The tom-foolery of the permissive bill / [a Templar].

Date:
[1872?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The tom-foolery of the permissive bill / [a Templar]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    THE TOM-FOOLERY OF THE PERMISSIVE BILL. Nottingham Journal, April 19th, 1872. The 4 Grandmother’ of our local-press has spoken, and respect ' for her advanced age, requires that we should notice her mutterances ;• and after all, they are not more confused, or more inconsequential, than the usual utterances of the Publican-press on this be-muddling theme of drink. The epithets of the Old Lady—such as 44 rabid and rampant followers” and 44 social fanatics”—are uncommonly strong indeed, but then her arguments hold an inverse relation to the strength of her terms. The epoch of 4 maundering’ however has its excuses, and we shall treat the venerable scold with the greatest possible suavity and tolerance. Writers who are strong in logic, have no need to be virulent in language. That the Journal has not quite reached dotage is plain, for she clearly perceives two or three important facts. For example, she confesses the vast interest of the question, the vast evils connected with drinking, and the unselfish sincerity and undying enthusiasm of the men who are sworn to destroy the evil by uprooting its causes:— “ When men have made up tlieir minds that God sent them into the world to convert other people to their opinions, it is astonishing what lengths they will go in their desire to do what they conceive to he right. They have all the zeal of missionaries, and all the ardour of apostles.” “ No doubt drink is a curse, no doubt it rums hundreds of households. No doubt it crams our workhouses with paupers, our goals with criminals, and our streets with prostitutes. It is to be feared that nothing less than some step on the road towards the wholesale prohibition of drink, or some movement by which the sale of liquor shall he trammelled to an extraordinary extent', will ever fully satisfy the ‘ Alliance.’* * The Journal says—“ Gentlemen and ladies who pin their faith to the Alliance.” But it knows very well that we are not the people giyen to accepting words for facts, and opinions for evidence. The Alliance is a body of men and women who have convictions, founded on facts, not opinions founded on fallacies, like the party of tl*,e $ Journal; and how, dear Granny, can people pin their faith to themselves!