The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1874-08-11 00:00:00

TIIE LICRNSING ACT IN DORSET.
The Licensing Act Amendment Act, which becomes law
next October, seems framed, solar as we can interpret its
provision., to restrict the hours for the sale of intoxicating
liquors in country phi-cc and, in Dorset, whereas, hitherto,
licensed homes have boen authorised to keep open till 11
p.m., while beer houses have closed at 10, under this Act
all public boo-es in country places (so we read the Act)
will have to shut up every night at 10 p.m. In a "town
or a " populous place" the hour of closing is to be 11 p.m.
on week-days, and 10 p.in. Sunday. A "town" wens
an urban sanitary district a( diescribed for the purposes
of the Public Health Act, 1872, viz., a borough, an im-
provement act ili.trict, or a local government district,
wider which the II o'clock limit will be extended to
Shaftesbury, Blaudford, Wimborno, Poole, Swanage, I:orfe
Ca.stle, Wareham, Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, Port-
land, Dorchester and Fordington, Sherburne, Bridport
with Allington and Bradpole. and Lyme Regis. The other
parishes can only be includod in that list by the County
Licensing co ttttttttttt declaring them " populous places."
'tut the Wald section of the Act says —" l'opulous place'
(news any area with a population of not leas than 1,000,
which, by reason of the deasite f .och io,rdation. the
Comity Licensing Committee may by order determine to
be a populous place;" and not later than the lot Sept.
next the committee are to consider all cases within their
jurisdiction, and make orders acconlingly. The point of
the definition is iletulity of population. and we do not
imagine that the County Licensing Committee or any
other person will think of describing any of the following
places, in respect to which only in Dorset the section will
apply, as thickly popuhtml :
Acreage. Population in 1871.
Motrombe 4941 14.11
Gillingham 7527 ... 3177
Menthol! 3751
Stalbridge 5691
Sturminster Newton ... 1965
( °heron! 1752
Ilasolbury fryan Vat Kid
Ililton ... 2974
Milton Abbas 213) 942
Handley 5029hht
1 lam preston 4948 lIIR
Sturminster Marshall ... R 47
(*.Mord Magna •• • 853 I"
4711.1 1924
... 1299 . . 1701
Perkstone ... 2570 ... 1319
Langton hlatravers .. 224
%To 8,411 1153
Winfrith 4490 . .
1tath.........1t2) ll5l
Wyk. Regis 171t2
Ait lot shun' 5616 .• • ...
Puddletown ... 7653 ... 1249
Channinster 4106 ... 1540
I 'erne AM.. ... 30U 1164
Ihicklanol Newton 113 R
troadwi nsor del 1 ... 1499
Netherloary Ihals
n.ter . 5118 2995
Poor.tock 4078 ... 1061
eslers
Burton Ilnulstock... 2080 Int
Synninilsbury :CPZ 1328
_ White linrch Canonicoruill 6113 1365
. . . .

In none of these places, unless it be Motcombe IN a suburb
of Shaftesbury, can the population he called "denseand
this fact, together with the convenience of having an
uniform hour in the country parishes, point to ten o'clock
DA the general hour of closing : and it no, then the new
Licensing Act, from which the publicans generally
anticipated an extension of privileges, will turn out to
effect is limitation of the hours during which they may
carry on their business, and they may •.igh in rain for the
latterly much abused "hour of Bruce.'