The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-18 00:00:00

THE .E.ATGLISH CHURCH. UNION.

• A meeting of the English Church Union was held last
evening, at the Freemasons' Tavern, when the following
resolutions were made the subject of discussion:-
1. That it is a matter of deep regret that so much of the
Articulus Cleri of Feb. 19 of the Lower House of the Con.
vocation of the Province of Canterbury as prayed the
Upper House thereof to accept " as valid the excommuni.
cation of Dr. Colenso," and the " spiritual validity of the
act of the Lord Bishop of Capetown in deposing" him
"from his bishopric," was not complied with by their
lordships.

2. That this delay on the part of the Upper House to
accept at least the spiritual validity of the sentence of ex-
communication passed upon Dr. Colenso (especially ail the
said Upper House has already condemned certain of his
works), is, in the opinion of this meeting, dangerous to the
faith, perilous to the Church of England, and a great
encouragement to scepticism and infidelity in this country
and in the colonies.

3. That the present state of the Church in Natal is a
grievous and intolerable scandal, affecting not merely the
diocese of Natal, but the whole Anglican communion ; and
in the opinion of this meeting a Synodical Act renouncing
the communion of Dr. Colenso is imperatively demanded.

That the foregoing resolutions be forwarded to every
bishop of the Church of England.

Upon the subject of the reform of Convocation the sub•
joined resolutions were submitted to the meeting:-
1. That in the opinion of this Union, before the disso-
lution of the present Convinations of Canterbury and
York, a reform in the representation of the clergy ought
to be effected.

2. That no reform in the said representation of the
cleigy will be satisfactory unless the number of proctors
for the parochial clergy be largely increased.
3. That in the opinion of this Union unbeneficed
priests of the Church of England ought to have a vote in
the election of proctors.

SHARE LIST.--This Day.

►ILIIINAItI diidit..b,b AND STOCKS.

LLEFT SPEAXIXG.I

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDS ESDAY EVENING, MARCH 18, 1868.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF COMMONS—THIS DAY.
The SPEAKER took the chair at 12 o'clock.
SALE OF LIQUORS ON SUNDAY BILL.

A great number of petitions were presented both in
favour and against the bill, the latter being the most
numerous.

Mr. BRIGHT presented several petitions from Birming-
ham, both for and against the bill, amongst tho latter being,
two of very large proportions, one bearing 23,000 signa-
tures, representing the feelings of the licensed victuallers
of Birmingham ; and the other, with 32,000 signatures,
coming from the retailers of the borough.
Mr. ROEBUCK also presented petitions from Sheffield,
signed by many thousand persons, against the bill.

HOUSE OF' COMMONS—LAST EVENING
The SPEAKER took the Chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BILLS.

