10 MAY 1873, Page 3

Mr. Bernal Osborne made a very entertaining speech against the

Bill. He said that he had received a number of lithographed letters about the Permissive Bill, with signatures clearly not written "Un- der the influence of tea," for the only one he could decipher was "Wilfrid Lawson," but still favourable to tea rather than to beer. Now tea was said to lead to tic doloureux and various other nervous complaints. Why not give two-thirds of the ratepayers, —or still better, of the population, for is it only ratepayers who have mouths, eyes, and ears?—the power to abolish the sale of tea within the district ? One proposal was as good as the other. After a struggle in which the published wish of the Licensed Victuallers for short speeches and a long division list was scrupu- lously respected, the Bill was thrown out by 321 to 81 votes.