The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-05 00:00:00

Till SUNDAY LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

A public meeting, held in consequence of a
numerowily signed requisition to the Lord Mayor, took
place in the Guildhall, yesterday, to consider the 64
means of stopping the sale of intoxicating liquor.. on
Sunday. There was a very large attendance.
_ _ _

. -
The LORD MA YOB who presided, and who was loudly
cheered in passing through the hall, said he occupied his
hrecent position us the chief magistrate of the City, and
is presence ought not to be taken so a pledge of any
particular set of opinions, or course of action. When he
received so numerously and influentially signed a nluisi•
tion, he felt his duty was so clear that 4e had no alteru.,-
tire but to place the Guildhall at the disposal of the pro.
meters of the undertaking, and to take the chair at tho
meeting. As chief magistrate he was bound to say that
any judicious and sound measure that would tend in any
way to suppress intoxication and its ColThell/I'la e/
uould undoubtedly receive his greatest approbation and
assistance. (Cheered Wbether the peculiar emirs• now
proposed for consideration would effect this object was for
the meeting to decide. (Cheers.)

The Rev. Dr. IGAttarrr, who was one of the chief pro-
trot..trs of the meeting, moved the first resolution. dec:at -
tug that, 33 the Sunday liquor traffic was highly prejte.i•
chi to the welfare of the people, it ought to be
di.,•m-
tinned. His proposal to close puldic.houses alto tht r
on the Sanday was received with coasiderable
Lotion, followed by counter-cheering and renewed di•tur-

A:derumn HALE seconded the motion, and was !.)
say this was the second time he had seen the
crowded with persons nntiona to diminish intostratiam
As a magiatrate, sitting at Guildhall. he could Lenity
that the majority a the cases coming before the bench were
to be traced to drunkenness. The worthy alderman. is
the course of his remarks, caused considerable amuse-
ment by saying that although he took au occasionalglass of
wine he never took one on Sundays.
As Archbishop Manning was on the point of addressing
the meeting, a gentleman, who gave the name of Joshua
Henry Wright, declared his intention of moving an
amendment. He was received, however, with such
a storm of blues and shouting, that the Lord
Mayor had to interfere and remind the meeting
of the right of gentlemen to express their opinions on
either aide of the question. Mr. Wight was then suffered
to read his amendment, which said it was inexpedient at
present to make any alteration in the law affecting the
sale of liquor. The mere reading of the amendment
raised such booting and uproar that several minutes passed
in deafening confusion. It was not until Mr. Newman
Hall implored the friends of the meeting to give the
speaker fair play that he was allowed to proceed, and even
then every sentence was interrupted. Mr. Sale, who said
he was a working man, and one who liked his beer, was
similarly received.

Archbisho klaNgim; said be supported the resolution
with all his hears, because he knew from the report of the
House of Commons in 11454 that drunkenness exceeded all
statistics in London, and that the great sums of drunken-
ness in this country was committed between Saturday
night and Monday morning. (" No, no," and cheers.)
After two years sifting of evidence, the parliamentary
committee gave that as an indisputable fact. Temptations
to drunkenness had been multiplied by an unwise legisla-
tion, for thirty years ago the wisdom of our legislature
went astray when it introduced the principle of free trade
in drink. Whenever parliament had itdreduced relaxa-
tions in the diatillation of spirits, or in the price of beer,
touch more when it adopted the principle of free trade in
liquor with its eyes open, drunkenness immediately in-
creased. He supported the resolution, believing that the
working man on the Sunday had more I,4sure and more
money, and required special guards against the tempta-
tions placed in hi. way ; and hemline he looked
upon the Sunday as a day that should be kept
sacred from traffic of all kinds except where
absolutely necessary. The argument denying the
practicability of this measure was disposed of by actual
facts. In ten of the United States, in our colonies, and in
Scotland, the Sunday liquor traffic had been either par.
tially or entirely suppressed with signal success, and in two
of the dioxsi a in Ireland this bad been done without legis-
lation, and by mere pastoral autho,ity. Dr. Manning read
two interesting letters from catholic prelates in Ireland,
showing how a auppressisn of the liquor traffic in that
country, enforced by moral suasion only, had worked ad-
mirably. An act to stop the sale of liquor on the Sunday
would be no limitation of the freedom of the people ; but
it would be a wholesome limitation of license. Liberty was
related to right, and had no relation to wrong. Some one
once insisted that it was the constitutional right of an
Englishman to get drunk if he wished-(hear)—and he (Dr.
Manning) claimed also the constitutional right to abate that
privilege as a public nuisance. (Cheers.) The speaker then
lerable confusion and cries of
Time " from hnn,lreds at the back who could not bear
him, to deny that the movement they had met to advo-
cate was a reflection upon the working men of the
country. • •.. . _

Alderman COTTON agreed with neither resolution nor
aniendment, and characterised the resolution and the
Elacards that called the meeting as hypocritical. The
nglish observance of the Sabbath was much insulted by
the course proposed to be adopted. There was no place in
the world where the Sabbath was so well observed as in
England. Mr. Cotton went on to argue that the proper
plait would be to close the public•liouses at sin or eight
o'clock on Saturday evenings, but not to prevent the
working man from taking moderate refreshment on the
Sunday. As soon, however, as it was perceived that the
speaker was not favourable to the objects of the meeting
he was hooted at, biased, and subjected to intense inter.
ruptions.
. _

A gentleman, who gave the name of ROYLZ, upon coin.
mencing his remarks by regretting that the meeting would
only hear oue side of the question, was soon cried down
without the slightest chance of gutting through au entire
sentence.

