PUBLIC HOUSES (SCOTLAND) BILL. (Hansard, 18 July 1853)

LORD KINNAIRD

said, that the present Bill was similar to two Bills on the same subject, which had been in former Sessions introduced into their Lordships' House. The first of those Bills had been carried by a large majority in the House of Commons; but it was not thought desirable to press the further progress of the Bill on account of the accumulation of public business, and the late period of the Session. The second Bill was not proceeded with for a similar reason, and the promoters of the Bill now before their Lordships had thought it advisable to introduce this Bill in the House of Commons during the present Session. The Bill, which had undergone considerable discussion, had passed about the 5th of July last. This Bill was somewhat different from the other Bills to which he had alluded, especially as regarded the court of licences and appeal, which it was thought advisable to omit, as it was not considered that any necessity existed for making an alteration in the system of granting licences in Scotland. He was sorry to say that Scotland had unfortunately obtained an unenviable notoriety for intemperance, and he did not think their Lordships would sanction any unnecessary temptation to the indulgence of that vice. A very interesting statistical report had been recently made on this subject by 200 gentlemen of Edinburgh, which had been confirmed by the chief magistrate of that city, and which presented some startling revelations. It appeared that out of a population of 155,680 by the late census (or perhaps 160,000 in the present day), 41,796 persons had visited public-houses in one day, and of this number 11,981 were women, 4,631 were children under fourteen years of age, and 3,032 children under eight years of age. He must here remark that there existed in Scotland a system peculiar to that country and to Ireland—namely, the power granted to grocers of selling spirits over their counters. Such a system was most demoralising in its effects, for many women would go into grocers' shops who would not go into public-houses to drink, and when they had change to receive, they not unfrequently took spirits instead. Nay, more, husbands often found considerable sums set down in their accounts for groceries, which they discovered were for spirits supplied to their wives. He would remark that only one petition had been presented against this Bill, and that was by a noble Lord this evening. He had been told that the public-houses of 375 Scotland had the power of returning all the Members for the boroughs, and therefore he had entertained some doubts as to the passing of the Bill in the House of Commons: but the evil sought to be remedied by the Bill was so great that it had been passed without a division. The Bill was intended, in the first place, to abolish the present system of selling spirits over the counter in grocers' shops. Another provision of the measure placed the public-houses—which were now under the supervision of the Excise authorities, who were generally unwilling to prosecute—under the regulation of the police. At present, also, in Scotland, a beer licence could not be granted separately from a spirit licence. If a person obtained a beer certificate, he had a right to demand a spirit licence. The Bill proposed to separate the two, and enacted that no one certificate should be issued enabling persons to sell beer and spirits. It was very desirable to encourage the consumption of beer in Scotland, for a marked difference was observable on the borders between the whisky-drinking and beer-drinking population, Another remedy for intemperance in Scotland would be the admission of light wines at a small duty; and if they could adopt such commercial regulations as would enable them to import light wines from France, it would, to a great extent, put an end to the intemperance which unhappily existed in Scotland.