TRADE TOPICS

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIX, Issue 1109, 13 July 1911, Page 21

TRADE TOPICS

Curious! In “The 0.M.P.” (a letter in the issue of June 22nd, seems to suggest that the initials stand for the "Old Maid’s Plaint”), Mr E. Shepherd Dixon, of Dixon’s Cordial Factory, advertises that he wishes to buy ' “all papers containing references favourable to continuance of license.” In a larger advertisement the same firm invite everybody to 1 “Vote for Dixon’s celebrated mineral waters, Palmerston North, and retain license,” the advertisement also intimating that “NoLicense means total ruin to this industry. lhe 0.M.P.” is the No-License paper published by the executive of the Oroua, Manawatu and Palmerston No-License Councils. A note above Mr Dixon s advertisement says:—“Mr Dixon, cordial manufacturer, is contributing substantially to our funds for the privilege of putting the case in favour of his trade before our readers, we welcome the opportunity of allowing both sides of the case to come bej^blic in this wa Y —Editor, -M.P. The writer is not sure which Fri?hS llre n^St^- he S' ener °sity of the d tor, or Mr Dixon’s simplicity in imagining that his side of the case can possibly be welcomed or fairly represented even by the former. ** v v * “H° me Journal” continues to „ the . “ LlCeilsed Victuallers’ tte ’ 17V 11 ltS kindl £ attentions and publishes quite a number of clippings” from these columns, none of which are likely to prove very helpful to the cause of No-License. * * * The “Vanguard” scores a point over the attitude of the Auckland Licensing Committee in regard to the supply of liquor to women, contending that it is a sign the liquor trafiic is condemned “even by the Citizens’ Licensing Committee.” Mud slinging develops into a fine arc with the Prohibitionist Editors of Ih e Vanguard.” Commenting upon the action of the Canterbury licensees in securing the services of adviser they say:—-But now—now they (the licensees that is) have found a man—• a aevil of a man—high browed, iowsouled; g.lted as Faust; crafty as a ox, etc., etc. The new man is spoicen of o.s a sort of ve.ied prophet. The ‘‘Vanguard,’ defending Mr G. B. Nicholls from the criticisms of the Dunedin “Star,” in connection with the Waitaki I-ligh School episode, makes the really touching admission that the question which party is best fitted to administer the political affairs of the country, ‘ might be usefully discussed in the School Debating Society, ’ but,, it adds, “that is on a lower level altogether than the really touching appeal made by the Waitaki hoys .to. the voters -of this country that, in View of the well-known perils that the dr.uk traffic places in the way of young men, they should vote to wipe that trafiic out of existence!” * * .>• * -At the last federation conference of hotel employees’ unions, held in Wellington, it was decided that the four unions in the centres should endeavour to have their respective awards extended to cover the surrounding districts. A start has been made in Auckland, where Mr T. Long, secretary of the Auckland Hotel Employees’ Union, has succeeded in arriving at an agreement with the hotelkeepers in Gisborne. In Dunedin, Mr R. Breen, on behalf of the union in that centre is applying for an extension of the Dunedin award to Oamaru and other towns in the Otago district. Next week Mr E. J. Carey, secretary of the local Hotel Employees’ Union, is to leave for Napier, Wanganui, Palmerston North, and Hastings. His object is to establish branches of the union, and have the award extended to cover the towns named. A list of demands, based on the local award, has been drawn up, and will be presented to the hotelkeepers in the several towns. They will be asked to confer with the union representative with a view to an amicable settlement without recourse to the Arbitration Court. ❖ # sp The amount of beer duty collected by the Invercargill Customs Office during the month of June was £ll3 10s, or £39 17s less than the amount collected during the corresponding month of last year, says the "Times”). The difference represents 3188 gallons of beer. This duty is levied only on beer manufactured in the Southland district, the breweries concerned being at Invercargill, Gore and Queenstown.

