On Thursday, the Bishop of Chester made an admirably persuasive
speech to the Peterborough Branch of the Church On Thursday, the Bishop of Chester made an admirably persuasive speech to the Peterborough Branch of the Church of England Temperance :Society. In it he explained and advocated his scheme for the elimination of personal prc fit from the sale of intoxicants,—the scheme which the public has, in its rough-and-ready way, named the Gothenburg system, but which is, in reality, something rather different in ,detail. "The root-principle of the proposed reform was the extension to licensed victualling of the familiar English method of placing affairs of exceptional public concern in public hands, giving to their management the character of a public trust, and eliminating from it as far as possible the motive of private gain." The Bishop of Chester desires that 'the body charged with the duty of selling intoxicants should not be the Municipality but an ad hoc Trust. We agree with him. -Under the Trust system, it will be more easy to prevent any one from having an interest in stimulating the sales. We note with pleasure that Mr. Courtney, speaking at St. Cleer on 'Thursday, expressed himself in favour of trying an experi- ment under the Bishop's scheme. It is always dangerous to predict victory for social movements. But the omens point to the Bishop of Chester making a success of his scheme. Ile has both zeal and moderation,—a mixture which carries men far.
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