HOW THE LICENSING ACT IS EVADED IN ENGLAND.

Evening Star, Issue 3465, 31 March 1874, Page 3

HOW THE LICENSING ACT IS EVADED IN ENGLAND.

Mr Bruce’s new Act in England enforced the closing of public houses on Sundays, and how it was set at defiance is amusingly told by Mr James Greenwood (the Amateur Casual) in the columns of the London ‘Telegraph.’ He describes that in a shabby little Whitechapel back street he found a shop:—

“It had a striped pole jutting out above the doorway, and. a windowboard on which was innocently inscribed, ‘ It had also, seemingly, an attractive kitchen-garden behind, for nearly every one answered in the affirmative the barber’s question : “ Would you like to see the scarlet riliuiers 1” The barber and his two assistants polished off their customers at the rate of three in ten minutes, and as soon as the man was shaved and had paid his penny the barber said to him, “ Would you like to go through and see the scarlet runners this morning 1” To which singular question the man promptly, as though he had expected it, replied, “ Weil, I don’t care if I do.” Then the barber remarked to the latheringboy, whose business it was to keep & a couple of customers constantly ready napkined and soaped, ready "for the razor, “Joe, show him through,” Whereupon Joe accompanied the shaven one to the back door of the house and unlocked it, and so the customer vanished. In one instance a man whom nobody seemed to know was shaved, and the barber took his penny and said, Thanky, and nothing else j on which the customer remarked, in an injured tone, “Can’t I see the beansl” “ What beans!’ says the barber, innocently. “ Oh, it s all right,” remarked another customer j “it’sall right, Mr Popshbrt; I’ll go bail for him.” “That’ll do, then, rejoined the barber, motioning Joe ; “ but how was I to know !” Mr .Greenwood had been furnished with a kind of Open Sesame in the question of “ Has Old Daily been here this morning!” the reply to which was an invitation to see the runners. Mr Greenwood accepted it, and he continues :

“ Joe let me out into the yard, where a few strings of the celebrated vegetable were trained to grow against the palings. . But they were nothing to look at, and they were never meant to be looked at. A.t the end of the yard there was a door ajar; having the clue I pushed it open, and found myself in a wood-chopper’s shed. Passing through this I came to a low wall, with a chair close to it to make it easier to climb over; and, having performed this feat, there I was within a few yards of another back door, very near which was a young .man . cleaning pewter pots. 1 Straight through,’ said the young man, and in a twinkling I found myself in the tap room of the Hare and Weazel, where were assembled at least five-and-twenty young men and old, who, judging from their clean-shaven visages, had one and all been invited by Mr Popshort to view his scarlet-runners.”