people who can honestly give him an account of the true inwardness of sly-grog selling in his electorate. The good that may result in isolated instances from the effects of prohibition are very apparent on the surface, and any such good is loudly advertised and set forth by prohibitionists, the evils are kept carefully in the background, nothing, but fearless expressions of opinion such as that given by Mr McLachlan drag these evils to the fore front and cause even the most apathetic moderate drinker to waken up to the determination that he and his are not to be deluded and cajoled into voting no-license and sly grog. The two are inseparable while human nature exists. Let anyone for a moment conjure up what sort of a state of affairs we would have in a seaport town like ours if we were under a reign of sly-grog. Indescribable would be mildly fitting. To the man or woman who uses alcoholic liquors to his or her own benefit, comfort or enjoyment, sly-grog dealing can have no charms, they know full well that the unfortunates who cannot control themselves and drink too freely, would only sink deeper and deeper in the mire of sly-grog dens. Instead of a minority being benefited by the discomforture of a majority, that minority would sink beyond redemption, with the grave possibility of its numbers being added to instead of lessened. The contrast between legalised liquor selling, with its attend ant comforts, and sly-grog selling witl its attendant evils is such a black on( that no evenly minded . person can d< otherwise than vote continuance.