Welsh Newspapers

Search 15 million Welsh newspaper articles

Hide Articles List

10 articles on this Page

ARCHDEACON'S VISITATION.

WELSH COAL TRAFFIC TO THE…

LORD BROUGHAM & THE BEER-H01…

News
Cite
Share

LORD BROUGHAM & THE BEER-H01 To the Editor of the Brecon Reporter. | Sir,—There is a misconception abroad t<ha t Brougham was one of the responsible aut-i what has proved an unmitigated curse country, namely, the present beer-house s, I therefore claim your aid in removing so [ an accusation against that veteran statesm&j philanthropist. Nearly a generation Brougham—when moving the second his Sale of Beer Act Repeal Bill in the B'rJ Lords—described the beer-houses as "pollut( soil of the country, casting a dark shade minds of the people, and infecting and P0' I the atmosphere which the people ought to br. It is no insignificant fact in our pai-lia eil I tory that when Lord Melbourne, the minister, announced the intention of hisca. A resign, Lord Brougham, in reference to'llS,J beer Bill, said, I consider that bill to be importance as regards the public morals J resignation of any ministry and I shall P J whoever holds the office of minister of this in my endeavours to obtain the repeal «J which I believe to be permanently j mischief to the character of the country- ci course of his eloquent speech, Lord Broug'iac J Some of my noble friends have charged "Vjj having changed my opinions upon this rj 'How can you,' ask the writers of the lettefe a daily receiving, 1 how can you be against t Bill who originally brought it in' 1 1 brought it in, and found that I had bee" that would be a good reason why I should (! my opinion. But it so happens" that 1 ]10 did not bring it in, but I opposed it in tRi I could. I brought in a Beer Bill, but it. cop$, a clause prohibiting, under severe pen11], i consumption of beer on the premise off. Brougham produced overwhelming eviden^ immoral effects of the beer-houses, and sa further examples which were too shocking iijJ to read to the house. These related to ^e0f S4 abhorrent cases of female prostitution aI1 ,efij profligacy and crapulous vice a.° he had or heard of before He then delivered been termed a withering and eloquent against merely palliating evil. The r but a summary :—" To what good, or jJ consistency, could the clergy occupy theft18? y I inculcating piety and morals on the visiting their parishioners, in order to J 11 te visiting their parishioners, in order to J flocks and keep them in the right path -"T ptf! good was it that the legislature passed i punish crime, or that their lordships shou1 J then.selves in finding out modes of imPr° morals of the people by giving them edu<ja what, in the name of heaven, could be tfl all the education they could bestow,w^. J of sowing a little seed here, and phic weed there, if these beer-shops were to be coi that they might go on to sow the see1cb i ignorance, but of that which was ten times J immorality broadcast over the land, gerrPal the most frightful produce that ever 0V6 allowed to grow up in a civilised country t1r, was ashamed to add, under the osteri Parliament, and throwing baleful infiu6" the whole community." Then, as q asked, How about the revenue ?" To t Vj J tion Lord Brougham made the fitting rey» he dealt with this subject on high m° gious grounds, and that he really felt as /( treat it as a mere "petty question of financ J if he did sink down to that, he would say (fJ was "perfectly confident that, instead o of this bill being an injury to the revenue, i cause an increase of it." The great IDuke lington supported Lord Brougham s^ measure so did not the noble Marquis 0 Jj minster, who feared it would "ruin the v < keepers he was in favour, however, of pression of "gin-palaces and "ardent which, in the words of Lord Brougham, he Vi ted, were the parents of "crimes of hî '1 description," namely, crimes accompany jJ violence. The Duke of Richmond suPP°r| Brougham, and said that if he were in 0 'fl first thing he would direct his attention f" f be the correction of this detestable eV1_' .,>>1 Earl of Hare wood said he had never he<f from any human being but a complain*j °f,st V beer-shops. His words were—" This is a ,5 4 only subject I ever knew on which universal feeling expressed throughout the c 5; Following the example of Lord Brougham; id I shall not consider the subject as connee oplel e revenue at all. For the benefit of the Ve rPc" 0 all risks, do away with the system which lSi(jnp! the greatest evils that ever has been infli^^of the people. It is absolutely essential to the ,it of the people that it should be done t Unfortunately, Lord Brougham's warning been disregarded, and "at all risks" the been continued but I believe the present ment will not pass away without an atteJllptdge made by the Government to redeem its pIe vstel a rectification of our anomalous licensing s«„f The beer-houses are indeed universally coTl L v. Even the licensed victuallers condemn the^| their condemnation, though deserved, is not wholly disinterested. I quote it for its p«n« tl)- The Guardian of their interests lately s^lten.,ni? Never was an Act of Parliament more thor unsatisfactory in its working than y enabled a host of beer-shops to be opeIie,'g c.y find too frequently that the person who <j,Pe()^i ft beer-shop is a man whose character will 11 i investigation, and who deliberately layS e ".j plans to make as much as possible out of tn jj. earn their money like horses and spend j|eCJ asses!" Again, "the beer-shop keeper. about him the very dregs of society. ItlS 1 g places that robberies are planned and crin1 trived. The beer-shop keeper is too freql,eI1.■ banker of the thief, &c." This is the chara j. these places as painted by their respeC brethren. But what is the chief attraction beer-shops ? And what causes the mischiet ) they inflict upon their frequenters and the P It is the poisonous and maddening drin^'T j burning alcohol which is neither food nor p J j and which, in even stronger doses, is the s trade of the public-house and the gin-pa^aC^ raise my voice therefore against the cause evil-demon drunkenness and its deadly believing, with Lord Brougham, that it is dart, roup and criminal for a state to rely for any or of its revenue upon such a polluting source, 1 ,,<1, upon the people to support those legislators k will give them a veto power for the suppre3S1 this prolific cause of national demoralisation. Yours truly, Manchester. HENRY PITA

Family Notices

Advertising

[No title]

BRECON.

CONFESSION OF THE ROCHDALE…

ANOTHER ATTEMPTED MURDER AT…

CHARTER OF THE BOROUGH OF…