THE Waihi Daily Telegraph WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WAIHI MINER SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1904

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume IV, Issue 1084, 3 September 1904, Page 2

THE Waihi Daily Telegraph WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WAIHI MINER

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1904

Horo jlwll tho Cross tho I'uuplu's maintain UnnwoJ by infliionac ami unbrikil by «nin • Hore patriot Truth lmr ?lcnuu« |irocopts ilrrn. PledKod to Roligion Wborty. tml law

IT is asserted by the advocates of prohibition that alcohol is hurtful and demoralising to a community even when dispensed in licensed premises. If that is so, how much more injurious must it be lo the consumer when dispensed by illicit sellers ? The relative position between licensed hotels and sly ">rog shops is very easily ganged. In the first placo, all licensed hotels are under Government supervision, in bo far that periodical analyses are made of the liquor sold, In a rewn oflicial report it was stated that in al 1 the analysis mado during tho yvar the quality of the liquor supplied by licensed houses was exceptionally good, On the other hand, we take the position of the sly grog shop Its existence is not only a serious breach of tho law, but it also enables the seller to escape the Npervision of the inspectors. the owner sells anything ho likes, no matter how dangerous if the liquor to j tho lives of consumers, The contrast I between a licensed hotel and a sly | grog shop is so mar-kid (hat oven j viewing it from a inhibilioiiist'in standpoint the former is a paradise compared to the Isttei. The King Country is said to absolutely res

with those dens, and we have heard a good deal about sly grog selling in other prohibited districts; and despile the vigilance of the police, but the imposition of fines, and even imprisonment, the practice continues almost unabated. Sly grog selling in prohibited districts is bad enough, but when it is practised in communities where Hijuor is not a prohibited article it is fifty times for there is no excuse for the offender, It is said that sly grog selling is going on practically at our own doors, It is common report that in Karangahake there is moro than one sly grog shop doing good business. We sincerely hope that the rumours are incorrect, but they are bo persistent that w 0 cannot but think thov have some

foundation, and we now suggest to tho police that efforts should be made to find out the truth or otherwise of tho rumours. The local police' are so well known that attemp's on their part to prove illicit selling by the purchase of liquor would be as futile as attempts of the kind would be in tho lung Country if made by the King Country police. It seems to us that the only way of locating the dens and proving tho sly sale of licjuor is to resort to the measures that are adopted by the police with respect to the King Country, and place the matter in the hands of persons who are absolute strangers to the place, It is very unlikely that a sly seller of liquor would sell to a man he knows to be a policeman t bnthe would not hesitate to stll to a person whom lie did.not suspect belonged to tho force or was engaged by the police for the purpose, It is by this agency, and this alone, that so many cases of sly grog-sailing are brought to light in the King Country ; and if the agency were not. permitted, or were discontinued, tho infamy would be ten times worse than we find it. We are sure that any steps taken by the police in the direction indicated will be supported by the public, and especially by the temperance portion of the coinmu. nity, Tho ru:aj:irs aro afloat, and usually where thoro is smoke there i is lire.