The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas Et Prevalebit. MONDAY, MAY 14, 1883. A Good Recommendation.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 942, 14 May 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas Et Prevalebit. MONDAY, MAY 14, 1883. A Good Recommendation.

An inquest is fortunately a rather unusual occurrence in Ashburton, but the fact that there have been two held within a week, would not perhaps call for special comment, were it not that the jury in each instance appended a rider to their verdict. In the case of the fireman Chesson it was so clearly shown that defective appliances to the engine were the cause of the accident that the jury’s recommendation can scarcely fail to make the Government alive to a great danger, and no doubt action will be taken to prevent the recurrence of a like lamentable accident. The inquiry into the death of Joseph Mulligan, held at the Hospital on Saturday, certainly did not involve such important issues, but the rider of the jury is none the less worthy of the careful consideration of the Licensing Bench. The deceased, it appeared, was a hard drinking man, and, in common with the great majority of our agriculturists, was in the habit of celebrating the receipt of his wages cheque by having a drunken “ spree.” The post mottem examination proved that the immediate cause of death was not excessive alcoholism, but that has nothing to do with the question treated of by the jury in their rider. The evidence showed that Mulligan, after receiving his cheque, left the place where he had been working with the avowed intention; of going on to Rakaia. He did not, however, get beyond Chertsey, and it seems that in the hotel there he managed to spend a considerable sum of money in an incredibly short time. As the case against the landlord will all probability form a subject for inquiry before the Licensing Bench, we do not intend to say anything upon a matter that is, in a sense, sub judice, further than to refer to a statement of a witness, who professed great experience in drinking, to the effect that the liquor at the Chertsey Hotel “ knocked him over ” more quickly than any he had ever drunk elsewhere. Anybody who has been tempted to enter an up-country hotel can testify to the villainous nature of the compounds that are vended as spirits in most instances, but the question may be'dealt with upon a far broader basis. There can be no doubt that drunkenness increases according to the facilities given to men for obtaining what they crave for. This is indeed a palpable truism, and yet we see that licenses are frequently accorded to houses in places where hotels depend for their trade almost entirely upon people of the Mulligan typei. The rider of the jury of Saturday’s inquest recommended that the Bench should consider the advisability of withholding the license from the Chertsey Hotel until police supervision is established in the district, and we shall be glad to see this recommendation given effect to. It would be well if the principle were carried out all over the colony, as the presence of the police would unquestionably do much to prevent the numerous drunken debauches which continually take place in these up-country hotels, while the facilities for carrying out the disgraceful practice of “ lambing down ” would be considerably lessened.