The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1874-06-30 00:00:00

110 USE OF COMMONS
..BITuNICATIND
_LIQLIOIIAI BILL.

MONDAT.—nn the motion for the third rending of this bill.
Sir W. Lowsox m that mood it be read a time that day
three months. It had been said of him by the pram that he
was hnpractimd. Utopian, and fanatical (laughter). Re asked
the house to consider the point, whether the bill proposed wee an
improvement on the law which It was to supersede. no course
taken by the Home Secretary with reference to this and the
Factory Billy had rendered him very popular With a certain
portion of the community and he had boen made the subject
of a song, the chorus of which was as follow.:
h.... pill, good fellow,
Whatever the Rode may think,
110 has shortened the hours of labour,
And lengrthened the hours ofvlrinit"
. . .

(loud 1,,u0ur.) The song was sung in the London ginshops I
and public-housea by what was called the residuum (laughter).
lb. bit was very much improved in committee, during which
Use it walked abroad under false pretences, and after the
discuesion on the report it came out as bet as when It wee
intr.:lured into the house. This wonderful bill would a/low
WOO publiehonacs, and nearly 3000 beenhops to continue open
half an hour longer every night, awl the buershops within the
four mile circle, and the metropolitan police district, would be
allowed to keep oleo one hour longer each night. The large
, towns that had altered the hour of opening front six to wren
' would have an hour's more drinking time each day, and In 70
laqm testa Sunday night thinking would also be extended one
hour. There were Pomo clauses, however, in favour of
temperance. By clause 6 a 'Publican could save three halfpence
, a night by taking out • short-time licence. Clause 9, the drink-
ing-up clause, would also help a little, as would also Clause 11,
for closing night houses. The alteration of the endorsments
on the licence was a step in the wrung direction. The plialties
against publions were mitigated, and he would not complain
I much of that, because the certainty of punishment was for
more effectual than severity in checking abuses Neither would
he ery out against the alteration in the adulteration clauses.
With rqrard to the right of search, he was end that the
Home Secretary stood firm on that point, and restated the
propaition that came from the Optwaition. They were all
trifling matters oimpared with the lengthening of the hours
and incrcesing the temptations for idleness and drinking and
of becoming drunkards. The bill was not asked for by the
bishop, and clergy, nor by the Conservative members in
that house. It was not asked for by the Conservative work-
ing own any more than it was by the Radical working men.
Nor was it asked for by the twenty Conservative brewers
who had seats In that house (laughter). Ile had watched
what the right hon. gentleman the Prime Minister had
all, but hr had never committed himself to the
publicans. Ile had once aid that he was on the side of
the angels, but he had never said that he was on the side of
the spirits (laughter). The celebrated Bath letter had more
inmate In it than was thought at the time (cheers). The
right hon. gentleman talked about hammed trade and
worriol Interests, but he never mid what they were
(law-liter). The words appliud to all trades, and the
publicans could not say that they were meant for them
exe,usikely. This being the great 11111 of the session, the Prime
Minister was bound to state what benefit he expected the
publicans and the country were to derive from It. It would be
eaters I. appeal to the Liberal party for etrenous support to
throw the Dill out, because they were few lii number,
hwoherent in argument and ineousiatent in acUon -(how,
hoar, and laughter). Ile loosed along the front Oppomition
bench, and he saw upon it the iniatinary loaders of an
imaginer!' party -(loud cheery and laughter). and he knew well
from what had occurred during the loot week that when the
"le was taken between the publimnsand the public that some
if the ablest men of the • ,pptisition would be fund voting
with the publicans-thmr, bear). He, however, tannstly
appealul to the Conservative members of the house -the old
traditional friends of order and good Government he
maul thou if in their consciences they could support a Hill fir
increasing Oa hours of drink ing -(bear, hear). By rejecting
the Bill they would hereafter obtain the credit of the country.
Mr. temitu, at the risk of Incurring blame from his hon.
frielad, Aokol him to tender justice with mercy. The hon.
baronet had no doubt been just, became he had treated with
