§ Sir Jacob Astleypresented a Petition from sixty Clergymen, including two Archdeacons, residing in Wiltshire, against the Beer Bill. The 1190 hon. Member said, it was no doubt in the memory of the House, that disturbances had prevailed some time since in that neighbourhood; and, though he would not venture to say, that these beer-shops had caused those disturbances, he felt convinced they contributed to keep them alive, by affording a rendezvous for the idle and the dissolute. He begged to say, that he concurred in the prayer of the petition.
§ Mr. Benettcould not believe, that these beer-shops had anything to do with the riots to which the hon. Baronet had alluded. He could see no reason why a poor man should be debarred from going to the beer-shop for refreshment, while the tavern was open to the more wealthy. He never heard, that those shops harboured improper persons. From what he had been able to discover of the effects of the Beer Act, he thought it unobjectionable, and it should, in consequence, continue to receive his support.
§ The Petition to be printed.