LIQUOR IN PAHS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2702, 23 February 1916, Page 3

LIQUOR IN PAHS

amendment of the law urced By Telegraph—Press Association. Cisborne, February 22. From time to time reports i?.ivo been as to the amount of liquor rtliat is finding its way into Maori palis, and in recent cases on tho coast it has been stated that there it is being consumed even by women and children, ihe police have been actively engaged in endeavouring to bring to justice those responsible for this state of affairs, but because of the fact that the Natives will never inform upon the offender, great difficulty has been experienced in obtaining convictions. After twelvo informations dealt witli at Opotiki had been dismissed, Mr. J. R. Kirk, who appeared for all the defendn;vos, suggested to the Magistrate (Mr. i{. W. Dyer) that the difficulties of the police would become no lighter until there was an alteration in the existing law. Ho said that in his private capacity as a citizen, md in the interests of tlie Natives themselves, he had already recommended to the Minister of Justice an amendment to the Act making it an offence for a Native to be found in the possession of intoxicating liquor. At present Natives could be supplied at bars with liquor for consumption on the premises, but i; was 110 offence for them to bc> found in possession of liquor, and so encouragement was given to unscrupulous persons to obtain it for them. A. further

weakness ill the Act was'that in those districts where Maoris had decidcd they were not be supplied at all with intoxicating liquor, there was nothing to prevent them from going into note! bars in the district. Mr. Kirk suggested that tho Magistrate might endorse the representations which he had made.

Mr. Dyer said that he entirely agreed with the views expressed. He was chairman of tho Rotorua Licensing Committee, which body had already made representations to the Minister in this matter. He would, however, havo pleasure in supplementing these representations and those of counsel with his further representations as Stipendiary Magistrate.