The great "national " demonstration against the Licensing Bill was
held in Hyde Park last Sunday. Including the pro- vincial contingents, who came up to London in one hundred and seventy special trains, and the crowds who attended the demonstration irrespective of those who marched in the pro- cessions, more than two hundred thousand persons were present in the park. The meeting passed off without any disturbance, and after speeches had been delivered from twenty platforms a resolution of protest was simultaneously put and carried. As our readers are aware, we consider that the Government's Licensing Bill is in many respects a vulnerable measure ; but it is impossible to regard as "national" a demonstration which was admittedly organised by the liquor trade, which did not include a single really notable political figure, and which counted amongst its most pro- minent orators Mr. H. H. Marks, the Member for Thanet.
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