Mr. J. ABEL SMITH then rose to move the second
reading of the bill, and said in doing so he was actuated
by but ono feeling, and that was of improving the con-
dition of his fellow-creatures. No one felt more than
himself the responsibility that he had taken in dealing
with a subject which affected so large a body of traders as
the licensed victuallers of the country. He felt that all
would agree with him that the present system of licensing
was the very worst that could be persevered in, and the
sooner it was taken into the consideration of the Legisla-
ture, with a view to its improvement, the better. Ile did
not approach the task ho had to perform in any ascetic
or exclusive spirit —(hear, hear)—but, on the contrary, ho
was actuated by the belief that the passing of such a bill
as he then had the honour to submit to the considera-
tion of the house would greatly enhance the social con-
dition and powerfully contribute to the improvement of
the working classes. Ho was net actuated by any desire to
compel a large mass of persons to observe the Sabbath in a
manner distasteful to themselves, but with an honest de-
sire to arrest that groat source of misery and destitution
which had become an obstacle to all improvement, both
moral and social. The house had, on a former occasion,
taken upon itself to regulate the hours during which pub-
lic-houses might be opened in England and Wales, and
he felt no one would deny that the best results
had followed the adoption of the measure. The present
regulation was that public-houses on Sunday should not
be opened until one o'clock in the afternoon, and that they
should only remain open until 11 o'clock at night, and
that on other days the hours of trading should be limited,
except in very special cases, from four a.m.
until one a.m. Now the bill he wished the
house to adopt provided that all public houses
in England and Wales should be shut up on Sundays as
far as drinking on the premises was concerned, except
during the hours between half past twelve to half past two
in the afternoon, and from eight to ten in the evening. It
might be said such a regulation was an interference on his
part with the rights and privileges of the public, but he
did not think it was. He thought the object that would
bo obtained by the passing of his bill would result in a
diminution of drunkenness, the great cause of misery, de-
gradation, and crime. The four great points upon ev'srich
he took his stand were that drunkenness was in
proportion to the facilities offered for its attain-
ment, that all restraint upon the sale of liquors
on Sundays had been productive of beneficial results,
that the wishes and feelings of the groat body of working
men were in favour of his proposal ; and, finally, that it
was indefensible both in theory and policy to keep open
public-houses on that particular day, when the effects of
doing so were so obnoxious, and that it was unjust to make
exception in favour of the licensed victualler when all other
traders were compelled to close their shops by law. The
hon. gentleman then went on to show from statistics that
drunkenness in great places, such as Liverpool, was pre-
valent to an extent that was hardly credible, and he fur-
ther stated that he felt certain that in the event of the
true feelings of the working classes being ascertained,
it would be found that the great proportion
were favourable to the bill now before the
house. (Hear, hear.) The petitions presented with re-
spect to the measure were very significant, and one had
been laid on the table bearing the signatures of over 500
licensed victuallers in the metropolis, who stated that the
passing of such a measure as that under consideration
would be one of the greatest blessings that could be ex-
tended to them. Another that he thought was deserving
of serious consideration was that presented that day bear-
ing the signatures of 5,000 women. They felt that
nothing could so benefit their social condition as the
closing of the public houses on Sunday, and when it was
known that upwards of £15,000,000 was annually spent at
the different public houses of the kingdom, he thought
that good could only result if some at least of that
enormous sum was put into the bellies and on the back of
the children of those who so wasted their means. An-
other startling fact was, that there had been in Liverpool
no less than 143 infants suffocated through the drunken-
ness of their parents; and, what was still more extra-
ordinary, 3-4ths of the cases had occurred between the Satur-
day night and Monde), morning. He concluded his task
by asking the house to help him in overcoming the enemy
of humanity, and also the great obstacle to all improve-
ment, moral, social, and religious.
Mr. LOCKE, as an amendment, moved that the bill be
read a second time that day six months. Ile thought the
honourable gentleman who brought forward the measure
would not give him the same credit that he (Hr. Locke)
freely gave to him (Mr. Smith). He denied that he had
waited until ho had ascertained which was the strongest
side of the question before he expressed a decided opinion,
but he had always been of opinion that all attempts to make
people sober by Act of Parliament must necessarily fail.
He did not mean to deny that drinking was a great vice,
that was admitted on all hands, but ho thought the selec-
tion of Liverpool as an illustration was most unfortunate,
because it was a place where such peculiar circumstances,
prevailed that rendered it altogether an exceptional case.
His hon. friend had not quoted ono instance to show that
drunkenness was on the increase, and therefore he had a
right to assume that it was on the decrease—(hear, hear)
—and he could not help thinking that the working classes
would not feel that any great compliment had been paid
them by the bringing forward this bill. (Hear, hear.)
They did not want the protection the hon. gentleman was
so anxious to impose upon them. (Hear, hear.) The
working classes were not such children—(hear, hear)—as
some of their great friends would lead the
house to believe. (Rear, hear.) What would
the hon. member for Lambeth, who was so sreat
friend to the working classes, say if an act of Par-
liament was introduced by them to close his club
on a Sunday.
would soon express his cpposi-
tion to such a proposal. (Hear, hear, and laughter.)
The hon. gentleman also said that it was unfair to
give the licensed victualler a privilege over all other
People who were compelled to cease trading by Act of
Parliament. Was that so ? Where there no cabs,
no omnibuses, no eating-houses, or tobacconists.
(Hear, }rear.) The bill, it was true, was a
very short one, as it only contained one clause
but that was of the most impracticable that had ever come
under his attention—(hear, hear)—and the legislation on
the subject had nearly always resulted in the most objec-
tionable manner. Why, in 1854 the hon. member for
North Lancashire brought in a bill, which received the sanc-
tion of the house, limiting the hours during which public-
houses should be opened, but what was the result of that
measure ? Why, in the very next session it was found
necessary to repeal that bill altogether, and if the present
act was sanctioned the same thing most certainly would
have to be done. (Hear.) That drunkenness existed
was, ho admitted,
a misfortune, but it did not follow
that the working
men were the persons who spent all
their money in gin. There was a class of persons whose
misery, trouble, and misfortune drove to drink to drown
their cares, that large class ought not to be passed
over silently, but he denied that the working man earning
wages, and a well-to-do person, was the man who wasted
his means in drunkenness. Experince showed
that such was not the fact, because the drun-
kard class was nearly entirely confined to those
poor ill clad persons who barely could hold body and soul
together—(hear, hear)—and because unfortunately that
was the case was a well-conducted person to be incon-
venienced by such troublesome and unnecessary legisla-
tion as that submitted to the house by the hon.
member for Chichester. Tho only person who
was not interfered with by the proposed bill
was the bona fide traveller—(laughter)—that celebrated
person was not informed yet—(hear, hear)—but if the
present bill was accepted a move would soon be made in
another direction, viz., the stoppage of all trains on
bSun-
days, and then where would be your bona fide traveller.
(Hear, hear, and laughter.) With respect to the bill being
a step in the right direction, ho did not believe
it. (Laughter.) Why it compelled, according to
one of its provisions, a person to drink during
his meals—(laughter)—why had
anything ever been
heard of so tyrannical. (Laughter.) Why, bore was au
act of Parliament compelling the doing of that
which that eminent medical man, so celebrated for his
prescribing a blue pill. (Loud laughter.) Dr. Abernethy
said it ought not to be done. (Laughter.) That great
authority said never drink with your meals—(laughter)—
if you want to preserve your health and strength never
drink at your meals.

