The Press.
London, England, 1854-07-29 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

of vindictiveness. Be the cause what it may,
these poisoners of the people habitually escape. The
committee, feeling the difficulty, and at the same
time the necessity, of legislation on this subject,
recommend that "an early inquiry should take
" place into the whole question of the adulteration of
" food, drink, and medicines "—a recommendation in
which we cordially concur.
But one cause which at least aggravates, if it does
not create, the evil here alluded to is, the competi
tion between public-houses and beershops. The
licensed victualler, having the privilege of selling
spirits also, can afford a smaller profit—nay, he may
even be willing to sacrifice his whole profits—upon
the sale of beer, if it be his interest by so doing to
attract customers. The beershop-keeper has no
such resource : he is, therefore, driven to deteriorate
the quality of the beer he sells, and sometimes to
encourage gambling, or other illegal amusements, as
a means of retaining his custom. Competition of
this kind is purely mischievous, and can only be
checked by putting the two classes of dealers on the
same footing. The remedy is not complete, but it is
unobjectionable, and does away with a grievance out of
which local agitators never fail to make capital. The
committee propose that one general licence shall be
granted to all dealers in liquor, and that this licence
shall no longer be, as at present, given or withheld
at the option of the magistracy, but granted to all
applicants of good character who can give security.
This proposal—one of the most important in the
committee's report—is backed by the approving testi-
mony of many witnesses. They contend that the
difficulty of getting a licence increases its value ;
that the business of a publican is therefore looked
upon as a privileged monopoly ; that public-houses
are, in many towns, wholly under the control of the
brewers ; that the diminution in their numbers does
not diminish drunkenness, but the contrary, inasmuch
as it only adds to the multitude of beershops, which
are less under control ; and that there appears no
good reason for maintaining a single exception to
the general system of free competition. Many other
reasons are adduced; and the preponderance of
testimony is all on this side.
It would appear from the evidence—and, indeed,
it is matter of general notoriety—that drunkenness
prevails chiefly among the working class on Satur-
days and Sundays. In Manchester the average
number of visits paid to the public-houses and beer-
shops was 212,243 on each of six consecutive Sundays.
Allowing that each visitor went in and out three
times (which seems a disproportionately large allow-
ance), we have 70,000 persons, or one-fifth of the
whole population, thus engaged. Similar facts are
detailed as regards other manufacturing towns.
The committee—shrinking from the strong measure
of closing these shops altogether on Sunday—suggest
that the time dunng which they shall be allowed to
remain open be limited to four or five hours. It is
thought that if such a restriction were universally
and honestly enforced the publicans themselves
would rejoice, they being almost the only class who
are left habitually at work seven days in the week.
Another suggestion favourably mentioned by the
committee is to close the shops partially on Sunday,
allowing liquor to be sold and taken away, but not
consumed on the premises. They argue strongly
and wisely in favour of opening parks, gardens,
museums, and such places as the Sydenham Palace ;
believing that these will draw away frequenters, not
from the church, but the public-house.

CONVOCATION ON PUBLIC WORSHIP.
THE suggestions made by the committee at the late
meeting of Convocation cannot fail to have attracted
the notice of all who are interested in the welfare of
the Church of England. How far those suggestions
can be acted on will, of course, depend very much
on their reception by the great body of worshippers
in the Church. Recollecting for bow long a time
the present mode of performing the service has
lasted, it is certainly no light or trivial thing to make
a change which it is very possible may be the pre-
cedent for other and less beneficial alterations. But,
when grave reasons are urged by a learned and
experienced committee of prelates for shortening
the service, we must not be deterred from their
b} yid •ehensions suggested