BRUTAL LICENSING LAW.

NZ Truth, Issue 65, 15 September 1906, Page 8

BRUTAL LICENSING LAW.

Cruel Effects of Parson and Women-made Legislation.

Unfortunate Mothers and . Children 1 Compelled to Walk the Streets All Night m Rain and Icy Blasts.

r A' specimen of what this country is coming .to " under the shameful, reactionary, retrogressive laws, that are being foisted upon it by old-woman-ish legislators, whipped iip by womenbacked parsons and parson-hounded women, was/a shameful occurrence at Picton.qn Saturday night last.

. It appears that the 9.30 train from Blenheim, bearing a- number of persons who were to catch ; the ' Penguin at Picton, for Wellington, arrived, at its destination at 1Q.45 p.m. The steamer was advertised to leave at 11 o'clock, but did 'not show up . >at Picton until 6,30 a.m. on Sunday.

As,' under the rigid and absurdly uratlastic law, the Picton' hotels were all closed down and the vile, dangerous criminal landlord serfs of the great King Snuffiebust were cowering trembling, beneath their blankets at 10 p.nit, dreading every moment to hear the savage snarl and forcible inrush of a body of. King Snuffle-bust; 1 s blue-coated minions an a domiciliary visit a la Russe, the intending passengers by the steamer were unable to .obtain, shelter. '' r - .'.■'■'

.<?: A /drizzling, driving, rain- fell, the •night ■ -wliid from ; the .wintry ■ sea swept the streets .^nd with- icy. breath f Chilled ;she homeless wanderers to" tho .marrow^'lt was bad eriough, m all conscience, for robust men- to be so exposed to "a- Cook Straits night, but what ' must it have been to women and children,- of whom the.' party 'of travellers ' was largely composed? Imagine, the suffering, ye . who « lay warm m: fire-heated houses that night, of these poor mothers and their wearis ; sufferings inflicted upon them, not for any faultr or folly of their own,, but at the behest of a damnable, curfew-bell-like law, that renders it criminal for a licensed entertainer to entertain travellers' after such a .ridiculous hour as 10 o'clock, ah ii6vit"%t. which il;he 'great, cities ofthe- civilised world" are ofily just beginning .to wake « iip. • Even*' if the law does* permit hotelkeepers,; to admit travellers and allow theiti; ft ;' roof to .cover them and a bed tQ^li^ih ; aye, even if it: affects -to compel, them to afford such accommosl^ji)n; it is not iio be wondered at th'at|they , should "lie low, and say nbthis|s: when a summons sounds, on the .portal, for well they know the danger of a PgJjice rush and the extrem^Jikelihoo^pof a false charge of seryi^tfdrink^ftei) hours,- or having persons: on the^|iremises^without lawfiil af^fose, Mnf tiird^ght against the'^ipder thisMßjost ,. definable licepsihg^'Ao% wh^h^Enakesj/ai: publican a huntld^haun^^it^lbn anU hplds ever beftS/^is affillhi^ey^^ie danget o^^Bv^ioss voi.^vjiik; lice^sjß : and the thrb^ii^ ou^on 'thie world, r ; uined and disgraced;;' 1 of himself and his wife, and'bairns tot sink or swim, as Fate 1 , always cruel to the man who is down, niav ordain. ._'. - f

This thine. is"' a .scandal and a. shame to the whole country. That the wives and children of the taxpayers, m this "free British community," should be, siybjected ,tb such cruel risks, such privation and exposure m such weather, or m any weather, is disgraceful. It is a wrong that cries aloud for' redress, and it. is a pity that some of the blithering crew who howled for such drastfb, such ridiculous, retrogressive legislation, and some of its ..blatant, snuffling, canting,' well-fed, incu'bi-on-the-body-poli-tic supporters, who whooped for it m the 'fl'buse, could not be subjected .to •a feV- ; similar' experiences along with their wives, and. children. • There is neither polity, sense nor reason m ;a law' that renders it impossible .for travellers to obtain food and. shelter' at "licensed inns ■ and ; .dooms tender wpinen' and children to wander, wintry stretets all ni'giht, and the. sooner the law is altered to render such outr'aices • on the people impbssible the better for the whole community and the good name of the coloriyv ,

extent of saying that it promises to rival the Church of Rome. There is little doubt that the Christian Scientists have learned the secret of beins joyous and full of hope and sunshine, V nicn is certainly, a change from some of our old, gloomy, depressing religions, like that of the Scotch, for instance. 'The-" have arrived at it." says one writer, "by very bad logic— by denying: the; reality of evil and pain— but the hotew'orthv point is that they have arived at it. .They do not talk about troubles, or*, difficulties, nor do they, dwell m a state of dumps, and .they experience a, calm joy, which others do- not feel .;',' "''''■;■' ..;• ■. V/ '

There is -little doubt that , hi pursuit of theiy -theory thev- carry their ideas a litjfte^tpo far. Faith goes a e:q6d way ili-'healing or ■ restoring a paitient' to'.'.fieal^h m many ordinary c^,ses of indisposition^ because it disposes the. mind to allow nature to cure ' herself-. But to apply this to cases of notoriously contaeious diseases, or to work of the skilful surgoon, is absurd, and . is likely, if pursued, to- lead to much unnecessary loss, of life. Naturailv'nine-tejiths of the dunes of Christian ''Science" have never studieci, the origins of Christianity an^ probably. Mrs Eddy herself could not answer correctly ar elemenfrarv "aiier on the subject. — "Rsynolds's Newspaper. " , '.' .;