Mr. Hughes brought in his Sunday Trading Bill on Wednesday,
for the sixth time, and it was defeated after a biting speech by Mr. Peter Taylor by 80 to 47. Mr. Hughes' object is to supersede the Act of Charles II., which forbids all Sunday trading,—and enables a group of Sabbatarians just now to carry out a systematic persecution of the poor,—and to restrict Sunday trading to a few hours. Mr. Taylor, finding the House, which buys food at its -clubs on Sundays, a little less hypocritical than usual, has moved to repeal the Act of Charles II. without providing a substitute, but he goes too far. The object is to repeal that Act without risking a general resort to Sunday labour, which would be injurious to the public health and enlightenment ; and the true method is to add a clause to the Act providing that no prosecution shall be instituted under it except by the Home Secretary, or the Public Prosecutors whom, as Mr. Bruce said on Wednesday, the Government would establish whenever they could find an opportunity for pre- paring the necessary measure. That is rather a vague date, but meanwhile, if the clause we propose were passed, Mr. Bruce might instruct some decent solicitor to prosecute when the Sunday rest of the workmen was seriously threatened, and not to prosecute when old women wished to get a day's bread by selling a few apples. By the way, why do not the Sabbatarians prosecute all the tobacconists? They would rouse an insurrection and get a ducking, but that would only prove their zeal.
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