Sia,—Lord Amulree states in his letter that " over-indulgence (in
alcoholic drink) is almost inevitable if there is anxiety that the press of people will interfere with the natural wish of the average consumer." This is an extraordiary point of view which can only mean that those who find the number of licensed premises reduced in a district must drink to over-indulgence because the remaining licensed premises are over- crowded! Such logic may be typical of those guilty of excessive drink- ing ; but it would be a poor excise for those whose over-indulgence is due to their capacity and liking for alcoholic drink.
A far more important question than the curtailment of public-house licences is the freedom with which alcoholic drink can be obtained in dubs, with practically no restriction. Recently I have played chess matches in two or three clubs where It was impossible to obtain any drink but beer or spirits. After a three-hours' duel over the chess-board one is offered a glass of cold beer, on a frosty night, tea or coffee being unobtainable in most clubs, which depend largely on strong drink for their profits. The writer of the article " Drink and the State " in no way exaggerated the present position regarding the drink traffic, and Lord Amulree would find it difficult to produce sufficient evidence, either socially or medically, to justify his objections to the article.
Highfield, Upperton Road, Sidcup. P. A. SHAW.
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