A long discussion ensued upon the motion of Mi.
DopsoN, to make certain additions to the Standing
Orders, for the purpose of improving the constitution of
committees appointed for transacting the private business
of the house, more especially with respect to railways.
Mr. Dodson's proposals were ultimately withdrawn, and
Mr. M. Gibson's amendment, on the proposal of Lord
Hotham, viz., " that the committee should consist of three
members and a referee," was then put by the Speaker,
when a division was taken upon the original proposal of
the noble lord that the number should be four. The num-
bers were—

HOUSE OF LORDS-LAST EVENING.

For Mr. M. Gibson's funezchnent 159
Against it
Majority - 3
The proposal of Lord Hotham that the number should
be four was then agreed to.

Mr. DODSON moved that the standing orders 93, 95,
and 9G be struck out.
The motion was objected to, and the debate was ad-
journed for a week.

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack
at five o'clock.

QUARTER SESSIONS IN IRELAND.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE rose to move for a
select committee to inquire into the constitution and pro-
cedure of Quarter Sessions in Ireland, with a view to their
improvement and further assimilation.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said that the noble mar-
quis must allow him to remind him that an act bad been
passed last year with regard to these courts in
Ireland. An order was passed that the officers of
the sheriff should carry out the decrees of these
courts, and he thoroughly concurred with the noble mar-
quis that an equitable jurisdiction should be given to the
superior courts, as it was in our own county courts in
England. The Government would therefore offer no op-
position to the proposition' of the noble marquis.
The matter then dropped.
The knee then adjourned,