The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-06-20 00:00:00

THE PERMISSIVE PROHIBITORY BILL.

In London, on Monday night, a meeting called to
elicit a laopular demonstration in favour of Sir Wilfrid
Lawson s Bill was held in Exeter-hall, and a hall
which provides seats for 3,000 persons was crowdesi
Admission was by ticket, and accordingly the whole
of the large assemblage was unanimous in support of
all the resolutions proposed.
Sir Thomas Chambers, Common Serjeant, was in
the chair, and he opened the proceedings by saying he
would not stand long between the meeting and the
speakers. Once before on such a platform he stood up
to advocate the claim of the United Kingdom Alli-
ance. He was only Once in the Free Trade Hall
I of Manchester, and then he had the pleasure of
; moving a resolution in one of their great meetings.
Looking at this as an agitation whose object was
simply moral, social, and religious, he knew nothing
in the history of popular agitations surpassing it in
the way of success. Ile history of the last Session in
relation to the liquor traffic must convince them
that the cause had had a great triumph throughout
the country. He did not remember another example
of a bill being brought in by a Government under very
strong pressure within and without the House, with
the highest expectations from those with whom that
meeting greatly differed—he slid not remember an ex-
ample of such a bill by the mere power of public
opinion turned upside down and inside out until it
could be said, " You have brought in a bill for relaxa-
tion, and you have turned it into one for restriction."
That restriction was exactly what the United Kingdom
Alliance had determined to attain. They stood now
favourably with the country, and they were satisfied
not only that it is a great work they meditate, but that
they have in large part done a great work. They were
determined to go as far as legislation could, and it was
a great thing to have won over opinions as they had by
sheer hard argument, by the force of facts, amounting
to demonstration, until in a House of Commons elected
under the influences under which this House was
elected, they could find that silent public opinion
snaking its way with members who numbered among
their supporters at the recent elections all the pub-
licans and their friends. Now hon. members found
it would not be safe to undo the legislation of the last
two years, they would find it safe, and even easy to
ido more n the same direction. Every shortening
of the time allotted to drink brought thomands
friends to the Affiance. A man turned out an hour
earlier might be cross then, but he rises next morning
in better health aud temper, finds that against his will
good has been achieved for him, and that he himself
loss been the object of their agitation. The United
Kingdom Alliance would rejoice when those examples
were multiplied. Such men, redeemed and relieved
from the misery brought on by drunken habits, became
among the most animated and most earnest friends
of that institution. (Loud applause.)
The Rev. R. H. Grier, Vicar of Rugeley, proposed
the first resolution :

