THE HON. JOHN BRIGHT, M.P., ON THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1556, 6 March 1874, Page 137

THE HON. JOHN BRIGHT, M.P., ON THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

The following correspondence is from the Liverpool Mercury : (To the Editor of the; Liverpool Mercury.) Sir.—Believing that our leading statesmen have little idea of the magnitude of drunkenness and depravities in cities and large towns, and that it ought to be described to them in terms to evoke deserving disgust, and stir their minds to give the subject proper attention, I wrote to Mr Bright that in the Borough of Liverpool, for illustration, more than half the inhabitants live in an over-crowded state—two-thirds excess beyond proper numbers in districts —with hundreds of families, two and three in one cottage, eaeh living in a single room : that this over-crowding (forced upon the majority of the persons so situated by the need of living near their work, and absence of facilities to get to and from districts where there is space for proper habitations) was sufficient itself to produce much depravity, but having the evil aid of spirit vaults and beer-shops set within a few yards of every door, immoralities of every sort were vastly multiplied; that the conduct of the many drunken and depraved persons intensely harrasscd the aged and the sober persons living in such districts; whilst tad language and depraved habits of drunken parents and others, heard and seen by thousands of young children, corrupted their minds in infancy; and also that the youths of both sexes, in such parts, were the subjects of incessant immoral temptations of every sort. The presence, too, in Liverpool always of thousands of loose characters from all parts of the world, whom the drinking facilities and the liquor make considerably worse in their habits whilst amongst our over-crowded population, makes the condition more deplorable. I therefore asked Mr Bright to lend his powerful aid in obtaining for every householder a direct personal voice or vote on spirit vaults and beershops. I r also placed before Mr Bright, for his proper information, statistics of the spirit vaults, beershops, &c, within the borough of Liverpool, and the cash takings thereof,

showing the same to be about £70,000 per week—nearly £4,000,000 per year; and mentioned the fact of several millions of inhabitants in the United Kingdom being kept in rags, with unfinished habitations, &c, through the temptations of the liquor traffic, entailing a great loss of trade and of profit, which (if capitalists do not feel the loss) falls upon many of the sober working people in the shape of low and insufficient means of living. With the greatest respect for Mr Blight's opinion, I venture to think that our Town Council have already sufficient duties if they will take in hand practical steps to lessen the evil of over-crowded districts; and I fear that to invest them with power to grant or refuse licenses would tend to increase party struggles and hinder local affairs. I also venture to think that public opinion (clothed with power to refuse licences in districts) could only act correctly by acting direct, not through second hands, exposed very extremely to corrupt influences and subversions. Is our present local parliament composed of the right men to rectify social evils ? If it is, let thorn at once, with their present large powers, set about the work.—Yours respectfully, A Working Max. Liverpool, Dec. 1, 1873. Dear Sir,—Your letter is interesting, but it has made me sad to read it. The evils you describe seem too vast for any k.iown remedy, and I know not who has courage to attempt to deal with them. To your concluding paragraph I must offer one remark by way of explanation. I cannot support the Permissive Bill for reasons which I have given in the House of Commons, and to those who have sent me there. Ido not approve of' our present licensing system, for I think the magistrates are not the best authority to determine the number of houses that should be licensed, or to what houses licences should bo granted or refused. I am in favor of municipal control even in this matter—that is, of the ratepayers, through the local parliament which they elect. This, to my mind, would be much better than to invite the vote of the whole town ; and I am satisfied that it would work better and more justly. The town conned represents the town, and to its wisdom I would entrust the power to grant or refuse licences, subject, it may be, to such limits as Parliament might properly determine. I think a licensing committee of the town council would be a better authority than the magistrates, and through it the opinion of the ratepayers would be expressed and enforced. lam in favor of adding to the authority and dignity of our municipal governments, and with that view 1 should have been glad to see the management of our elementary schools placed in their hands, and, partly for the same reason, I would give them control over the licensing system, as closely connected with the good order of our towns and cities. As we are moving now, we shall soon have little to do but to fight elections, which, at best, are but necessary evils. Parliamentary elections, municipal elections, school board elections arc surely enough ; do not ask us to add to them Permissive Bill contests as often as a fluctuating public opinion may demand thorn. I have no objection to give opinion fair play, but I wish it to act through a recognized and constitutional channel. John Bright. Loudon, Nov. 27,1873.