The House of Lords' Report on Intemperance.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3195, 16 May 1879, Page 2

The House of Lords' Report on Intemperance.

gives power*to town, councils to borrow for this purpose on the security of the rates, and to carry; all profits, after providing for interest and sinking fund, to the credit of the education rate and the poo** life iS :«sqtial j>rb|>ortibns. The powers of 1 licensing justices to grant licence! would cease on the adoption of the scheme by the town council. •'Thie, Town Couocil of 'Birmingham has shown'its desire to adopt the plan by a majority of 46 to v lO,, while it ha« received the nnammoui approval of the Boardof .Guardians. .These number together about 120 gentlemen, representing directly a population of nearly 400,000 persons. t; . '. m -. ,,..,., , ,., i/; > „,.. , : " The adyiintageg expected from the two foregoing schemes are nearly identical. ....., „.,, , . "1. Theepntrolof the local authority orer the issue of licenses. v> "2. A great diminution in the number of publichouses and an improTement in •their convenience, healthiness, and management,, ,■ - ..." 3.. By the provisoes that no individual should derive any'profit from the sale of intoxicating drinki, and that the managers (Should keep a, supply of food, tea, coffee, and other refreshments, it is hoped that the present drinking-houses might gradually assume ; the .character of eatinghouses and {workmen's clubs—places of harmless resort; . :■ 'V 4. That sound and seasoned spirits, and light, wholesome beer, would be substituted for th^> rawj ■ deleterious spirits and heavy, unwholesome beer, strongly charged with alcohol, such as are now often supplied. >>■"'■ n ii ■ "o. The elimination of the influence of the publicans from civic elections. "6. As the net Result* of the change, a diminution in intemperance, a reduction in crime and disorder, and a considerable balance of profit to be devoted to the relief of local,^ei*r."j!,,'.i.,-!,' i; h , f . / ,;. : , " Mr, iCbamberlain's reason for preferring his scheme to the Gothenburg system may be best stated in his own words:— ' In England,: where we;are commencing de wow, Iwpuldsrather go to head quarters, and I;believe that greater security for the conduct of the business Would be afforded if it were managed by a really representative authority, subject to public control and criticism, than if it were in the hands of a semi-privst© trost, even although that trust Tmi|Ht iHb^ I6rl|irtill^established on 'p^i%!i i'v^btla! n <th^opiev'' >vgrQaDds.' He, ''Ws9fef, r &Mi)sL should not have 'tHe.'feas£^ pro- _ Jfisio^[enabling;.',ejfporjiiipns; ip transfer tne,,,, n iJ^,ttef ft ;.to ncompany formed jkjsL „M i '»■-,:. Mm »; Jflt„, Jhe w Gothenburg Company; and when pressed with the argument that his Bill, if it became law, would enable local authority to close all publichouses, he said that there could beno objection, if Parliament thought proper, ; to the insertion of a olause restricting* corporations so that they should not reduce the number of houses below a certain proportion to the . s .populatipn».-=-rw--,v.-.r:^,,v-,,,,.^.,.,, ; ,. M . 5 ,.,_- '. .. "Many objections, common to both schemes, and some peculiar to each of them, have been urged against them :— "1. The objection felt by the extreme advocates of .temperance to giving to \ town i councils the conduct of a liquor traffic which they: believe to be demoralize ing, and, therefore, wrong in itself. ,;'*2. The danger lest the temptation of profit might induce the town council unduly to increase the number aud attractions of the drinking places. , "3. The'enormous preliminary expense necessarily attendant upon the acquisition of such a property, the absence of which expense not only facilitated the experiment in Sweden, but insured its profitable results. "4. The unfitness "of town councils to conduct so vast a business with economy and care., "5. As regards the adoption of the Gothenburg Bystem, the improbability that any company could be formed which would undertake to raise the necessary capital and supply the administrative skill requisite to the conduct of such an enterprise- in our great populus towns on purely philanthropic principles and without the incentive of gain. , "We do not wish to undervalue the force of these' objections; but if the risks be considerable so are the expected advantages. And when great communities,' deeply sensible- ot the miseries caused by intemperance ; witnesses of the crime and pauperism- .which directly spring from it; conscious of the contamination to which their younger citizens are exposed ;, watching with grave anxiety the growth of female intemperance on a scale 'so <r*»t, land at a rate of progression so rapid as t«constitute a new reproach and danger; believing that not only the morality of their>.citizens, but the commercial prosperity, is dependent upon the diminution of these evilg; seeing^also that all' that general legislation has been hitherto able to effect ka« been some improvement in public order, while it has been powerless to produce any perceptible decrease of intemperance, it would seem'some what hard —when such communities are willing, at their own cost and hazard, to grapple with 1, the difficulty and undertake their own purification, that the Legislature should refuse to create * for them the necessary machinery or to intrust them with.,the requisite powers. "It is improbable, that in the first instance many boroughs would avail themselves of these powers. As in Sweden, the results of the experiment by one,,community would be prudentlyawaited by others, it might fall to Birmingham alone' to furnish the experience .which, would determine other towns to adopt or reject so novel and vast au undertaking. If it, succeeds, great public good will have been done; if it fails, the loss will affect only the community which has committed itself to the experiment. "The Committee, therefore, are of opinion that legislative facilities should be afforded for the adoption of these schemes, or some modification of them." . (To be concluded in our next)

