The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1884-04-08 00:00:00

Montt Conti' Expregs,

DOROII2BTZR, APRIL 84e. 1184.

FUBLIOHOUSIC CLOSING.

Lest weak the Sunday Closing Bill was talked out
hi the House of Commons, at the Wednesday after-
peon sitting, and there is therefore • practical end of
that 1114/11111111) for the premed Session. But the
subject itself is far how being disposed of. Indeed,
the Government themselves hare aocapted the
responsibility of dealing with the Sunday traffic in
liquor by means of • general scheme of local option "
wheels shall be applicable to Om liqaor trade In its
ilestitety. This scheme will, in its turn, no doubt
depeed upon thee tor the seteblialinkent of representa-
tive county boards, for at present there is no county
authority to which Me administration of local option
Could be appropriately committed. But in towns
pommalag mania* governamat, Mere le no reran
why Meal option should not be tried at mos. The
linden/ea of the haen duties which publiebooses may
Noah' open seems to be ',matter very suitable for the
swum of local discreet*s la mob individual town, It
in gassrally agreed that than should be some limit..
ticms, mesh al those which now exist; but any bard
and last lima Iliad by the oentral authority of Perils-
wet, whither on the basis of population or on
aay othor hernia, will hardly prms acceptable
In all localities as applicable to the require
insets and wishes of the people. The compare
the lateness, in • social sense, of eleven or twelve
o'cioek at night, does not always depend on the thou-
mends by which the population of • town Is reckoned.
There may be both likrge and small towns that would
willingly curtail or *stead the prerent tints allowed for
night drinking. So there may be many towns of With
clams la which the balk of the pievie would prefer
complete ohne» on Sundays, while in oases Owes
greater relaxation might be peeferrel than is now
allowed. If the priacdpie of local option be practical
and txpadisnt, as km Govsminariat appear to think
and as • vote of ths Home of Commons ham aimed, it
might be well to :asks a beginning by applying this
WWI* at tree to the limitation of the Was during
which the liquor tragic shall be carried on, instead
al startiag with the a:tram of total suppression. If op.
Yen is to be understood In Is. sacral mass, the Magid
game be supplied for periodical rolls' on the subject of
giftwilasion or reprimakm nod so sornatualidas might be
diedraoled by f request contests, nssulngin alternabe ex-
tremes of policy. Only • few people, however, will gam.
tisa that the sok of drink at unreasonable hours is •
&aided mil. Pb. only di/evokes of opinion would
be what are unreasonable ; and m this meet
depead very much oa local oonsidsrationa, ths
dissemination of Ma point might vary well bs left to
loyal judgment. W. thoroughly bailor* that 11 the
gala of drink in any locality were forbidden at bonne
',hicks majority of the people eonsidered unreameable ,
Use liquor trado would be deprived of some of its
worst foetus& Tits quail= of entire wink-day, es
uefl as Sunday doming, might indeed be brought
within ths limits of load disamilkai,looal partial bang
left to mats their own oompromise between two ex-
tremes permitted by general law. But there is
await important ern oonnected with the liquor
Infilo besides its being canted on at uursasonabla
tilmsa, and that Is its being 00:Mooted by anal, aSle
panana. Supposing the liquor trade to be in itself
legitimate, there we times when, and paying by whom,
it is undoubtedly carried on in • pernicious manner,
and ems restriction of time would only be partially
ellestive, without exclusion of many disreputable
dealers from the trads. Thera are many of such
meow well recognised by the neighbours round
shout them as promoters of drunkenness, yet against
whoca no tangible oomplant can be made sufiloient
So forfeit their license under the present system. Let
these persons, as well as alleged unreasonable home,
be subject to popular yote—let,, In last, the regulation
of the drink trade, rather than IN Meneediate abolition.
be subject to local option, and mach good night be
dons without inflicting much hardship.