NBWTA Report 1903-052
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93 98 e for facilitating the farce is for anyone to imagine that it is a measur s. -house public of r reduction of the numbe put forward in It is the first time that a proposition has been has not been which trade the to on nsati compe Parliament to give to the vast Hither . Reform accompanied by substantial Temperance has turned that ition acquis an , licence a of ing acquir sums made by the ed always attend been has the value of a cottage into that of a palace, been the has It ent. perman be not may licence that with the risk that oly, monop a with trade a by made only excuse for the enormous profits ed upon the fasten be to is an public the and cease, to is but now that demand, but in order public, no longer to carry on a business to meet a y having regard to Nobod an. public the keep to d deman to create a the publican has a that admit t momen a the history of the trade can for to allow that willing be think, I , should all but , sation compen right to Boards have ing Licens the which in way owing to the negligence of the ous number of licences that hitherto carried on their duties, and the enorm n- some form of compe have been granted which should have been withheld, seriously to consider crisis this at us for is it and ary, necess is sation this position. WHOLESOME FOR THE PEOPLE TO BE PURSUED. AMUSEMENT STEADFASTLY AIM AN of the people It has been my lot carefully to observe the conditions wondered have I s, holiday on in East London, and again and again, e for them possibl was it that e imagin could woman or man how any sane During the day-time there to resist the temptation of the public-house. and at night not a single open, ent amusem of place was not a single for open-air amusement resorts ‘The place that had not a drinking bar. y exist ; and, while we scarcel ally practic bands n, betwee far and are few the world with their of cities ancient go for our holiday to visit the treasure-houses of art, or to feast our eyes upon the snow-capped have nowhere mountains, the people tread the weary, dusty streets, and to see, little to to go for an evening’s wholesome recreation—nothing erate This is their daily lot; and we wonder that we are an intemp hear. s are Of course, I am thankful to feel that the picture gallerie nation. on ied multipl be should ment amuse of places but open now everywhere, all hands—winter gardens where there are bands, women can sit down together and little children parents. where I know one large vicarage garden in the heart of London open on summer men and can be taken by their which is at evenings and lit with a few Chinese lanterns, where, for which they little tables, the poor are served with coffee and cocoa, awaken have gs evenin those that ent pay, and the delight and enjoym if this idea of lished accomp be could what again and again me shown pursued. wholesome amusement were more eagerly and steadfastly of strong I venture now in this parting address to give a word h the throug learn us Let heart. my from direct warning which comes things taat we have suffered in the past. The Temperance people as party cannot expect to get everything at once at which they eet Th - car. only win along the line step by step. a % I cannot say that I think that we have made any material progress Let us look back to 1871, when Mr. Bruce, then the Homie Secretary in a Liberal Government, brought forward on behalf of that Government his Licensing Bill. That Act proposed to give the ten years’ notice and no money ee ReTeatG at the expiration of those ten years all licences existing at the com- mencement were to come to an end, and it then limited the licences to one for every thousand of the population in towns, and one to ever six hundred in the country. This Bill evoked the utmost hostilit Sit the part of the liquor traffic, and it was not supported by the ‘Tank er- ance people. It is quite true that many exaggerated statements huge been put forward as to the opposition given to it by the party of reform I do not believe much in the story of strong opposition, but I do believe that instead of rallying round it with the enthusiasm that it deserved the Temperance people criticized and held aloof, and so the Gover! rue ee ae to evoke further hostility, withdrew tne measure. What Me eepae yout have meant to England had it passed, none of us Again, when Mr. Chamberlain made the proposal in of giving permissive powers for the municipalization of the traffic (although in this case Sir Wilfrid Lawson and members of the Temperance party supported it) it was defeated, believe, so far as I can g gather, , that that th the Temperance people as bi Abpea favour liquor ea and I a body J ; ‘ sent 1877) Ly aegis brought before Parliament a resolution etiaeat e “desirable to empower Town Councils of Boroughs i er the Municipal Corporations Act to acquire compulsorily, on pay- UG EHIED Bae eeee the existing interests in the retail sale of wate at Ae irin erie their respective districts, and thereafter, if they ve de HEM Ea 2 any 4 eit: for the convenience of the inhabitants, but ie 1 ee pe shall have any interest in, nor derive any profit from, lok su mitting his proposal, Mr. Chamberlain explained that irmingham Town Council, by a majority of forty-six to ten, and the oard of Guardians unanimously, had passed resolutions in favour of the proposal. The clergy J of the city 2 and the Wesleyan minis : yan ministers had do pare But we will hear what Mr. Chamberlain himself says on Ae ubject. At a meeting at Birmingham on October tath, I9or, after discussing the question of the failure in past years to carry any re thus refers to his own proposal: | convinced then as I am “most striking change in f drinking, would have 2 entirely all those public ” But what was approval, let me remind “I die Sane ina Sete Ure Pe now, would, if it had been adopted, have made a the habits of the people, would ‘have reduced diminished drunkenness, would have removed scandals which are connected with intemperance my proposal? My proposal, which had the you, of men like Mr. Bright, like Mr. Forster * “National Efficiency and the Drink Traffic” (Truslove, Hanson). |