The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-03-20 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE.

_
We wish it to be distinctly understood 'hat by law
letters in this column, toe do not therein; ic,..ntify ours,
with the opinions of our Correspondents.

HISTORY OF THE LICENSING SYSTEM.
To the Kittor of the.' Observer."

BM—Parliament is again asked to revise the Li
sing System ; the present time is, therefore, Initial,
resuming this sketch of English liquor laws.
In the reign of Charles I. (1535), Lord Coventry
addressing the Judges, said:—" 1 account ale.houso
tippling-houses the greatest pests in the kingdom. 1
lie-bosses are the public stages of drunkenness and
order." Corrective measures were tried, bat they v
partial and powerless.
The Puritans and the Long Parliament did not In
I matters when, in 11543, they enforced the Act of Is
a quart ,d strong ale to be sold for • pm
• further compromised by levying ex
The State bocao...
duties upon intoxicants. drinking dens v
I During the Restoration (1530) le.. ^tent
the scenes of shameless proflicauy ; yet Par...—.
nothing. One member (Mr. Stevens) advocated a
" against drinking of healths ;" but he found no
porter.
Times of war and an embarassed exchequer are in
vonrable to social reform and the reduction of taint'
In the reigns of and Mary, then of Wili
alone, and afterwards of Anne, tii;! making and sellin
ardent spirits was stimulated in order increase
revenue. Distillers were permitted to sell spirit.
a license, if they did not permit "tippling' on t'
premises. Vend Ira increemed at an alarming rate. Bi
land, in 1725, estimated that gin was sold at every si
house in London. The consumption of this fiery di
increased in forty years (1534 to 1724) from 524,600
lons to 3,520,000 gallons. Horrible debauchery mud
and higher duties were then imposed, with further
strictive leghlation.
Hogarth, is his " Gin Lane " and " Beer Stre.
taught that fermented liquors were comparatively ha
less, and this popular delusiou lad to that important a
ration of the Licensing System, the Beer Act, which
passed in the supposed interests of sobriety, bat I
flooded England and Wales with intemperance. 3
Act was passed in 14430, and for more than a genarsi
it has been a übiquitous temptation to excess. The It
Act is now universally condemned, and is certain to
soon repealed or modified. Lord Broughem, one of
promotsrs, introdueed a bill to stop drinking " on
premises ;" but the measure did not reach the House
COMmonn.
Mr. Gladstone's Wine License Act of 1860 was intern'
as another improvement of the licensing system ; it
believed, however, to have missed mischief; so have
" occasional licensee." The N ight Closing Act of 186
him worked well.
The chief sufferers from the present licensing sr
are the working classes; and consequently, they
largely in favour of Sir Wilfrid LAWSOII'S Permtsn
Prohibitory Liquor Bill, the second reading of which
fixed for May 12. This measure is applicable to
whole of the United Kingdom, and it would operate
empowering a majority of two-thirds of the inhebitir
; of any parish or district to stop the issue of licences
• the sale of intoxicating drinks; in short, it embodies 1
Gladetone's idea of "local option."
HENRY PITMAN.
Manchester.