equal severeity the first, second, and third Bills of her
Majesty's Government ; but he thought he should have the
syrup:lou of the house generally when honked his how friend
not to throttle on the first moment of its birth the first poor
child of the Conservative Go, eminent—the weak offspring of a
weak party -(hear, and laughter). On the whole the Bill, bad
as it now was, was nut so had as the Government originally
intended It, and no doubt the house would be pleated if at the
oat .4 this bill they got rid for a few years of the consideration
of the licensing question, and for some time at least the drink.
Mg of it glass 4 beer would cease to be a political event. It
. was not for the opposition to consider whether the Govern-
ment had paid their friends the publicans in depreciated coin,
or whether they had madly redeemed their proiniem It wee
tot for thou to consider whether first the Government canted,
I "iris recanted. and thany recanted their recantation -(hear,
'tar). The Bill would In his opinion be followed by very little
ellustasm, and by no restavt at all cml un his side of the
,It ne all that they iiced say was that they would let it pass
wit, contemptuous atamleseetwe -(hcar, hear).
hit IULI. expreseed a general approval of the measure.
lee! G. CAVilelnil/1 WM not surprised that the rejection of
the hi bed been moved, for he agreed with the Irish bishop
who Ll* declared at a meeting in Dublin that, bad as the
Pill suete,i brought in, it was "equally worn now.* At the
Slmw tive be bebevol that if an angel from heaven came down
and iiiteduced • Licensing Bill It would be imperfect. He
appmleul, lien, to Sir W. I.awson not to prate his oppodtion.
Mr. Craw retorted on Mr. Goschen that the Bill had not
been brougl.• in with the peculiar dean to satisfy or propitiate
his aupiwrt ad that although he had not had the advantage
i of the right ivy gerillernmes arkstance In improving It. he
I had no doubt tint It would give such satisfaction both to Par-
liament eml to nu: public that It would be long ere there was
another Lionising Mt
, CM the Home Soretary sitting down the Home divided, and
, assented to the third reading by 328(0 4, or a majority of
Zeit The Bill then lamed.
. Tenon. .4hi the order for committing the Factorial I
• (Health of Women, Cc )kill, Mr. W. Houma moved to include
; In the measure all factories
Mr. Secretary Cues declined, and also refused a suggestion
, to refer the Bill to • select committee.
The House laving gone into onntnittee,
r Mr. FAWcen arguol against the inclusion of adult women in
, the Kill. on the principle that an enfranchised people could
; decide for theinselves the number of hours which they could
work. If adults were to be treated a, helpless children, and
't their heuri of labour the& the logical onisequence was that
• the legislature shoukl decide the wage* win& they were to
receive. Ile reeked the mammas Injurious to the prosperity
and the interests of the ounitry-(hotr, hear).
Mr. IlexemAi said it wee absolutely flea:emery to keep the
words "or w.f.." in the clause bemuse in ninny of the
I mealier numulactures the labour was entirely performed by
• wolnell. The hon, member was the advocate of. small nurnber
r lif mimic% who were well meaning, but had no accurate know-
I led, mi the subject. Now of what did they complain ! They
• had issued • J.:elan/ion which he had no doubt haul hem
dclivmdto eve." member of that house, and Ili that J.:clare-
t U." they „mid tlw) wishol to point out the inconsistency of
I the enalla law with regard to menial women being inoth-rs
(laughter) ; and they stated that the law made a woman the
personal slave •4 her husband, who had the right to compel her
,tuu bear children against her will. (laughter) ;-and they
believed the dinct effect of increasing the penalties of
nterealte would fie to make numbers prefer the greater freedom
if the unmarried mother -(lsuitter.) Either the women Were
yllls o4thlheeyh,,,....att,h,ep,s4ocivesthotomtheir husbands, and It
wit the duty
against such slavery.
Meetings haul becn held throughout the country at which the
working classes hwi unanimously expreined their approval of
the bill or the goveniment -(buar, hear.)
On the Committee dividing Mr. FAWCITT'S amendment Was
rejected by 243 to r.fo
A probed t 4 Mr Minmou.see to exempt Ireland from the
bill was also in its turn defeated by ISS to al. other emend-
ments were also considered, and eventually the bill was passed
, through committee mid ordered to be reported.
WRDNINPAY.- -The Govenonent only escaped dada by the
narrow majority of three, In the division on Mr. Plimsoll's
Bill with
of which reference to umetworthy ships, the secuml reading
they opposed.