THE DIPSOMANIACS OF CAMBRIDGE.
TO THE EDITOR. Silt, —The frightful death of the old people, who were burned with their house last week, has once more drawn attention to the drink question, and, during the last few day*, -t have heard several people remark that if stops are not taken to prevent liquor being supplied to soma of our wellknown liacchairilians, wo shall soon hear of more cremations. Cambridge is, I (irmly believe, one of the most sober towns in New Zealand ; but, I grieve to say, we have several dipsomaniacs, who are not only a disgrace to themselves, but also to the town in which they reside. Now, the question is, what is to be done with these poor, benighted fools, whose only aim in life is to get drunk, and, if possible, keep m that state! We have the prohibition Lw, but it is a most difficult one to work, as we have only one constable, and if ha put in his whole time watching the pubs, he could still be easily evaded ; so it is little use expecting him to put a stop to the accursed trailic. Our drunkards are a peculiar l"t, ranging from men who profess to be able to stand two and half bottles of spirits before they consider themselves fuddled, to the poor old woman who tells you that half a pint of beer knocks her over. Some of them devote their whole ine to boosing, and others only have a periodical "bust;" so the treatment, to eli'ect a cure, must be varied. Last week T niado enquiries as to the habits of some of our drunkards, from friends who aro moderates and occasionally have a glass at one of the hotels, and this is what I gathered. First : There aro tho perpetual drunkards —of which there are at the very least two —who appear each morning at the hotels as regular as if they weie business men; they have to drink to steady their nerves, and then lie in wait for any unlucky individual who may enter to take a glass, and if he does not shout for them it is not foi want of receiving a hint. They go home to dinner about one, and if they have had a successful morning's sponging, generally they have a little nap, which enables them to resume their post at tho pub door lookinp quite fresh again. Following this methoc up they are generally pretty drunk by even ing when they depart home, usually bias pheiaing, have a row with their wives, am sometimes break a little furniture or a win dow or two, just to show they are bos*, This cla«, f think, should lie confined ir a loiu.Mc .isvluin. a* incurables. Iheiiex are those who have iho periodica! " busts,' pud tUuw we tliu uiuut Uragutable wsea ft
behold. Th<\v embrace all sorts from well educated talented men tn t.he farm labourer who earns ."is a d.i\. H i* imloi'd a sad sight tn «..?o the clung.) that takes phice in thu.su individual-, as soon us they commence drinking. Their ulol lies Ret dirty ; their flush Hn >t only dirty but bloated ; and in about a week from the outbreak they hardly look like tho same link's. Fortunately, we have Hot a pawnshop in the town, or I believe these individuals would pledge- the. -shirts off their backs to ohtain drink. Think what their homes must bo like while the " bust' , is on. L.stly, come the old women, wbii spend every farthing they can pet hold of in drink. There him not many .if these cases and foit'iuately they do not have much money, consequently they d<> not get tlriink more than about mien a week, but when they do imliilio they become perfectlv hel|>less. Those are the ones who are expected r,n try cremation, if not stopped. Independently of these, there are occasional drunks, who do not like the sensation, but are led into it by meeting friends and having a " round shout;" and yet there are individuals who wonder why we have a Good Templar Lodge and what eood it does. Can any of your readers suggest H lemedv that will prevent men and women degrading themselves liy drunkenness. If I" had my way I would luu-e proliibilioii orders taken out against every tippler, and tine anyone, cither publiein or other sinner, £10 f"r each tune they supplied any of them with intoxic.iliug drinks. I app,;al to both abstainers and moderates to help t" «' vo U,e<l, I'" 11 ' lunatics from themselvr-.s. Trustiiiu tn hear the opinions of some of your readers on this subject.—l am, etc., GICN'KKAT, OoilllOX. Cambridge, Jimivirv :28th, lsS!>.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WT18890129.2.36
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2582, 29 January 1889, Page 3
Word count
Tapeke kupu
781THE DIPSOMANIACS OF CAMBRIDGE. Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2582, 29 January 1889, Page 3
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.