AUCKLAND HAPPENINGS.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 18 July 1918, Page 3

AUCKLAND HAPPENINGS.

[From Our Own Cor respondent 1

Auckland, July 16

WHAT EARLY CLOSING

HAS DONE,

Whatever " the Trade " may have thought about it, the general public, it may be fairly assumed, did not anticipate that six o'clock closing would spell disaster, or something very much like it, for the licensed houses. But so serious has been the falling off in the receipts of publicans in this city—and presumably in other parts of the Dominion —as the result of early closing that two of the biggest brewery companies in Auckland have just reduced the rents of the numerous hotels they own quite considerably, In one case the rent of a leading hostelry has been cut down from £22 per week to £13, in another case the rent has been lowered from £9 per week to £4 10s, and other reductions are : £12 to £9 • £10 to £4 ; £20 to £10 10s ; £9 to £3; £8 to £5; £14 to £9. The experience of the Auckland publicans goes to show that most j of the drinking is done—or rather was done —in the evening, between the present closing hours, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. I observe that six o'clock closing in Victoria is to remain permanently in force, and almost certainly New Zealand will follow suit, that is provided, of course, that the carrying of National Prohibition does not sweep away the necessity for fixing the hours during which liquor may be sold. NATIONAL PROHIBITION OR STATE CONTROL ? During the recent visit to Auckland of the Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister for Internal Affairs, he said, in discussing the liquor question, that the apparently irreconcilable parties, " the Trade " on the one hand and the Prohibitionists on the other, were at last in accord, and that the recommendation of the National Efficiency Board that a poll be taken as to the abolition of the liquor trade by a bare majority vote was approved by both parties. But " the Trade " here declares that " such a statement can only have emanated from the imagination of the Minister, and is absolutely inaccurate." So there you are ! *' Birds in their little nests agree," as Dr. Watts so edifyingly remarks, but the liquoiites and the anti-liquorites will never, it is to be feared, follow the example of the little birds. Meantime if National Prohibition does come it is going to cost the country four and a~ half millions sterling to compensate the publicans for going out of the business. And where is the money to come from ? Mr Russell hinted darkly that it might have to come out of a tax on our tea and sugar. But if this money has to be raised by taxation why tax the necessaries of life V Surely there are other things that might preferably be i laid under contribution ?- motorcars, diamonds, costly gold watches, expensive furs, millinery, silks, and fal-lals, for example. Perhaps these things, or some of them, are being taxed already. Well, let them be taxed further. As to the abolition of the liquor traffic, why should the traffic be abolished ? It is chiefly objectionable now owing to the evils which have grown up with it. But substitute pure liquor for adulterated, do away with tied houses, see that drunken men and women are not supplied with drink, sweep away gorgeous bars, get rid of barmaids, and make the sale of liquor as much a matter of pure business as the sale of groceries or bread, or vegetables—and allow no drinking on the premises and only a limited quantity of liquor to be sold for consumption off the premises. Under such conditions the liquor trade would be transformed and deprived of all its -.objectionable features, And these reforms could be, and would be, brougth about by State Control.

ONE GOOD TURN , DESERVES ANOTHER! 5 One of the most touching things in connection "with the loss of the Wimmera was the way in which the Maoris of Te Hapua and Tae Maro hastened to the assistance of the shipwrecked passengers, The poorest, in point of worldly possessions and hard cash, of all the tribes in the Dominion is that to be fqund at Te Et'apua, while those natives resident further south at Tae Maro, are also, far fr-qir^ well-to-do.. And yet these kindjy people not only faced the difficulties of getting the Wimtnera passengers to their settlements but lavished upon them practically all they had in the shape of fqod and clothing. Such generqsity surely merits recognition, 3-nd if any reader of these notes Has any old clothing or stores he can spare and would like to shpw his ap-

preciation in a practical way of the self-sacrifice made by the Maoris in question, he should make the things up in a parcel and forward it to the care of Mr Robt. Rew, Lower Queen Street, Auckland, who will see that it reaches those for whom it is intended. Mr Rew is acting on behalf of the Wimmera Relief Committee. Parcels should be addressed to him and marked: "For the Te Hapua and Tae Maro Maoris."

WOOD PULP DRESSES

Writes my Wellington colleague : "Do you believe that it is possible to produce dresses of the most beautiful texture and colouring from wood-pulp —the stuff so largely used for the manufacture of printirig-paper ? Well, it is —whether you believe it not, I know because I have I seen and handled the material. A local soft-goods house manager showed the stuff to me. It was made up into scarves for ladies' wear. It is also used for frocks. It looks exactly like silk, and it would take an expert all his time to tell that it is not silk. The wood pulp is spun into threads as fine as floss-silk. I don't know about its wearing qualities, but it is certainly very beautiful. There is no attempt to deceive the public on the part of the Home manufacturers, because the boxes containing the goods are plainly branded " wood-pulp." The war is becoming responsible for many unexpected developments " SIR JAMES ALLEN ON HOME TRAINING. I am not a thick-and-thin admirer of Sir James Allen, but I must confess that I was a good deal impressed with some remarks he made in addressing a deputation of women that waited upon him in Auckland a day or two ago, on the subject of hometraining of the young. "It is too late to hope for reforms when your boys and girls are grown up," said Sir James, " unless the home-influence bo good and your young folks trained from the very start to understand the perils and dangers of temptation, and to lead moral lives, you will never abolish social evils, There is urgent work for your women's societies to do. Get down to the bottom of things, educate the public mind, educate your children in the home as well as in the school, and create a healthy public opinion on these matters which are of sucli tremendous importance to the welfare of the community. Young girls should receive instruction /as to the consequences of wrong-doing, and it is in this work that women's organisations could render invaluable service." These be wise words, and parents would do well to ponder them. We are spending huge sums annually in this country on the conversion of the heathen in foreign lands. But social reforms, nearer home, are (comparatively) neglected.

A VALUELESS CHEQUE SWINDLER.

The case against a party bearing the familiar name of Brown, at the Auckland Police Court this week, illustrated afresh how veryeasy it is for any plausibletongued stranger to obtain monejby the passing of valueless cheques, Brown's method of raising the wind at other people's expense was as simple as shelling peas, He commenced operations by purchasing a cheque-book at one of the local Banks. He had no account at the Bank, but appears to have had no difficulty in buying one of its cheque-books. Qnce the latter was in his hands the game of money-getting went merrily on. Brown drew cheques for various amounts, ranging from £1 to %% XOs. These he readily induced strangers, shopkeepers, and others, to oash for him- He put up at a swell boarding house, and wore an ingratiating smile and a fashionably cut suit. These and the cheque-book formed his stock-in-trade. He explained to the Bench that he was alright in the country, but the temptations of town were too much for him. The Court failed to take the hint, and ordered him three years' retention for reformative treatment. He wa.s a.n old han.d- I remember when some time ago a similar case was before the Court, the Magistrate remarking that business people who cashed cheques for total strangers deserved to lose their money for their neglect of the simplest business precautions,