The Express.
London, England, 1863-11-07 00:00:00

[TWOPENCB

MR. CHARLES zurroN M.P. OH .Tara
" PERMISSIVR a BILL.

tiara.
The anneal dinner of the Mid-Sat
Association took plans on Tbumday, et Ai • Hotel,
Msdatoos ; Vsseeent Holinie4lLP., stair. in
returning Wake for the messeberee • Button,
/LP. after briefly disouseing quesilim of s induction
of the matt duty, cautioned :—Bet now, gmbleems.
it is all very fine for us to be talkie, shoot the ssalt
lax, bat in • short time there will be no rill tax' to
talk about, for the simple reason that there 141 be no
malt. Ilse teetotallers tall us that the whole
liquor trade is going to be tore up root and Winds.
Then am to be so more publicase—they.,l sop-
mm ere
the no
of the tree. Theo are hi be no
more brewers—they no doubt are the truck. There are to
be no man =Betters, and no more hop sod barley-growingfaremere—for they, of oourse, are the roots that go isto_lhe
1011. Now, gentlemen, the cobbler thinks there is nothing
like leather, and I am firmly convinced that • Oro of beer
at • man's dinner is stood thing, and not an evil. (Cheers.)
believe that the 5,000,000 quarters of barley that are
absorbed by Englishmen every year in the shape d ale and
porter help to cheer, zionhuiland strengthen them. (Cheers.)
No doubt porter has its but it oily centeins move or
eight per cent. of alcohol, if men could not get it they
would simply betake themselves to some other stimulant or
narcotic that could do them no good, and might de them a
deal of harm, so I shall not join the league. (Laughter sad
chesse.l At the mane time, however, I feel sincere respect
for Mr. Leeson and the gentlemen of whom be is the
leader. I heartily agree with them that the drunkenness
whit* ism rife is nothing less than • dire calamit7 to our
°gentry. It fills oar gaols with criminals,
~our~'woekho.
into peipmer,-mer umfleme wrr~~at Abe
bppisw of tens et theorem& of homes. I mascot Woolen
f say contempt for those who are masking, eves in what
appear' to nee to be • mistakes way, to gee rid of each •
evil. And let me say in passim' that woos can
have, ie fact, • *neer interest than the man wive is
connected with any trade in rendering it as harmless as
peseible to oaten and creditable to himself. (Bear,
bear.) N ow, 1 Wises myself that some reforms of the
licensieg system and some legitimate restaiellems ma the
liquor hale might lessen the temptations W destination.
But what the league seeks is that two-thirds. or as
Mr. Popo, the secretary, advocates, • simple ma-
jority et the ratepayers is any parish should be enabled to
put down the sale of all fermented liquor. Gentlemen. I
deny that this would produce sobriety. (Hew, hear.) The
Bret effect meld be this, that wet of these whit now
deal with a public-house would be driven to Imiw • few
bottles of weirdo in their own cupboards, end I ff.m that
in that way, as far from your baring lessened the tempta-
tions to di nakessams, you would have largely inenneed
them. (Cheers.) Why, gentlemen, I sever got drunk is
my life, and I trete I never shall ; but I really shoal feel
its pedals thing myself to have a bottle of Bode whisky
always at my elbow. (Laughter.) And would not thmehe
great risk thata working man, coming in cold and that
and having seek a facility for enlivening hi 'phi* god
giving himself • glow. might go on by little sod little
tall be became a drnekard —to say nothing of the peat
peril to the wife and children too? (Hear, hew.) Bet,
again, let us suppose that in tome weigh you bed
actually succeeded in extinguishing all drink, except tea
and toast and water, by force of law ; from what we knew
from actual experisece of human nature, should we not have
reams to expect this, that those who had thus been kept
by sheer force from stimulating liquors for • time, whoa
they got away from that enforced abstinence would make
up for it by breakiog out into furious bases? (Hear.) Nor
would the thing be lasting. For • while, under an impulse
of real, the league might, perhaps, here sod there, induce
two-thirds of the ratepayers to sweep away every public-
house and beer-shop, but would not the esthusiame soon
cool? It would quickly grow *ober whether the did
or sot. (Laughter.) Then the vote would be
• remellen would (notably take plans, like that el
Charles reign after the Puritan strictness; and the
last date of that perish would be worse than the first.
(Laughter.) I wholly disbelieve, therefore, that men can
have sobriety thrust upon them by such violence as this.
(Haar, beer.) And, in fact, actual experisoos shows this
reasoning to be sound. The Mains law is Amick* appeared
for • short tiros to be • brilliant lumen ; bat, if we may
believe what travellers tell us, its ettiatey utterly mated
long ago. But, gentlemen, more than that, I deny that •
majority of ratepayers could have any right to do this.
Suppose sock • resolution Come to j the day for its enforce-
ment arrives ; down go all the public-horn; ; the working
emus home from hard moroing's work, het not a
drop of beer may he have for his dines. And
why not! Why, because John Smith and Tom
Brows think it is not good for him, or, per-
haps, brews they think it is not good for them.
(Lechler.) Now, seriously, I think that for Smith sad
Brown to say to me, you shall have no more porter for fear
we should get drunk, or for fear I may get drunk, is •
traipses on my freedom. It is • wrong does to my natural
independence. It would be an interveotioe in my private
affairs that would be unbearable to an Englishman. If
they cannot keep themselves from getting drunk, why
let them take the pledge. I dual respect them for that.
(Hear, hear.) But if they put • stop to • working man's
temperate enjoyment of his dinner, because somebody
else is apt to make a beast of himself, why I mush fear that
if there be lees drinking there will be • peat deal of
swearing. (Laughter.) And do not you think the parish
would soon De et loggerheads ? We poor sinners who love
a glass of ale should not, I fear, submit with all the
patience of Job to the asceticism thrust upoo us by the
reclaimed drunkards and their friends. And then, I ask,
whether it would be common mom or common justice for
majorities of ratepayers to ruin multitudes of tradesmen
and confiscate a vast amount of capital at their own sweet
will ; and would sot every one feelthat snub a law would
be elms legislation of the mart degraat kind? (Beer). It
would strike the poor men, leaving the rich man mietliehma.
The rich man has his cellars for bas beer sod wise, but the
public-house 1., in fact, the poor man's cellar. (Hear, bear.)
Coss that cellar by force, and will he not feel that es* of hie
few luxuries and comforts bas been taken from him while hie
richer neighbour is untouched ? (Cheers). No, gentlemen,
Ido not think this will do. Common sense is the list and
best of grudges, and even benevolence is a poor thing with-
out it but in making this proposal the teetotallers seem to
show very good and kind hearts, but some watt of that
vigorous good were which happily is one of the moat striking
traits in the nature of Englishmen. (Cheers.)

