lEyperimental  Xeaielation  17
very  method  of  social  growth.  Parliament  must
give  up  the  pretension  that  it  can  enact  the  creation
of  certain  social  institutions  to  be  carried  on  as
specified  in  the  “hereinafter  contained”  clauses.
No  doubt,  by  aid  of  an  elaborate  machinery  of
administration  and  a  powerful  body  of  police,
Government  can,  to  a  certain  extent,  guide,  or  at
any  rate  restrain,  the  conduct  of  its  subjects.
Even  in  this  respect  its  powers  are  very  limited,
and  a  law  which  does  not  command  the  consent
of  the  body  of  the  people  must  soon  be  repealed
or  become  inoperative.  But  as  regards  the  creation ­
  of  institutions,  Parliament  is  almost  powerless,
except  by  consulting  the  needs  of  the  time,  and
offering  facilities  for  such  institutions  to  grow  up
as  experience  shows  to  be  successful.  But  an
unfortunate  confusion  of  ideas  exists  ;  and  it  seems
to  be  supposed  that  because,  for  reasons  of  obvious
convenience,  the  civil  and  criminal  laws  are,  as  a
general  rule,  made  uniform  for  the  whole  kingdom, ­
  therefore  the  legislative  action  of  Parliament
must  always  be  uniform  and  definitive.  When  an
important  change  is  advocated,  for  instance,  in
the  Licensing  Laws,  Parliament  collects  abundant
information,  which  is  usually  inconclusive,  and
then  proceeds  to  effect  all  over  the  kingdom  some
very  costly  and  irrevocable  change  ;  a  change
which  generally  disappoints  its  own  advocates.
Take  the  case  of  the  Sale  of  Beer  Act  of  1830,
generally  known  as  the  Beershop  Act.  This  is  a