A little light upon the liquor question. At a meeting
of the Church of England Temperance Society, held at Liver- pool on Tuesday, and addressed by the Archbishop of York, it was mentioned by speaker after speaker that there was one form of restriction which the liqupr-trade would not seriously oppose, and that was the prohibition of new liquor- houses in old districts. The effect of such prohibition is, of course, to enrich all holders of existing licenses ; but that is not a moral evil, as the consequence of their wealth is to make them most anxious to keep their houses respectable, lest their licenses should be forfeited. That scheme would not do much to improve the drinking habits of the country, though it would do something, but it would do a great dealt° wards securing thorough supervision, a police object of great importance. Nobody can keep order in a public-house like its landlord, and the better his receipts the more order he will keep. Half the viciousness of public-houses arises from a competition for custom.
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