Facsimile PDF - Online Library of Liberty

J .. .
THE UNlTED KlNGDOM ALLLANCE. 34
would be found willing to render the anarchy chronic by continning
to veto the sale of liquors in emnu quantities, while
the more wealthy voters wero for the most pnrt consuming
liquors with their accustomed frosdom ? The application of
such a law would give too good a pretext for disorder, rand I
altogether deny that the inquiries of tho Allianco givo any
ground for predicting tho action of electors, in face of the
various events which might happen. Moroover, tho events
which mould follow the passing of tho Bill would probably
induco Parliamcnt to repeal the Act with great oxpodition, as
in tho case of Colonel Wilson Pnttcn's Sunday Closing Act.
T'arious inst.nnccs might bo quoted in which too stringent
measures for thc rcprcssion of drinking have been follomcd
by D. disastrous reaction, and if we couIc1, for tho sake of argument,
imagino tho Permissivo Bill carried, a rcaction in public
opinion and legislation would bs almost ccrtoin to occur.
1x1.
In another rcspoct there is a great difference betwoon
passing tho Bill and putting it in action. Tho Allimco say
that they must educatc tho country Lofore they mn pass tho
Act; but tho Act is pnssed by a bar0 majority, elected by only
a fraction of tho whole ratepayers of the country. The application
of the Act mould requiro the votc of two-thirds of the
ratepayers. Tho Allinnco have in late years adopted what
seems to me the fatal and most blamable policy of recommending
their followers to vote only for Pllombcrs of l'arliamont
who will pledge thcmselvos to support the Bill, irrespcctivc of
other social or political questions. It is evident, then, that if
the Alliance had in rather more than half the constituencies of
the United Kingdom D. majority of loyal supporters, they could
carry their Bill. It follows that onc quarter of the whole
number of electors, if disposed in a certain way among the
constituencies, could certainly pass tho Bill. Wo should have
to allow, on the one hand, for the fact that the supporters of
the Alliance are scattered in vario~ proportions through all
the constituencies of the kingdom, and, on the other, for the
R