The Blandford and Wimbourne Telegram. — 1884-11-21 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

WIMBORNE.  SEVEN YEARS' PENAL SERVITUDE/ To the F'ditor.  Sir,—Doubtless, I am of the same opinion as many others respecting the severe sentence passed on Mr. Williams at the Winchester Assize on Wednesday last, after the able address to the jury by Mr. Matthews I have carefully read through the report of the trial, and I consider the sentence of utmost rigour; at any rate, it is the sentence of a person who appears to be wholly in favour of Licensed Victuallers, and whom he styles "a respectable body of gentle. men." The evidence adduced I care not to re-produce, it being quite sufficient for me to say—" I fail to see in what light I xewers, distillers, wine and spirit dealers, or any and everyone connected with the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, can be considered repectable, when it is a well-known fact that the manufacture and sale has ever to be abhorred." Perhaps some would say "Why ?" Why because our dear old England is so over-burdened with victims of the traffic which brings more poverty and distress in families than all other agencies combined, and have been many times stated by abler personages to be the greatest curse this country is afflicted with In the interest of morality and the public welfare, I would ask -" Can persons, who are the cause of and manufacturers of such traffic which devastates and brings so many promising persons to abject misery ?" Can any one of your readers call such, as the learned Judge did, "respectable ?" No, no, no! They would use the term "detestable"—yes. detestable—because they so often see the serious effects resulting from the products. Some persons are very much down on Mr. Alderman J. J Norton for the part he has taken in this lamentable affair; but I, for one, would say as Miss Wingfield Digby did at Poole the other day—yes, at Poole! Miss Digby said she considered Mr. Norton the bravest man in Dorsetshire, and so he is, and no one can deny the fact that he has been instrumental in bringing many dark things to light, and my sincere trust is that he will be empowered to disclose many other questions respecting the the traffic in intoxicants, crime, and immorality. Surely the town and parish of Poole. or the right-minded dwellers therein, can but say he has done a noble work which in the end will benefit not only the town and parish of Poole, but the whole country. I would ask your readers to consider the action of one of those so called responsible persons, licensed victuallers, in the case of the recent suicide at Poole, and who was somewhat censtred by the Coroner for his not striving to SAVO life. Ihe Coroner said, " Yes, you get 10s. for dragging ; you don't for saving life. That is of more importance to you than saving life ; so all you did was to say that you'd know where to find the body." s this is only one out of many cases of inhumanity. I would conclude by saying I fail to see how such a class of traffickers can in any way whatever be con-cientiously called respectable, and until they can uncontxovertably be called so, I shall consider every one of them as active agents of England's greatest curse.—l am, yours truly,