The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-14 00:00:00

THE SUNDAY CLOSING BILL.

Yesterday a meeting of licensed victuallers, con-
vened by the chairman and committee of the Pro-
tection Society connected with the trade, was held
at the London Tavern, to consider the provisions of
the bill of Mr. John Abel Smith now before Parlia-
ment, which proposes, as set forth in the circular
summoning the meeting, " to prohibit drinking on
the premises of the licensed victualler during the
whole of Sunday, excepting where meat, confec-
tionery, or other victuals are sold." Mr. Jones,
chairman of the Licensed Victuallers' Protection
Association, presided, and there was a considerable
attendance of persons interested in the subject to
be considered.

The CHAIRMAN having briefly stated the reasons
which bad induced the executive of the Protection
Society to call the meeting,
Mr. HORNER proposed the first resolution, which
ran as follows :—" That Mr. John Abel Smith's bill
now before Parliament, for interdicting the szle of
beer, wine, and spirits, to be drunk in publichouses
on Sunday, be opposed on the ground of its injus-
tice, inexpediency, and impracticability, and its in-
terference with the comforts, ordinary social usages,
And urivileges of the people." The speaker said
that it was incumbent on those whom he had the
honour to address to use every exertion to obstruct
the passing of Mr. Smith's Sunday Closing Bill. On
the 11th of April a meeting of delegates had been
held at Radley's Hotel, and it was then unanigiously
resolved that the bill he had mentioned should be
opposed, as well as another which had been brought
into the House of Commons by Mr. Graves. The
latter had been withdrawn, and he was not afraid to
say that that had been caused by the instrumentality
of the Licensed Victuallers of England. Wednes-
day, sth of June, had been appointed for the second
reading of the bill, but it had been postponed until
the 26th inst. A. bill relating to Ireland having a
similar object had, however, passed a second read-
ing,•although Lord Naas, the Chief Secretary, had
expressed his antagonism to the principle of the
measure. He said that there was great doubt that
the object proposed to be attained by the bill would
law. The weight
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adoptionming in Dublin, and
a good deal of official knowledge supported a similar
opinion. The only measure of a kind with those
which they were now called upon to discuss which
had been passed within the last 20 years was Wilson
Patten's Act, and that was repealed in the session
immediately after that in which it passed into law.
It behoved them to rouse themselves and to put
forth every exertion to prevent the carrying of a
measure so materially affecting their interest.
The resolution having been seconded by Mr.
WARD, was put to the meeting and carried unani-
mously.
Mr. WINTERBOTHAM proposed the second resolu-
tion, which was to the following effect :
" That this meeting is of opinion that as large
influences have been exercised to induce members of
the House of Commons to support the proposed
bill, which would entail such vexatious difficulties
in the conduct of the business of the licensed vic-
tualler, and would so much infringe upon the liber-
ties of the public, it is of great importance that peti-
tions from the trade should be presented agAittst the
second reading of the bill, and that opportunities
should be given to the public in the saute way to
express their strong disapproval of the proposed law."
In the course of his observations on the proposition
contained in the resolution he said that it appeared
from a return kindly forwarded from the office of
Sir R. Mayne that only 2,000 cases arising from the
opening of public-houses had been brought under
the notice of the police during the year 1866,