Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-05

der the law with these drunkards, and as
regards the incapable drunkards, not be-
ing able to grope their way home. or not
having friends to take care of them. 1
was told that when the police prosecuted
them the fines inflicted were very small,
generally from Is I'd to Is I'd. The ques-
ton operating upon the minds OF the
magistrates was how much the onenoer
could easily afford to pay"
The liquor laws of Scotland are codihed
in one act of no sections (36 and ~ VIC,
chapter 80. and section ~. referring 10
drunkenness, reads as follows:
Every person found in state or IN
toxication and incapable of taking care
of himself. and not under the care or
protection of some suitable person. In any
Street, thoroughfare or public place.
whether a building or not. or In any IL
censed premises, shall be thereby gulitys
of an offense and may be taken into Gus
tody by any constable. and shall be
brought before the sheriff or any justice
of the peace. or may be summoned 10
appear before sheriff or justice OF the
peace or magistrate. and on being con-
victed Of such an offense. shall be liable
to a fine not exceeding forty shillings,
and. failing payment. to Imprisonment for
period not exceeding thirty days"
Under this provision the power Of the
police is limited to interfering with per-
sons incapable of taking care of them
selves. AS one of them. an honest-looking
policeman in Edinburgh. explained to me:
1--WE have no right to interfere with any
drunken man. no matter how djsgraceful
his condition may be, unless he creates
disorder
They All Got Drunk.
Drunkenness has always prevailed in
Scotland And there have been laws more
or less severe to punish the offense for
centuries. In Bells Dictionary of Scotch
Law, under the head of Drunkenness
e., Of
notorious and excessive drinking under
| several statutes of the Scotch parliament
was punishable by fine, Or Imprisonment,
or corporal pains. Those statutes how
ever, have fallen into desuetude. and the
mere indecency of getting drunk does not
now subject the offender to any punish
ment although it frequently leads to the
commission of greater crimes
An act of Charles II Q66D provided
that: Whoever shall drink into excess
shall be yabie in the palms. followed ac-
| cording to the quality of the offenders.
viz. each nobleman in twenty pounds
Scots, each baron in twenty marks, each
| gentleman heritor, or burgess ten marks,
| each yeoman in fourty shillings. each
! servant in twenty shillings each minister
in the fifth part of his years stipend
From which we are to infer that ministers
of the gospel were sometimes brought be-
fore the courts for drunkenness and in
deed. while such episodes were not COM
mon, they did occur.
Black Bottle and the Bible.
I am assured that intemperance among
the clergy of Scotland is rare these days
in comparison to what it used to be two
or three generations ago. when TIE black
bottle was quite necessary as the BIZ
BILE at a ministers meeting. Few of the
younger clergymen of the various
branches of the Presbyterian Church
drink any whisky at all, most of them are
absolute teetotalers. but the older divines
must have stimulants and do not hesitate
to take them at regular intervals. That
custom prevails in the country more than
In the cities. 1t is not considered i'm
proper in Scotland for a minister to drink
whisky or wine any more than any other
person, John Knox did it. and while he
was never known to use liquor to excess,
there is wine cellar in the old house
| that he occupied SO long. and his biog-
raphers tell us he offered refreshments to
visitors, as was the custom of the time.
Unfortunately, however, there is no ac-
| tive interest in temperance reform among
the Presbyterian clergy in Scotland. or at
least l was unable to' discover any such
thing. 1t is not live question. l made
Inquiries at the offices of the Established
Church and the United. Free Church. and
was informed that committees were ap-
pointed regularly each session Of the gen.
eral assembly to consider the subject.
but there had been no special agitation
and none but formal reports of late
years.
Local Option Gets Cold Shoulder.
I was Informed also that local option
bill for Scotland had been introduced an
nually in the house Of commons by a
prominent elder of the Established Church
who was an outspoken opponent Of the
liquor habit. This bill proposes that the
sale of liquor shall be regulated by the
! people OF each parish: that upon a petit
ton signed by one-tenth of the electors,
the question of prohibition or limitation
shall be submitted to popular vote. and
| that in the event of the prohibition being
adopted all licenses for saloons in the
parish shall be Cancelled without provi-
sion for indemnifying the holders. If a
limiting resolution shall be adopted the
magistrates of the parish shall obey the
instruction and reduce the number of sa-
looms accordingly.
I was told that this bill had been intro
duced annually for several years in the
house of commons, but had not been re-
ceived with much favor and there was no
probability OF its passage.
What Must It Have Been Years Ago
In answer to my inquiry a gentleman