Experimental  Xegislatton

3 1

procedure  than  the  precise  clauses  of  the  celebrated
Bill.  But  if,  as  I  fondly  hope,  “  local  option  ”  will
be  interpreted  to  mean  option  for  local  authorities
to  regulate  the  liquor  traffic  in  the  way  thought  to
be  most  suitable  to  the  locality,  including  prohibition ­
  when  clearly  desired  by  the  inhabitants,  then
the  matter  assumes  a  much  more  hopeful  aspect.
Not  only  will  the  resistance  to  such  a  proposal  be
far  less  than  to  the  Permissive  Bill,  but  there  will
be  considerable  probability  that  when  passed  some
successful  experiments  will  be  carried  out.  In
fact,  this  “local  option”  would  just  be  the  mode
of  giving  a  wide  field  for  diverse  experiments  which
I  am  advocating.  The  teetotalers  would  be  at
liberty  to  try  their  experiments,  but  they  would
not  in  the  meantime  stop  the  progress  of  many
other  experiments,  some  of  which  might,  in  the
course  of  ten  or  fifteen  years,  offer  a  sound  solution
of  this  most  difficult  problem.  Of  course,  I  am
aware  that  this  question  of  the  drink  traffic  is  to
a  considerable  extent  a  political  one.  There  is  a
good  deal  which  I  might  say  upon  this  topic,  but
it  would  not  be  suitable  to  the  tenor  of  my  theme.
If  the  political  condition  of  England  be  such  that
the  social  reform  of  the  people  is  not  the  main
purpose  of  our  Government,  then  we  must  hope
that  there  are  brighter  lands  where  the  political
position  is  very  different.
The  best  way  of  dealing  with  the  liquor  traffic
would  be  to  hand  over  the  matter  to  the  hands  of