Prohibition at The Clutha.

Opunake Times, Volume II, Issue 54, 8 January 1895, Page 3

Prohibition at The Clutha.

The experiences of a representative of the Christchurcli Press, who has been travelling through the Clutha district, have been such as to convince him that prohibition so far in New Zealand was proving as much of a failure as it is reported to be, in America—and, nearer home, at Mildura. " I do pot say," he writes, " that a policeman in plain clothes or a wellknown detective could go into the Cltttha district and purchase liquor straight off; but from what I saw, and from my own personal experience, I am convinced that this prohibition business is a complete farce from beginning to end, and that the sooner fresh licenses are granted to the respectable class of houses the better. With the exception of the two cases cited, I cannot say that I saw any drunkenness during my week's ramble, but I witnessed sufficient to convince me that man in the Clutha district is quite as frail and human now as he was when whisky and beer could be-purchased under the eyes of the law. If people want drink, they will have it; and if they have money, they can purchase as much as they feel disposed to, and in any given quantities, from the 10 or 5-gallon keg to the modest tankard, from the 2-gallon jar, the demijohn, the bottle, half-bottle, pocket pistol, or ordinary nobbier. It may, in the smaller quantities, be given various names, •but under whatever guise it is served it is equally intoxicating. Most of the bars appeared to be kept open, and at various hours of the day and during the the evening I saw a good many people enter and come out. In some cases the bar door would be closed during the time of service, but as often as not the people would be served openly, with what I could not always tell. Sometimes they would go into an inner room, and come out with a jovial smile and the back of their hand crossing their lips. I saw people served with beer and with whisky, and and in a number of instances saw it paid for."