ST. MARTIN'S-IN-THE-FIELDS WORKING BIEN'S
CLUB AID 11187711712.—The inaugural lecture of a sillies
was given to every full audience oa Thursday evening (Mr.
fume presiding), by Mr. J. T. Dexter (late essistant
secretary of the Working Men's Club Union), the subject
being " Working Men's Clubs, their Origin, Objects, and
Resnita." The lecture woe listened to with marked ethane
Con, and wu highly appreciated by the members, who, at
its conclusion, passed a very hearty vote of thanks to Nr.
Dexter, co the motion ci Mr. McMahon, seconded by Mr.
Pelham. The succeeding lectures will be delivered by Mr.
Haswell, Mr. Williams, Dr. P. 1Y! Perfitt. and Mr. Noel.
sad will alternate fortnightly with diacumions on stirring
top,ce. The discussion class, which commenced its session
a kr...Wight since with a debate on the " Doctrias of Cir-
cunistaoces," led off by Mr. Dexter, is now in full vigour,
and will immediately discuss the relation of slavery to the
American civil wsr. Over the mantel-piece, is the reading.
room, there is now placed a board, with inscribed on it in
letters of gold the names of the founders of the club. It is
contributed, we believe, by ono of the committee.
MZTIOFOUTAN BOARD or WORILL—The usual
meeting of the Metropolitan Board of Works was held yes-
terday at the office in Spring-gardeaa, Mr. J. Awakes is
the chair. A letter was read by the chairman from Mr.
Alderman Lawrence, the Lord Mayor Elect, resisting his
seat as • member of the Metropolitan Board of Works. A
report was brought up from the Streets Committee, recorn-
meeelfu that the solicitor be instructed to prepare a bill to
be introduced in the amain/ MINOS of parliament for
powers to purchase land and unlike such arrangement. es
may be necesmuy for the forn.ation of a park in the south-
easters pestles of the metropolis. Mr. Phillips said that
this subject had been considered by a fall committee of the
whole bead, and it was their opinion that the heard ought
to have more extensive powers than they now possessed to
wry on such improvements ; and he moved that the KOBEL
tor to the board should prepare a bill to be introduced into
parliament in the ensuing session to enable them to carry
out their intentions Mr. Freeman wooded the :notion,
which, after some discussion, sees put and carried. and the
solicitor was ordered to prepare the bill. The chief engineer
presented his usual report on the progress of the main
drainage works, which was received and ordered to be
printed. end after some uninteresting matters bad been
disposed of, the beard adjourned.
Tao GREAT EAKTERN RAILWAY AND CONTINEN-
TAL CATTIA TRAFFIC FOR THE LONDON WARKIT.— Yes-
tasciay the Norfolk, a new arsenide put on Ili this com-
pany to work the cutitmatal traffic between Harwich and
Rotterdam, arrived at the former plea) with a large largo
of cattle, followed by the Blenheim, with • similar cargo,
which were despatched by special train from Harwieb by
the Great Eastern to the New Mei ropolitan Market, Cali-
dadamreed. Both bunts encountered veer severe weather.
To avoid the dangers of the Buell Bar both vessels took •
new course up the river Mass vii Durtrecht, a more air-
milieus but safer route than that usually adopted, and
eireatcally surdas out by Helvoeteluys. Yesterday also
the boats for the pueenger traffic (three in number) were
ecotrected for. They were let to Meseta. Dnelseou, of
lfiliwall and two more for goods and cattle to Metiers.
Simpeoe, of the bile iif Doge, the ooaditsues being that they
shall Lie reedy ea.ly iu the spring.
ST. THOM AN'tl Samalers has
give notice ci a motive he intearls to bring forward at
the next meeting of the Court of Common Council, that
the attention of the governors of Bt. Moans's Hospital be
directed to the vacant porno( land at the heck of Newington
Church as an eligible site for the Dew hospital.