38.
39
state.
ordinary
I am compelled to state that I am afraid the soldiers obtain Chinese spirits in larger quantities and more commonly than is generally supposed. Barrack Coolies and other Chinese employed (or hangers-on) about the Barracks are the ready vehicles for obtaining it, and when reduced to this level the unhealthy craving for exciting liquors is cheaply supported, and readily gratified so that great difficulty presents itself to suppress it. As I have before observed, however, I attribute much of this craving to the cause I have mentioned.
(Signed) W. May
(Free Copy)
Bathurst Castle
for the Colonial Secretary.