ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 930, 9 April 1879, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE OAMAP.f MAIL. Sin,—After hearing the Hnv. \V. Fox"f lecture, last'night, on T 1 over-1 heard, in the street, a few ■..■on'..; of a c>--.■• ■ versation carried on between two ■ „;•.- apparently labourers—who had ■-■.: i-.;ontly heard the lecture. It was :: "olious : "It is all very fine to talk a-.out stopping drunkenness, and doing away with hotels ; . bat, before they can do that, we must hove better boarding houses." On account of hearing those few words, I am induced to make the following remarks respecting the labouring man, and his—to a certain extent —connection -with drinking. lam not going to criticise Mr. Fox's lecture to any great extent; suffice it to say that I thought it, on the whole, instructive and interesting, but rather one-sided, and wanting in liberality. With reference to the labouring man, he appeared to want us to believe that by doing away with some of the hotels, his (the labourer's) temptation to drink would be partially removed. I ask, Sir, why do the majority of labouring men (especially agricultural) in this Colony take to drink \ Are the agricultural labourers of New Zealand, as a rule, comfortably quartered 1 Have they proper, or even decent sleeping accommodation ? How do they spend their evenings'? Does the employer take that interest in his men lie should, by looking after their creature comforts ] I fear, sir, we too often find them huddled together in a miserable uncomfortable hut or shanty—the innocent new chum, who may have been comfortably and carefully reared at home, and the hardened, debased, and drunken sot, all in one apartment, without respect to manners or feelings. Such contamination too often leads the would-be honest man astray. Can wo blame a man for leaving that hovel, which is 50 percent, inferior in comparison to the looseboxes for horses or sheds for cattle adjoining, of an evening, for the bar or sittingroom of an hotel, where he may have brilliant lights, cheerful and home-like fires, get the choice of several daily papers, and hear and relate all the news of the day. Pause and look at the contrast between the two scenes. Can you longer wonder that men frequent hotels under these circumstances '2 We cannot expect the landlord to procure all these things free. He must be paid for his labor and expense, and consequently these men arc compelled to drink or not enjoy those luxuries. If they only took one drink each, the evil would not be great, but it often occurs in this way : Tom, Dick, and Jack go together; Tom shouts for the three to start with; ultimately they all three shout, which, if they are not strong men and have good constitutions, is far too much, When in that state they do not care whether they go home drunk or sober.

I think I have given a slight reason of how- the laboring class are first tempted to drink on stations. Now, what is the remedy. Is it not as cleay as day ? Give them comfortable accommodation, establish a reading-room and a library, where they may go on an evening, read the papers, write a letter, play chess, draughts, or any other innocent game, smoke their pipes, and chat away to their hearts' content without being compelled to swallow poison as a recompense. Such an institution on any station, however few men employed, could be self-support-ing, and I am thoroughly convinced the laboring men in general would appreciate it as a boon, and the men's intorest in their employers' business would be increased tenfold, If a master take an interest in his men, they will not be slow in appreciating and respecting him accordingly, and instead of having the unsettled class of laboring; men we have at the present day, we shall have an intelligent, persevering,- and honest lot of fellows, who would some day be thriving settlers, and a credit to the Colony. I trust I have from the above few facts shown that the fountain head of the drinking question in connection with the laborer' lies in the hands of -landed proprietors, capitalists, squatters, and agriculturists, who by only doing their duty would materially decrease drunkenness and the legion of other vices and miseries connected therewith, at the same time be forwarding their own interests by elevating fellow creatures to a standard of honesty and industry, Some may say a man is not compelled to drink unless he likes ; but no person who has not actually gone through the various stages of a laborer's life in this Colony can know the many trials, difficulties, and temptations he is exposed to, and it is only men of extraordinarily strong will that escape being led astray. Although wages are (I believe) higher in New Zealand—than any country in the

world, I question if there arc not equal misery and wretchedness C '? est f come to the subject with which I n0 * menced my letter, namely, ]3 O £onihouses. Where are our me'u'to <m i& out of -yforkl To an hotel or bn Jr n house? Or what is tho differenc ? 8 * tween an hotel and a boardin"l,° Take the boarding-houses of Oama °' an example (I cannot say if itiaJVl 4 one) —Do we find them bearing th' e h of characters, models of respectatT and cleanliness ? Is a man free from $ temptation of drink even in them It fear-if some of them were exposed to ft, light of day they would look very a a 1 What we want, sir, is a publich 0 I,: where spirituous liquors are not s O U Much more could be said on the abosubject, but I fear I have already"t r J 8 passed too much on your space, i,^ 8 " gising for the same, —lam, &c., *' °" TEMrEluxcE Oamaru, sth April, 1870.