The Republican journal., 1903-02-19
THE ENGLISH DRUNKARD.
(From the I.ondon Daily Mall

(rfOM the London Daily M"iA'
Drunkards are not lost to knoWl-,
edge of things. Nay, many long ENJOY
the full exercise CT their talents; some
naturally, lovable men, remain lovable.
And against these, as against the ma
Jorlty of Indifferent intelligence, new
act of Parliament is levelled. They
now stand in an altered relation to the
law. Henceforth for them there will
be more of menace and peril IN the as
pect OF a policeman.
heretofore necessary condltlon to
getting into trouble was that man
should be both drunk and incapable.
Now 1t will be enough that he be drunk.
Persons seen drunk in public place
can now be summarily dealt with. Any
person found in that condition while in
charge OF a young child becomes liable
to months imprisonment with hard
labor. A record is to be made OF the
names of habitual drunkards, and this
record will be supplied to 'llcense-hold-
ers, who must not thencefoWard serve
anyone so pilloried on pain OF being
fined $40 and upwards. Moreover, any
one treating" convicted habltual
drunkard will be liable to be fined forty
shllllngs or sent to Jail and hard labor
Tor month. AS for the CONVICTED
habltual drunkard himself, IT within
three years of his conviction he merely
applies to be served with drink, he can
be fined e1
On this subject Alderman GA. Smith,
writing in the National Temperance
Leagues Annual, says: ''This, provided
that where an order of detention could
be made under the InebriateS' Acts,
even if it is not thought desirable, or if
it is found impracticable to send the
drunkard to an inebriate reformatory,
the court will be able to take steps to
prevent him from obtaining liquor on
licensed premises OF at registered
club. Similar orders will no doubt be
made in most cases where detention in
a reformatory is ordered, and with the
active cooperation of the police should
prove an effective means of preventing
the relapse into drunkenness of persons
whose discharge from reformatOrieS on
license is notified to the police.
The general public, the alderman
thinks, will act wisely in leaving to the
police, for the present at all events,
the duty of putting the law into force.
In his opinion the manner in which this
is done will largely depend upon the en-
couragement they receive from the
magistrates in dealing with offending
publicans. The home secretary's Gin
structions'' contain suggestion to the
police that they relieve the publican
and his potmen of responsibility ''to ex-
pei from licensed premises any person
who is drunk, violent, quarrelsome or
disorderly."
All clubs where intoxicating drinks
are sold must, under the new law, be
registered. 1t has been made an offence
to supply or keep intoxicating liquor in
an unregistered club. "A court of SUI
preme jurisdiction may make an order
directing club to be struck off the
register on certain grounds, and a JUS
! tice may grant a search warrant to a
! constable when there is ground for sup
! posing that registered club is mlsman-
aged, or that intoxicants are being sup
! piled at an unregistered club.
New applications for grocers' licenses
can be refused by the justices. The re-
newaI of any license hereafter granted
! for the first time can be subsequently
refused, in the exercise of the free
and unqualified discretion" of the
| bench. Grocers' licenses in force June
%, 1902, cannot be refused, except on
special grounds, so long as they are
held by the persons who then held them.
The new act also introduces modili-
cations into the law with respect to the
/ annual licensing meeting, alterations
to licensed premises, procedure on
/ transfers, the confirmation of otf-licen-
! ses, the costs OF justices, and applca-
| tiOOS for Occa aSiOuaI licenses