In the House of Lords on Monday the. Bishop of
Oxford's Bill was discussed, but without a division being taken—the debate being adjourned till next Tuesday. After the Lord Chancellor had insisted, and as we think wisely, that the liquor trade must be dealt with by Parliament, since the country is exposed to very great evils by the present system, Lord Birkenhead made a cynically frank speech in favour of the Trade. Lord Lansdowne opposed the Bill, and Lord Buckmaster supported it, pointing out that there was no other industry whose prosperity was so dangerous to the State. Lord Dawson of Penn made an interesting contribution to the debate from the scientific and medical side. He asserted that, though alcohol was not a food and was not physiologically beneficial, it was psychologi- cally so, if taken in strict moderation, as it made men look upon the world cheerfully. He advocated, as did Lord Birkenhead, a reform of public-houses. We wanted large popular restaurants and not mere drinking-bars. After Lord Astor had declared that Lord Dawson's views as to the social side of the drink question were very much his own before he, Lord Astor, became a member of the Liquor Control Board, he expressed the opinion that Carlisle provided an answer to many of the questions which had been raised in debate.
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