The opposition to the Licensing Bill increases rapidly, and it
may be now be said that the whole body of English publicans are- ranged against it, and intend to "subordinate party feeling to' their own safety." They object to the Bill on every point, de- claring that the ten years licence involves confiscation, that the new supervision is an interference with individual liberty, that the restrictions on hours have been condemned by a select com- mittee, and that the Bill will throw the whole trade into the hands of a few great brewers. Associations are being formed ire- all towns to resist the Bill, and a determined pressure will be put upon Members. The irritated publicans refuse all compromise, and seem to us to be running one great risk. They may force Government to destroy their power utterly, by allowing anybody to sell liquor, provided it is not drunk on the premises. As- matters stand, however, the county members seem to be yielding, in which case the Bill will probably be limited, as an experiment, to the great cities.
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