Though the definite figures are not: ~ yet available, - it is computed that when the Dominion barmaids’, register .is . completed it will contain the names of 1 about 1000 women?' Between 90 and ■ 100 applications for registration have yet-'to be finally- dealt with, but it is ; believed that the register will be ready for issue before the end of the month.*, , ■ ,■ ■.. • , ; ’ . .7: '‘The agreement just arrived at between the Auckland Hotel and Restaurant Employers Union and the employees in the hotels °i’ the Gisborpe district has just come into force. A schedule has been Included providing a- fixed wage for those employed according to the number of hands engaged in that particular branch. For instance, where five or more are employed -in the kitchen, the chef., is. to be paid £4 10s a week, where four are. employed £4, where three are employed £3 'los, where only, one is employed £2;';Where board is not provided, 10s a week in addition, -while -if lodging only is given an extra 5s per week, is to be paid: In addition to the' holidays fixed by the. Shops and Offices Act of 1910, the half-holiday has been pro-vided-for on alternate Sundays from the hour of 2 p.m. till the usual -time of commencing work on the following Monday. The award shall apply to all ; hotel-keepers carrying. on business in the borough of Gisborne and the counties of Cook, Waikohu and Waia- , PU. '' ’ ‘ \ * * * * * The licensee of one of the hotels in Westport bears-the curious name of Damm. He declares that his namesakes will be much more frequent on the Coast if no-license is carried. . “And yet,’’ remarked a leading temperance man, when he heard the remark, “Damms should have an affinity for water!” » •.« * • The returns re convictions for drunkenness in the Stratford district show a continuous marked decrease as compared with those of previous years. The figures for 1909 were 104 convictions, for 1910 only 67, while for the half-year ended the 3 Oth June. 1911, the returns only total 20, and of these a large proportion of the cases were stated to be persons coming from outside districts. * * Out goes the bottle license. Friday, June 30, was its last hay. And the grocers (says Dunedin “Star;”) were doing a roaring trade in supplying regular customers, who deemed it as well to lay in a drop- “See these shelves,” said Mr A. McFarlane,” in the afternoon; ‘‘we have filled them pp>three times ’already to-day, and will need to stock them again before the shutters are up. The demand has at least quadrupled that of any previous day. Let me tell you another thing: that this cry about people asking for bottles, and telling the grocer to put it down as something else, is pure invention "We have never once been asked, to do such a thing, and we have never yet had to refuse to serve a customer with a bottle.” ❖ * * The other day a thoughtful man at Jackson, Mississippi, stated in answer to a question as to how prohibition was affecting the people there, that he thought it was “all right,” for those people who wanted prohibition got prohibition, and those who wanted liquor got liquor. At the Wellington Police Court on Monday, Francis McFarland was fined 40s for having permitted drunkenness on his licensed premises, the Hotel Cecil, Mr Riddell, S.M., holding that, although the man was not served with liquor by McFarland’s barman, the mere fact of his being on licensed premises in a drunken condition was enough to warrant conviction if it were proved that the person in charge of the bar had been careless. At the request of counsel for the defence the fine was increased to £6 to enable an appeal to be made. Mrs Butler, late of Seddon, has purchased Mr Young’s interest in the Gisborne Hotel, Wairarapa, through Messrs. Dwan Bros. * ~ e . v. A fire at Hobart on Sunday night destroyed Ferguson’s wine and spirit stores. The damage, £lO,OOO, is largely covered by insurance. A Palmerston correspondent, who sends us a copy of the “O.M.P-,” draws attention to a letter contained in that paper signed “A Resident,” and headed “Women and Drink.” He declares

„. th,e Mtat/enjents,.-contained: therein to be untrue, and adds, “The if.women Palmerston are particularly sober, and cases such as those mentioned can only ; appear to persons with a distorted ‘ vision. I made enquiry of the Sergeant of Police,' who told me that ,a case such as that mentioned had never come under the notice of the police-— ; the case referred to being that of an allegedly “respectable: woman, quite drunk, who at one d’cldck in the morning aroused a lady whose husband occupies a public position in Palmerston, and asked to be allowed to lie down This being out of the question, the police, who were telegraphed f< r, ' are alleged to have taken charge of her.” “If,” says our correspondent, “they are wrong in this instance, you can'draw your own conclusions as : to the other part.”