On Tuesday there was iisued the Report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords, appointed in the Sessions 1878-9, " for the purpose of inquiring into the prevalence of uabits of Intemperance, and into the manner in which those habits have been effected b3 r recent legislation, and other causes." The Committee state that they have examined witnesses and extended their inquiries into" England, Scotland, and Ireland, and their Keport, which is dated March 17, 1879, occupies more than 40 pages. The point of chief interest is the recommendation by their lordships of Mr Chamberlain's suggested modification of the Gothenburg system. Upon this point their lordships report:—

"The civil autbority.of Gothenburg r wJTs the first to avail itself'(in 1866) oC'the power given by the new'law of letting their licences to a cq.mpany,.fOrjrßolag. This was the result of the deliberations of a committee which .recommericied 1 tb'e;iorganization...of.. the liquor traffic r pn an entirely new principle—viz., that n;d individual, .either as proprietor or^iMßni^K^ should derive any.private gain irom th^ sale of spirits. " The whole publichouie -traffic was transferred to a limited-liability company, consisting of the most respected members of the community, who.under* take by their charter not to derive any profit from, ih'e Ibusinfgs'.Jor allow any one acting under them to do so, but to conduct the, business 8olely ; ia the. interest of temperance arid morality; and 1 to to the Town Treasury the whole profits beyond the-ordinary' rate?6f intereit on the paid-up capital. " The capital required for this purpooe was £11,000. of which, however, only £5,700 have been paid up] anß'tluJ anduAl profits amount_to £40,000. The population of GbthenbiVri*! 'lii '> 1^76, was estimated at about 65,000.

" The number of lidences issued to the new, company,was.reduced from 119 to 56. f Of these, 13 Were ftrAnsferredftp wine merchants for sale on the premises of wine and, spirits,.„ of, the higher class, not of • Br'anvin,' which is 'the''o^diniry 3riak of the working classes ; JLO were trans* feired to hotels;''cldb'^tQstaurants, and cafes,; 2p to publich^uses ; and seven to shops for sale,off the premises. n'}^ ft«H ..„.■"The, locaL .authorities, haying the power to fix the hours of closin'g^'hiTe ,prohibited. } alt,l bar^.Jjusiiiess/rom 6 p.m. on Saturday to 8 a.m.' on^Mon'dky:''l' i!^ " There seems to be no doubt that this experiment has worked "neill"" 'The amount of intempecanpe,yat Gothenburg is still, however, considerable, and, although it is on thef whole less than in the years preceding the change, it has, judging from the police returns, increased during late f years. j-Thjs inc^ea|e, hofewr, 4s said to be due partly to the increase in the numbers anct s efficiency 5 bf the police, Who en forces thai;, law nforftißtrictly; tljan heretofore, and partly to higher wages, coupled ,with'^thjep very lovr t ;price of spirits. „ jln: ; spite.of tlii's incrißas^, 6othfenb*ur/{;ple'se snts, in respect rof temperance, Wv'ery-fairburable contrast to the other towns in Sweden and Norway ; for, while rbettre#ti the years 1865 arid 1875 the increase'of apprehensions, for drunkenness •was;'in Stockholm 60' per cent., and in Christiana 122 per vceiit.,';ti(ey had decreased in Gothtiiaburg ,byj2i per" cent.! ;'"Vv" " Still stronger; evidence' in ''fivoni?' !^f this system would seem to be pffereid'fey its gradual adoption, after observation' of its working, by every it6wh!in fSweden, except one, having a population exceeding 1 5000,^'It is in! fdroe'inpJnb. le'ss{%Ea'if)<27 towns having 5000 inhabitants OaudupwafHs, arid in 19 towns of smaller population. It has been adopted at Stockholm after prolonged'discussion, and in spite of the large number of publichouses having vested interests,'which it was necessary to. purchase. -j; ja s|'?lt|cannot,,hpweier, Jbe denied that the almost umver.al adoption of M* system was notrdu© simply to the desire of promoting temfperance; but also, and 'perhaps mainly, to, therhope of -applf ioff •tile^&^4>ro&ti\d«iiM4^Pe^ji!& Wof liquors ,ta the,reduction of local taxation —a perfec^tlyj legitimate' object^ Fn* itself. That the'results of the iys'tem, however, have, on the whole.been good, may fairly befargued* from the support 'which '''it Jßk* received, from those in whose vie#the temperance of; their i cotintrymen } is of still,' greater imporiance than relief ia taxatidn'.'^' I'1-'" 1 "-■' \ -Avn'' ■;<ri:;j-:.j|-..iT^

"FoijndedJ unoti i^tbe:: Gothenburg system; .arid upon the experience gained by a" persbrial' examination of its operation in' Sweden,' a-scheme was brought before Parliariient'iri 1877; byMt dham> berliaih, 1 M;P.', r under which he propose* to woflc diredtly by''munioipalitiei, and not by the ' Bolag,' or eompaiy. toS " T,his scheme," f which is limited to bor'ougns, would' empower- town 'oouncils to acquire by agreement, or, failing agreement, _ by^iljciwplilsio^lQia^Jlhe term* prescribed by theArbisans an,clLabourers D wellingtActs,? 1873, of all licensed premises within their respective districts;; and; on purchase by agreement, the existing interestfdfi present licenpeholders- iri ' leases; goodwill, isto^k^i^d Sis-turesi;,^ It enables'them;:if!they%^,k .fit, ;t^! carryoil; the "tirade^ foipOthe «oi»----veriierice arid ori behalF of the irih'abitints but so that no individual shall have any pecuniary intere^tim r o^erive any profit from the'Bafe'of' iitttoxic*atitig 'li|udrl Alt