Mr. Groma:moat, the Reform League advocate,
was loudly cheered when be said he wished to speak on
behalf of working men, but when he opposed the coercion
implied in the resolution, he met with the same treat-
ment as those who had ventured to oppose the motion, and
was, like then, roared down.
_2

Tie motion having been supported by Mr. Menril 1 (who
was not interrupted),

The Limn Mevnrt was aboutto put the amendment, het
hail to denounce the " incessant disturbance," and ask the
meeting to put a restraint upon their feelings.
A few scores only held up their hands fur the arse
went, and the original motion was carried by an over-
whelming majority.
The second resolution, which was moved by the Rev.
NEW3I AN HALI, and seconded by Mr. Htlat 04EN,
petitioned parliament to extend the rmisions of the 13w
that prevented the opening of public-hou.es and leer-
houses during certain hours of Sunday to the whole of the
twenty-four hours on that flay.
It was supported by Mr. CADOWAN, a working HMI.
and adopted without opposition.
Other resolutions were passed for the formation of C,!II•
mittes and deputations, and thanks were voted with ac•
clamation to the Lord Mayor fur his services in the char.
The proceedings then terminated.

THE BISHOP OF NATAL—It is generally known
that the Colonial Bishoprics' Council have decided not to
appeal against the lodgment of the Master of the Rolls ht
the case of " The Bishop of Natal v. Gliubtotie and others.'
The council are anxious that the grounds on which they
have come to that decision should not he misunderstood.
These grounds are set forth in the following minute, which
was adopted by the council at their first meeting after the
judgment bad been given. Those present on the occasion
were the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops
of Oxford, Lincoln, Ely, and l'etcrborough, Vice-l'han•
oellor Wood. Archdeacon Hale, and Mr. J. G. Hubbard.
The council were advised that they could not, under all tin'
peculiar circumstances of the case, mike any payment to
the plaintiff, except wider the compulsion of a decree of
competent court. They were further advised that the pay•
meats to many other colonial bishops depended on quer,
tons in this case. They were advised originally that the
question of doctrine could not be raised in a court which
has no jurisdiction over charges of heresy, and, of cour,,
they cannot now be raised on appeal. The prim Ude°
enunciated by the Master of the Rolls in th. jud.:inent ou
which he founds his decree appear to the council. to dill r
in many respects from there upon which some l..te deci-
sions in the Privy Council have been founded, and tiny
.10 not by any means acquiesce in all the reasons on which
the decree is rested ; but, regarding the whole question
WI it affects both Natal and other colonies, they do 'I.'S
think it advisable to continuo litigation by appealing troll
the decree.—Thars.

PRI NTE E 1:12ORS. —ln our last number, :Is
we discovered, unfortunately, too late for correction. we
announced that Mr. John Stuart Mill's inaugural address.
lately delivered before the University of St. Andrew',
had since been republished by him "in the forts of a
five-shilling elephant." Even the most ardent lieli,Vet iu
Mr. Mill's powers among our readers will probably have
received this announcement with some incredulity. Tim
fact is, that, by an error of the press, or rather of tie
writ rof the paragraph, the word "elephant" had is,
substituted for " pamphlet," and the mistake. :,Ithough
the proof was read and re•read, unluckily esciped the
corrector's eye. There is a German Rook called "
Fixlein's Errors of the Prem." If any English compi'er
be engaged on a work of the kind, he will doubtless take
note of the above t but his book would be more amusing
if all the errors which do te.t eacipe the corrector's eye
' could also be included. We heard only the oth, r .!.,) of
a leading article in one of our daily papers, 51.1.11
the printer, after the author had corrected it for poss,
discovered that a classical allusion to " l'ato idol Brutus"
had been converted into an allusion to " cats and
but this is hardly so good as the blunder in a Goventinent
Blue-book containing documents relating to the Kn.:lin
war, in one of which the intelligence that our troops had
" marched across the Belbek, and drawn up in front ..f
the north ports," originally figured in the startling form
of an announcement that they had " marched across the
Baltic, and drawn up in front of the North Foreland.**--
Pubtishers' Oireider.
THY. LONDON GENERAL ()M N I HYS COM VA "t•
(Lnirrin).-11r. J. E. Bradfield announces his withdrawal
from the agency of this company. Mr. Bradfield, artioti.4
other things, complains of the directors' report osnittia•f
all reference to his services hi Rasing the company anti
000001. a year in turnpike tolls and mileage duties.