Sir Wilfrid Lawson exchanged his Permissive Bill this year for
an abstract resolution declaring the right of the inhabitants of any district to decide for themselves on the subject of the grant and renewal of the publicans' licences in that district,— and in favour of this resolution he made on Tuesday a very clever speech, in which he insisted on the Sunday Closing Bills of Ireland and Scotland as proofs that the principle of "local option" had been adopted by the Legislature in relation at least to these larger areas. He quizzed Mr. Wheelhouse, the Member for Leeds, for his advocacy of the cause of the Licensed Victuallers, quoting a speech of his in which he had said that beer and hops and episcopacy were all very well, in their way, but that in the performance of his duty a Member of Parliament does not care very much "for anything but the Bible." "It wouldbe one of the most interesting and exciting political episodes of our time, to see the honourable and Biblical Member for Leeds leading his bibulous majority to victory." He pointed out that this Drink difficulty was not a party question, for though he was a Radical, Mr. Birley, who seconded him, was a Tory ; and "a man must be of some politics, now-a-days, unless he be a Home-ruler." The saying last Session used to be, "We are patriots first, and Liberals afterwards ;" all he asked of the Members of the House was to be "patriots first, and publicans afterwards."
Previous page
