The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-06-01 00:00:00

THE LICENSING QUESTION.

the 18th of

htig,—l supix,se the

LVe cunt!

will

the pa,t. Thu i one

John Coke ilowler, Esq., Stipendiary Itiagietrate and
bcputy Chalmette( the Glamorgaushire Sessions, sends the
following letter to The Times for publication—
My experience in licensing, extending over nearly 20
years, in a very populous district, induces me to ask
your permission to say a few words on the subject. I
...on gains in interest every presume that the end which all classes of reformers
trly that it was opened before it have in view is, not the closing of publichouses per se,
isitor at the ',regent time finds it
but the diminution of drunkenness. Reformation is to
;
be sought for, not in the indiscriminate suppression of
it affair to what it was when first licensed houses, but in such enactments and guarantees
lie on May-day. There are now as will by degrees get the licences into the hands of
nuexes which did not then exist, persons who, from one motive or another, will con-
the French Annexe, and the depart. form to the conditions contained in them. The land-
lords themselves are the best of all police; they are
Qucerisland and to Belgium, are almost always at home, and if they are conscientious
trartiona which help to make the traders they can easily prevent excess. The existing
Indy interesting. The Indian and holders of licences differ greatly in character and
tments are especially interesting, and status. There are many honourable and conscientious
here spend hours in examining men who will tolerate neither drunkenness nor dis-
order, and who manage so to conduct their business as
m products of our Indian Emp:re to avoid complaints or fines for 29 or 30 years. Others
irrishing Australian colony. Taking are negligent in their management, and some delibe-
-...r0nal Exhibition as a whole, this second rattly book profit from permitted drunkenness. The
mutual display is certainly an improvement on the first, latter are for the most part occupiers of small beer-
'rinds of
and the aeries of annual exhibitions may now be re-
ehaoulies, fiThriesihrescl aned v‘vio
rrakeepod th
nsibilita faerwe small, and
,-,arded as an established institution which the public the P profits of permitted drunkennessYare more itillu-
will inereaaingly appreciate. ential than law or licence. If we can get rid alto-
:). NO7 pleasant feature of the London season, now gether of this class of licence-holders an incalculable
amount of public drunkenness will immediately din.
ati its height, is the reappearance of the drive of the
Four-in-Hand Club and the Coaching Club, and of the aProarw., the Government Bill will go a very great way
‘-sli-ar ceaches that make the overland journey be. towards effecting this reform; for I believe that, as the
..ualon and certain other places that need not worst houses are in general the smallest, and often of
:a named. The French have a proverb, iris rcracirt inaufficient annual value to carry a licence, a careful
ert.-agegermendtreudlidoefr Section
14d7twill.emeb.%thwehimtheanoutf
toy fou7s et ms prc,,tu.rcs amours, and the English verify
it. We prefer the railway for speed and convenience, never to have been licensed at all. Secondly, the power
but we love the four-horse coach, and if it were not for given to the licensing authority to disqualify the house
cur tickle vi Lather, depend upon it the four-horse teams itself for two years on proof of three recorded con-
would ones again come into vogue as a regular institu- vietions will have great influence on the side of go.oil
eon. A 2. to the, drags, "tooled' along—that is the titnrdteifeasnet scotlieorinei
tenants,
cnart.rsi, nag.tahtoe ownersselire tir ri, tea kpne
power
oi;
correct pinaire, I believe—by aristocratic whips, and ejecting the tenant on certain specified breaches of Ids
co.:at:ie.' by fine charming ladies inside and by licence.
thorough gentlemen—not fast and flashy swells, but If this guarantee n-ere withdrawn itwimld be a retro-
raid gentlemen —theoc faultless vehicles are the ad grade step, and tenants would he selected with less
care than ever ' • for it should not be forgotten that
miration of all beholders. I know no prettier publiehouses may be and are closed under the existing
sight than a turn-out of twenty-one of these drags, low. on proof of repeated offences. But if Parliament
as mulct have been witneswel last Saturday in Hyde will not allow the house to be disqualified, whatever the
Park • intei to perfection, and driven disorders in it may have been, the owner will no longer
,mand and a delicacy of 'mailman-
of have
any
interest
Ira or influtrticineteoversttehdefmoratuhaf
reason
excite the envy of some and the admi- 1 I have given, and he
greatly
eamTactmerent of Section 29 he
Ae to the four-horse coaches which are will be still more so; and a more valuable aid to the
it cm the road as commercial speculations I licensing authority in securing tenants of good chance-
ls pretty well known that pleasure rather I ter cannot be found. I think, however, the disquali-
's the object of their proprietors), it is , ticea.tr,i:fntwof. thueithho.u.stelmosiig.hgtinbuelt.efitietisl
.tifr ieo.nte year, .
tri,in.
' st they pay during the ,eazon. be hoped that this all-important section will not be
-. sll the year round is rejected or withdrawn.
The other enactments are of secondary importance in
comparison with these. If our licences are henceforth
intrusted to persons of more capital and good character,
and a code of moderate regulations be enacted, all that
can be done icy law to prevent drunkenness will have
been done. The habits of the people are inconsistent
with the suppression of the liquor vale, and in view of
those habits suppression would not succeed. We must
fall back upon regulations and enactments, of which
the true end and object should never be forgotten—
namely, to make the landlords themselves the guardians
of sobriety.

by "Ile ''

The I.

day. 1

to be a

The I

knd of

tht: ILterni

tWecil

with a

tion which must
ration of all

(though

.1 and nptu.

than proft
e-••rtily • f

do renown this city" pass
arc only to be found in our

crow,' of fl ion abb
!tal Palace Saturdays' r, on the
he rot-citing—but not altogether per-
ter. of the weather partly accounted for
this, and thcn th!!re wPrc three gr,,at attracti 3nR —a brit-

formi

rant concert, a splendid rose-show, and a billiard match
between Mr. Cook, the champion, and Mr. Bennett.
The concert was a charming one; Mdlle. Carlotta Patti
delighted no with her lovely bird-like notes (her
specialite) and her delicately accomplished roulades,
and Mr. Santley sang with that manly vigour andthat
finished kll for Le is noted. As to the
thingss.s wanttd, brilhmt sun-
in the rukni where the billiard
i.t.. tems.kable for two things—for
as th,. naLtore oi the clerical
sc • uriots to note Low learnedly
si of the mysteries of winning
, of the spot stroke, and of double
en it ,inn of these fair darned knew
oti tile "cash,' es en if they had
tof opening the game by "screw-
And perhAps some of these Wiwi
hail lesrm d the game so that they might keep George
or Char', it home i •.f going to his club to idle
a way an latur or two at `• the board of green cloth."

matth w

thc uu
olcmeal

sutuef th:

and losing
baulk. 1)

lot aCiill
ng ntf t

VI.KUVIUS IN A STATE OF EXHAUSTION.
The Punrolo of Naples of the 23rd says:—" The
crw Cr of Vesuvius has become accessible, although the
gftat number of vent holt render respiration difficult
for explorent. Professor Palmieri made the day before
yesterday another ascent of the cone. Ile was enabled
ol ',erre that thn interior piviiented a gulf nearly 200.
mete, in depth, st the bottom of which a deep hole is
seen. The dilticulty of p,netrating into the crater
from the 1111,1:i.1 Mate 14 the chloe alone prevented the ,
twofesser from getting himself let down with ropes."