It is further proposed that a definite date should be
fixed when all compensation should cease, that no limit be placed on the amount of reduction, that new licences be debarred from claim to compensation in case of subsequent non-renewal, and that the scheme outlined should only be regarded as clearing the ground and leaving the way open for further reforms. The list of signatories, headed by Lord Peel, includes the names of seventeen Bishops, most of the leading Nonconformist ministers (including Principal Fair. bairn, Rev. Alexander McLaren, and the Rev. R. F. Horton), the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, General Booth, many eminent physicians, surgeons, and men of science— including Sir Thomas Barlow, Sir Victor Horsley, and Dr. A. R. Wallace—and Members of Parliament of all parties. As our readers know, we have ourselves always favoured the high-licence system ; but we have never opposed reasonable compensation in case of the withdrawal of a licence, and see no objection in such cases to compensation coming from a fund such as that indicated above.
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