The Manuherikia Junction at Alexandra in the 1860s. - Otago
Witness, 20.11.1912.
To some extent the indignation which is being expressed
regarding the decision of the South Dunedin Licensing Committee
to grant conditional licenses, by way of experiment, for the
sale of liquor at the Summer Show and at the Forbury Park
trotting meeting is misdirected.
The determination of a former committee that as an act of
policy it would not grant any conditional licenses was
clearly not binding upon the committee which was elected in
March last. The fact that a majority of the former committee
failed to secure re-election may possibly be taken as an
indication that the electors did not endorse their policy.
Indeed, there is a strong presumption that the success of
three "moderate" candidates was due to the expectation that
they would be prepared to grant conditional licenses in the
district or, at all events, that they would bring an open
mind to the consideration of applications for such licenses.
In the circumstances the decision of the committee in favour
of the applications that were dealt with last week should not
excite surprise.
Whether it is sound judgement that admits of the licensing of
booths for the sale of liquor at popular gatherings is,
however, distinctly questionable. It is, in fact, rather
absurd to suppose that the visitors to the show and the races
would have to endure any serious hardship if, during the four
and a-half hours for which the booths will be open on each
day, they were deprived of the opportunity of obtaining
alcoholic refreshment.
The people who attend other sports meetings, the races at
Wingatui among them, where no liquor is publicly offered for
sale, seem to enjoy themselves reasonably well, and it is not
an altogether extravagant assumption that nobody who is
interested either in the show or in the trotting races would
be deterred from attending the one or the other if there were
no licensed booth on the ground.
• The American four-masted schooner M. Turner arrived at
Auckland shortly before 7 o'clock on Monday evening from
Portland (North America) with a cargo of over 1,800,000ft of
Oregon pine. She occupied 78 days on the passage, and on
November 10, while sailing before a moderate north-west
breeze, a large waterspout was seen.
The huge column passed within a cable's length of the ship,
and looked as if at any moment it would envelop the ship, and
should such have been the case she would have been badly
damaged. The captain ordered sail to be shortened and got a
shot gun ready with the intention of firing at the waterspout
so as to burst it, but at the moment it collapsed and fell
into the sea in a huge cataract. - ODT, 27.11.1912.
• COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER
STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ
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