Mexborough & Swinton Times – Friday 16 March 1894
Sunday Closing Meeting at Mexborough
Scenes at Mexborough, Swinton, Denaby, and Conisborough
A public meeting to advocate the necessity of closing public-houses on Sundays, in connection with the Countal Association for the suppression of the sale of intoxicating liquors on that day, was held in the Mexborough Primitive Methodist Schoolroom on Monday. The meeting was presided over by Mr. Crosley.
Among those present on the platform were the Rev. John Slater of Sheffield, the Rev. John Gair, and Messrs. H. Tyas, J. E. Cliff, W. Barnett, and A. Beal.
The chairman expressed his pleasure at occupying the position, though he had come to it unexpectedly. He fully supported the purpose of the meeting and considered it high time that Parliament acted to preserve the sanctity of the Lord’s Day. He stated that those who worked on Sunday shortened their days and were less prepared for work on Monday.
Mr. J. E. Cliff moved a resolution declaring that, although questions relating to the control of the liquor trade might sometimes be referred to local authorities, Sunday closing of public-houses should be dealt with by Imperial legislation applied uniformly throughout England. He believed the House of Commons should listen to the voice of the people on this important question.
Mr. Cliff stated that he had long been aware of the need for such action in the Mexborough district. He described how, when travelling from Mexborough to Conisborough on a Sunday afternoon, he had seen large numbers of men coming from the public-houses, many of them under the influence of drink and using foul language. On one occasion nearly two hundred men were seen leaving the houses of Conisborough and returning to their homes in Denaby and Mexborough.
He also recalled hearing music when preaching at Swinton and discovering that it came from a public-house where people were drinking. He said that sacred songs had been used there in a manner he considered blasphemous. Such scenes convinced him that Sunday closing was necessary.
Mr. W. Barnett seconded the resolution. He argued that if policemen had a rest on Sundays the publicans would probably live longer, and that many men might be better without beer. He complained that the presence of public-houses tempted many who might otherwise keep good company into drinking.
He further stated that the spectacle at the Mexborough railway station on Sundays, before the public-houses opened, was often unpleasant, and that drink was supplied under the pretext that the men were travellers. He insisted that the day should be kept holy.
The Rev. John Slater strongly supported the resolution. The Rev. John Gair proposed that petitions should be signed and forwarded to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Mr. Balfour. In the course of his speech he referred to the retirement of Mr. Gladstone from office and remarked upon his long and honourable public service.
Mr. H. Tyas seconded the motion, drawing on his experience in the temperance cause. Mr. A. Beal also supported it and suggested that a vigilance committee should be formed to assist the police in securing better enforcement of the law relating to drink traffic.
The Rev. John Gair further recommended that branches of vigilance committees from Sheffield should be formed in the surrounding districts. He referred to his own experience at the Brewster Sessions in Doncaster, where he maintained that action had led to the refusal of several licences.
The chairman observed that the police would welcome the cooperation of such committees in securing convictions, as magistrates often found it difficult to impose penalties under the Licensing Act when conflicting evidence was presented.
The resolution was carried unanimously, and votes of thanks brought the meeting to a close.