HOW THE LICENSING ACT IS EVADED IN ENGLAND.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 299, 11 April 1874, Page 2

HOW THE LICENSING ACT IS EVADED IN ENGLAND.

Mr Beuce's nevr Act in Englaud enforced the closing of public bouses on Sunday*, 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 Wbitechapel back street ho found a shop. " It had a striped pole jutting out above the doorway, and a window-board on which wa3 innocently inscribed,' Shaving, Id ; hair cut, 2d.' It had also, seemingly, an attractive kitchen-garden behind, for nearly everyone answered in the affirmative the barber's question : 'Would you like to see the scarlet runners ?' The barber and his two assistants polished off their customers at the rate of three in ten minutes, and as soon a* the man was shaved and paid his penny, the barber laid to him, ' Would you like to go through and see the scarlet runners this morning ? To which ■ingular question the man promptly, as though he had expected it, replied, ' Well, I don't care if I do.' Then the barber remarked to lathering boy, whose business it was to keep a couple of customers constantly ready napkined and sonped, ready for the razor, ' Joe show him through.' Whereupou Joe accompanied the shaven one to the back door of tho house aud 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 : on which the customer remarked, in an injured tone, * Can't I see the beans ? ' ' What beans ? ' says the barber, innocentlj. 'Oh, it's all right, Mr Popshort ; 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 furnisliPd with a kind of Open Seasatne in the question of 'Has Old Bailey 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 be locked at. At the end of the yard, there was a door ajar ; having the clue 1 pushed it open, and found myself in a woodchopper'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 was within a few yards of another back door, very near which was a young man cleaning pewter pots. 'Straight through ' said the young man, and in a twinkling I found niyjdf in the tap-room of the Hare and Weazol, whero were assembled at least five-and-twenty young men and old who j udgiug from their clsan-shaven vuages, had one and all been inrited by Mr Popshort to view hit scarlet-runners."