LIQUOR CONTROL IN BRITAIN

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 253, 13 July 1918, Page 2

LIQUOR CONTROL IN BRITAIN

■ THE LAW AT "A GLANCE. ' The following ie a summary of tho Liquor Control Regulations at present in force in England. It should be borne in mind that in England there is no . question of local option, and those regu- . lations are binding throughout the whole ■ country from London and the lurge cities ' down to the smallest and most remote ■ village. Furthermore, these regulations ■ bind nil classes in the community oqual- ■ ly, and the rules which forbid tho salo ■ of liquor during certain hours in tin '■ workiugraan'e publichouse forbid, as ■ stringently, tho sale of liquor in his em- ' plover's club during the 3ume houro. ' 1. All publichouses are closed except ■ during the following hours-.—Weekdays: I From 12, noon, till 2.30 p.m., and from I 6 p,m v till 9.30 p.m. Sundays: From 1 ' p.m. till 3 p.ni, and from 6 p.m. till 0 ' p.m. ! 2. All "treating" is forbidden. This ] rulo is very strictly enforced. At the ; beginning, people sometimes forgot its : existence, but their fqrgetfulness was no ' excuse in the eyes of tho law. Prosecution invariably followed, and severe penalties were inflicted upon the man who had Iwuglit the drink, the man who had accepted tho drmk, the bat-tendev who I had served the drinks, and the ownor ; of the establishment. . > 3. No soldier who is undergoing any. . kind of treatment in hospital inay be ' 6crved with alcoholic stimulaut in any ' shape or form. This rule applies also ■ to officers of all ranks. Tho 6oldier who • is a hospital patient can be easily dis- '• tinguishod by his blue uniform, and all • officers who are patients must wear a ! blue band Tound their arm on all occasions. ~" . ' 1 4. Wine merchants are only allowed to 1 smroly liquor on weekdays from 12, noon, ■ till i!.3fl p.m. and from 6 p.m. till 9 p.m. 5. The sale of spirits is prohibited from ' 2.30 p.m. on Friday until 12, noon, on ' the following Monday. The object of this 1 restriction is to prevent people from lay- ' ing in a stock of liquor for tho week--1 end. It effectively put an end to Sun- ' day drinking. (i. No publican or wine merchant is permitted to serve liquor to a person ' who is obviously under tho influence of 1 drink. 7. No publican or wine merchant ie al- ' lowed to give credit. • 8. The penalty for infringing any of : these regulations is six months' impris--1 onment, ox ,£IOO fine, or both. All tieso regulations have been most r strictly enforced since the beginning, ' and any infringements of the law have ' been promptly and severely dealt with.' ' Prosecution invariably followed, and ox- " omplary penalties were inflicted on all ' parties concerned in any illegal transac--9 tion. There was, of course, resentment r of inconvenience experienced. A cusV tomer 'would forget that the hour was f "dry," endeavour to obtain a drink, and " would be considerably annoyed at his • lack of eucews in tho mutter. But peos pie soon settled down to the new conditions, and the country has undoubtedly experienced tho benefit of these restrictions. In London Inst Christmas- ) tide the convictions for drunkeliness i showed a declino of fi9 per cent. ,as com- , pared with the convictions obtained dur- - ing the same period in 1915. Iu Great 1 Britain a similar comparison showed a i) decline of more than 70 per cent. The o "Times" of January 8,1918, gives a chart 0 of tho number of convictions registered a yearly during the last five years in 1C - English citiee with populations of over i. 200,000. In 1913 thero wore 107,316 con.l victions, 106,297 in 19U, 80,091 in 1915, .- 48,G3S in 1910, and 26,632 in 1917. These 1 figures speak for themselves. I - '