In the House of Lords on Friday week Lord Avebnry
raised the question of the Sunday opening of shops. The evil of Sunday trading, he asserted, was spreading; it affected the health and welfare of the community; and in his efforts to render the law which pronounced it illegal effective and just he was acting at the earnest request and with the support of the shopkeepers them- selves. The Motion was supported by the Archbishop of Canter- bury, who urged immediate inquiry, while admitting the danger of legislating overmuch. In regard to the Jewish Sabbath— one of the chief obstacles in the way of legislation—the Arch-, bishop observed that the Jews would not be subjected to undue hardship if they were obliged, in the public interest, to obey any rules which we, as a Christian community, found it necessary to lay down for the observance of Sunday. Lord Tweedmouth, replying for the Government, said that the Home Office recognised the urgency of the matter and the need of a full and authoritative inquiry. He accordingly proposed to accept the Motion on the understanding that the subject should be referred to a joint Committee of the two Houses,—an announcement welcomed on both sides of the House.
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