LIQUOR IN NO-LICENSE AREAS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIX, Issue 1075, 13 October 1910, Page 22

LIQUOR IN NO-LICENSE AREAS.

POLICE INSPECTORS’ EXPERIENCES.

Some interesting statements concerning the working of No-license were made in the Legislative Council by the Attorney-General (Dr. Findlay). In reply to the following question put by Hon. Geo. Jones: “Whether or not the statements now being made in New South Wales, in view of the local option vote impending in that State, and based on utterances from the Bench by Mr. Day, stipendiary magistrate, that there are more temptations to drink in no-license districts than in districts having license, that liquor is kept in every house, and that dipsomaniacs ’thus have every opportunities for secret drinking, are justified by the experience of the police inspectors in the no-license districts of the Dominion.” The Attorney-General said he had had the statement referred to the various police inspectors with a request for their views. The replies he had received he gave without endorsement or comment of any kind. They were as follows: —

inspector Kiely, Christchurch* wrote: My experience of prohibited districts is rather limited, Ohinemuri being the only no-license district I have had under my charge, and that was under prohibition for slightly over twelve months, an order of the King’s brought about by the miners of Waihi, who in a body disputed the charges made for liquor by the publicans, and because the publicans would

not lower their prices, prohibition was carried. Since that time it seems to be the ruling thought in the minds of most men in Waihi when, where, and how liquor can be obtained. It is a fact that women have a bitter cause of complaint, in that their husbands drink in sly grog-shops or in the shanties of their mates, where large quantities of liquor are consumed without any restriction. It is also a fact that liquor is now kept in private houses amongst families where liquor was never known to be kept under licenses. The police court records will show that an increase in fines and costs has taken place under no-license. I long ago came to the conclusion that prohibition in its present form is a failure. It closes the public bar and opens the sly-grog shops. Whether the temptation to drink is greater in a public-house or in a shanty of a sly grog-shop is a matter upon which it is very hard to express an opinion. It depends entirely upon the individual himself. Inspector Ellison (Wellington): 1 am quite certain there are not more temptations to drink in no-license than in license districts. So far as this police district is concerned, there are more temptations to lying, perjury, and deceit in no-license areas amongst those who desire to obtain liquor or to provide liquor for others than one is accustomed to find elsewhere.

Inspector O’Brien (Dunedin): I cannot endorse any statement that there are more temptations to drink in no-license than in license districts. Occasionally we hear of men taking too much liquor in the first-named districts, but the same men and many others would get drunk in a licensed hotel if the licensee would permit it.

Inspector Cullen (Auckland): Temptations to drink in no-license districts are few compared with those in licensed districts. In the latter districts the hotels are open from 6 a.m. till 10 p.m., where all who want liquor can go in openly and pay for it and remain there drinking as long as they are not too drunk to attract

the attention of the police. Many publicans trade during prohibited hotirs. Sly grog-sellers keep very limited stocks of liquor. More than half their time they were without any liquor. They will not supply a stranger or two persons together unless both are well-known to them and can be trusted not to give them away. They will allow no noisy, half-drunk-en persons to remain about their places, as they know that if drunken men are seen about their premises or coming from them they will draw the attention of the police to their premises, and they don’t want that. One licensed house will dispose of more liquor in one week than fifty sly grog-shops would do in the same period. Sly grog-selling is very' intermittent. Another class that get liquor are those who club together and get consignments for special occasions, but this class is common to both licensed and no-licensed districts. Inspector Mitchell (Invercargill): In my opinion the open bar in a licensed district is the strongest of all tempters to drink. The vicious cus-

tom of shouting and the presence of the attractive barmaid being largely responsible for it. Residents in a no-license district have to seek their supplies from outside each area, thereby 1 occasioning some and additional expense. This induces persons to purchase liquor in fairly large quantities and keep it in their homes, resulting it is said, in an increased consumption, and the placing of temptations within reach of many females and others who had not been previously subjected to it. It is very difficult to disprove or verify such a general statement. Others purchase two and five-gallon kegs of beer from breweries, and sometimes in groups of three or more make themselves objectionable by drinking to excess in the reserves and other public places, but indulgence in this practice is principally confined to the intemperate toper, and that class of young man who would furnish ample evidence of his fondness for drink even if in a licensed district. There is a tendency with a section of the community to exaggerate the extent of this evil. At the same time I believe the increasing of the minimum quantity for sale from 2 to 10 gallons would considerably diminish the nuisance. Others, again, join unchartered clubs, where the local system prevails—a system productive of much drinking, and which, as at present carried on, is without doubt, an evasion of the law. But it is very difficult to obtain the necessary evidence to warrant proceedings, 'rne Customs returns showing the consumption of liquor for stated periods, do not discriminate between licensed and no-licensed districts. The aggregate supply only is shown, so the statistics are of little value. A vast improvement in the order of the streets has resulted from no-license. At the same time it is questionable if license, with shouting made illegal and the barmaid abolished, would not prove more satisfactory than local no-license with breweries in nolicense areas and other facilities to legitimately obtain liquor. It is generally admitted that in Southland nolicense has not received a fair trial.

THE STATISTICS

Dr. Findlay also quoted for the first time in New Zealand statistics showing the quantity of liquor which had been taken into the no-licensed area for the year ended June 30, 1910. These figures he explained, are compiled by the clerks of the courts in the areas in question. The first table gives the quantities in respect of those liquors which are in most general use. Fractions are omitted:—

A remarkable feature of the figures is the fact that Mataura and Oamaru are the only districts where bottled beer and spirits have been entered for consumption in accordance with the requirements of the Statute. GROSS IMPORTATIONS. The following figures give the total of all classes of liquor imported into no-license areas (fractions omitted) : —

Mr. Jones complained that the figures were of little use for purposes of comparison, because the amount of liquor consumed under license was not given, and gave notice to ask for such a return.

rO C <3 § J? .2 1 oi S i£ Ashburton . 16,985 5,457 166 382 Bruce . 13,122 2,539 176 290 Clutha .... . 9,238 53 65 82 Eden . 10,048 562 24 253 Grey Lynn . 5,657 199 15 53 Invercargill . 72,733 4,530 163 511 Mas ter ton . 22,043 3,803 161 348 Ohinemuri . 30,496 2,561 89 341 Wellington iS. ... . 12,914 393 75 272 Wellington Sub. . . 11,233 468 43 372 iMataura .. . 37,942 1,718 12 40 Oamaru .. . 16,750 3,021 271 136 Bottles. (Mataura 12,589 13,364 310 494 Oamaru .. . 10,419 247 742

Take in tables Gallons. Bottles. Cases. Ashburton ... 22,291 4 — Bruce ... 16,325 — — Clut'ha ... 12,479 — — Eden ... 10,935 —— Grey Lynn ... 5,946 - — Invercargill ... 78,283 •— —— Masterton .... 26,547 —— —— Mataura .... 39,723 13,692 224 Oamaru ... 20,260 25,206 336 Ohinemuri ... 33,658 — — Wellington S. ... ... 14,697 — — Wellington Sub. ... 12,170 — —