" That this meeting declares its intense opposition to all
attempts to relax existing restrictions on the sale of intoxica-
ting liquors, and its earnest conviction that, while regulations
for diminishing facilities for denking are worthy approval
and support, a traffic so confessedly dangerous and destructive
ought not to lie licensed and maintained in any locality con-
trary to the will of a large majority of those affected
thereby."
The Govermnent measure, he said, even as it was,
might easily be praised too highly. In his own
parish, for instance, it would empower publicans to
keep their establishments open till eleven, instead of
half-past ten, on week days, and on Sundays till
ten, instead of nine o'clock. As a Conservative, he '
deplored the degrading misalliance which his Party,
described as a lady of high mien, of aristocratic
and religious tendencies, had made with a gross fat
fellow, having plenty of money but no reputation, win/
publicly gave out that he only wanted a housekeeper
and nurse. And already there weresigns of separation,
and the Conservative Party was taunted with not
being true to its colours. But he thought the entire
suppression of the traffic would be a Conservative
measure, for the strength of all Radicals lay in the
wretchedness of the country, and the wretched-
ness of the country was the direct result of
drink. He was a High Churchman as well as a Con-
servative, and was as far as possible from the charge
of Puritanism brought against them; but if intemper-
ancecould be checked among us England would have I
far more right to be entitled " merrie England.'- I
Nor could the Permissive bill be called " ex' ,
treme." An extreme was by no means admit- I
tedly bad, but the total suppression of the traffic
would he an extreme, and the bill so ably advo-
cated by Sir Wilfrid Lawson was reasonable and
moderate. It only propased to give to two-thirds
of the inhabitants, the power which a single
landowner possessed of repressing the liquor traffic in
a single locality. He had said he was a Conservative
and a High Churehnian, but if he lived in Carlisle and
had 20,000 votes they would all be given to Sir Wilfrid
Lawson ; and he appeared without scruple on the
same platform with those who were for disendowing
and disestablishing the Church, because he held the
wealth and position of the Church were but as dust in I
the balance compared with her duty to combat sin and I
to support the warfare against a pursuit which enriches
a few at the expense of the honour of the nation and (d
the life and health of thousands and tens of thousands
of her people.
Sir Wilfred Lawson, who wan enthusiastically re-
ceived, seconded the resolut: . lie must keep, he
said, his voice for the House of Commons next week,
and he was quite sure that great assembly needed more
persuasion than they did who were then listening. He
had been hignly pleased with that meeting, and they
were all delighted with the noble speech they had just
heard ; but he had studied the list if resolutions, and
he observed his friends who had managed the ineetin,g
had made a slight omission. He did not find a reso-
lution which he should have liked to find. He
should have liked to find a resolution considering
the very hearty thanks of the United Kingdom
Alliance to Mr. Cross, the Home Secretary, for
having done more daring the last three weeks
to help on the Alliance than any statesman had '
done in our glay and generation. When Mr. Cross
introduced his bill he made a speech of which t the Lon-
don papers said very truly that it might just as well—
the first half if it—have been spoken by Sir VI,
Lawson. He drew attention to an ensiling state of
things in tins country, He told us of millions and
millions of bushels of grain destroyed for the sake llf
making people drunk, and then he told us the result--
that we had 182,000 persons committed for drunkenness
last year. Sir Wilfred agreed with Mr. Cross. He never
said a truer word than when he spoke I if that appalling
state of things. It was aliening when they thought not
only of this misery, but that the sober part of the !
country were called upon to keep these people and
pay for their follies. The late Mr. Buxton, himself a
brewer, said that if it were not for drink pauperism
would be ahnost extinct in the country. At the end of Ids
speech Mr. Cross said he hoped the time would cone
when working men would say, "We will not live in a
neighbourhood where there are publichouses.' That
v-as the Permisshe 13111. (Applause). He remote
bered asking a member of the House of Cominom.,
" How would you like a beershop close to your country
house ?" He said. "Not at all." and told Sir Wilfrid
that they put one oppodte his lodge, and so his wife
and he went away. That was now a member of the
House of Lords, and one of the richest men in the
country. He could go away, but when a gin-palace
was set up in a back street the working man could not
go away. They wanted to put the poor in the same
position as the rich. If they could not remove let them
remove the publichouse. A publichouse was, in Par-
liamentary language', "a place of refreshment," and by
"refreshment" they al ways meant " something to make
you drunk." But while other trades were free great
precautions were taken with this one. In other trades
you might sell as much as you could, but in this you
were not to do WO mitch bUS ineflS ; you were to sell
just enough to make yonr customers happy and com-
fortable, but not more. But the publican, being dili-
gent in his vocation, was apt to sell more, and so the
earnings of the poor man were often poured into his
lap. That ought not to go on when the people llid not
want it. They ought to be able to vote whether they
would have beerhouses and gin-shops among them or
sit, and to that end he had brought in the Per-
missive Bill, would move it, if alive and well,
next Wednesday (loud applause), and some (lay or
other they meant to pass it. As to next Wed-
nesday, he followed the rule of the American pro-
verb, and did not prophesy unless he knew; but
he had hopes, because the Lirrnmel Virtualleei Gard&
said "Sir Wilfrid Law-son's puny band" would lie
increased to a slight extent. Parliament had hitherto
refused their request because at elections Per-
missive Bill men shouted and publicans voted,
and the House of Commons cares little for shout-
ing, much for voting. But if temperance men hal
for the last 40 years said to themselves, as Mr.
Grier had, that this question should be paramount
to all political measures, they would now be nearer
success. As it was, the publicans had return.' the
Parliament, and the Parliament represented the pub-
Means, or, rather, he should have said that two or three
months ago. Last February the Parliamentary curtain
drew up, and we saw on the stage a statue lif
Bacchus ; his ministera, brewers and retailers if
strong drink, stood round and sang pearls; the members
of Parliament humbly joined in chorus ; the friends of
morality stood by, while in the background Mr. Bruce,
the villain of the piece, fled away to hide his head in
the safe recesses if the Upper House. In May the
curtain rose again. Mr. Bruce, as Lord Aberdare,
was placed on a pedestal, Mr. Cross bow ed down before
him in reverence. The whole House of Commons ap-
plauded, and the banded monopolists fled before the
rallying frienda of temperanceand onler. The publicans
said a few short weeks ago, "Allis ours; the con-
stituencies exist to do our pleasure." In one moment Mr.
'nisi introduced his lull, and the great publican bubble
burst. This was nit the work of sagacious statesmen or
wire pulling politicians. Neither ihd it come from Mind
chance; but it arose from that unseen, omnipotent, in-
describable force which, for want of a better name, we
called public opinion. His friends' exertions during
the last forty years had done much to create that
°Pinion. He did not lay much stress on the bill ;it
might yet be made or marred. It was very likely to
be marred. But after what had occurred in the last
few weeks all England knew that the power of hiquir-
hoist was broken. It was theirs to complete the work;
and no more noble or beneficial refornt was ever com-
mitted to the hands of a free, enlightened, and patriotic
nation. (Loud applause.)
Pr. Cameron, M.P., supported the resolution, but
refused to go into raptures over a bill which, whereas
North of the Tweed eleven was the hour of closing, ex-
tended public-house hours in this great city till half-
last twelve. Since the passing of the Forbes-Mackenzie
Act all the public-houses in Scotland had been closed
on Sunday, and he was sorry that the attempt of
an hon. Irish member to extend that system to
Ireland had failed. Drunkeness is in consequence
infinitely less on Sunday than in the week, and it is
also less on Monday than on other (lays of the week.
Crime on Sunday is proportionately less, arrests on
Sunday compared with those on an average week day
being as 16 to 115. _

--;lFf7e—reso—litti-o-n. Wll9 further supported by Balws)
Protap Chunder Alczoonular, who was rewiferously
applauded throughout, and after g • g is. far as to
ceimain that gunpowder had been fatal to the
physiefil liberties if his countrymen, remarked Viet
the moral nature of his countrymen (he is a llindoe)
was to be offered lip as a sacrifice to grog. Some
evil was done by our example, but, further, for the
tea 1. • of ,roiliof, floe revopoo. liquor ~hop+ hut
o .o:roduced into ccerntry vill.igec of Inks.
Statistics showed an increase of 245 per cent. in