LARRIKINISM IN DUNEDIN.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2653, 18 August 1871, Page 2

LARRIKINISM IN DUNEDIN.

To the Editor. Sir—l ard-ntly desire to direct your attention to that pernicious evil cropping up in Dunedin, “ larrikiuism,” which has hitheito conspicuously resisted all endeavors to suppress it in Victoria. There its destractive progress is marked by incessant criminality upon those unfortunate mortals destined to experience it. The evil that larrikinism has done would require to bo written in volumes. So disastrous its effects have been upon such a large colony like Victoria, that one would be apt to conclude that the Victorian Legislature were powerless to stay its deleterious progress. Howbeit the Parliament passed a measure to suppress the existing larrikin nuisance, which had no effect, and was impotent to arrest its advancement ere extending over the whole of the country. The larrikin element has finally extended to this small but delectable city, where it may be seen, and that too glaringly, every Sunday afternoon, in the centre of the Botanical Gardens in Dunedin, whereat the larrikin genus assemble in great force for no other purpose than to insult and otherwise offend passers-by, wb • ther male or female. This nuisance should be suppressed before it is allowed to take root, and become such an offensive and mifcbievous evil similar to the one exp rieuccd by our Victorian neighbors. I happened to visit the Botanical Gardens last Sabbath, when I was so auprovokingly insulted by a crowd of roughs located iu a conspicuous spot adjoining one of the footpaths, that I sought the aid of a constable, but none was to be found, hence I was reluctantly constrained to betake myself h> me to attend to the serious wounds received at the hand of some incorrigible roughs, to whose disgraceful and criminal contact the attention of the Dunedin constabulary is called. If the Botanical Gardens in future are to be thrown open for public inspection and recreation, it is to be sincerely hoped that such a delectable pleasure spot will be freed from the off-scum of society, larrikins, and roughs, who have wrought much harm upon num ericas "Victorian residents. That it is earnestly to be desiderated that the inhabit* ants of this peace-making City will not ex perience alike annoyance. If the Provincial Council and Magistracy will only deign to lend their potent aid to finally crush an evil, which has indescribably and indellibly resisted all the praiseworthy attempts to put it down by such an ethical and excellent country like Victoria, they wjil ovbt cuuiumnd tile highest respect from all classes of sober and peace-making people, Mark Last King, Junr., Of Melbourne. Dunedin, Aug. 17, 1871.