Compare the sources B and D for the reaction to the licensing act of 1872

by clancyjpatrick (student)

The two sources B and D have similar points and different points at the same time. Source B is a newspaper report where as source D is William Magee speaking in the House of Lords.

The first point, which the two sources agree with, are, they both condemn the reform bill meaning they disagree with the licensing bill on how people were not allowed to tamper with beer and pubs would reduce there opening hours. As it says, source B, ‘Government has offered… a wretched abortion called a silencing bill’. This gives the impression the newspaper is against the reform bill and believes that it is an extremely bad bill trying to prevent alcohol. As like source B, source D is the same it says ‘ strongest dislike’ meaning that William Magee (Bishop of Peterborough) disagrees strongly about the reform bill.

However they both disagree with each other because source D believes that the reform bid should have been harsher on the alcohol band as the newspaper feels that alcohol is “liquor traffic’. They believe it should be harsher because the newspaper says ‘poverty, and crime it brings into being’. This gives the impression that the newspaper feels that to stop this results happening they should make the ban harsher (ban alcohol for good). The newspaper also feels that this reform bill must be hasher because they believe its more important the education act or the ballot bill. As it ...

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On the other hand source D believes that the reform is a waste of time and that it’s the peoples choice to choose between not drinking alcohol or not, not the government creating a ban. As it says ‘would be better that England should be free than that England should be compulsorily sober’. This tells me that William Magee feels that he would rather some people be drunk continue what they are doing then everyone in England being sober as he feels it’s the people’s feel will your taking away with the reform bill in act.

Source B is from a newspaper, which is a temperance newspaper in fact, condemning the 1872-licensing act. It’s audience would be the public who are against alcohol as well so this allows the newspaper to use words such as ‘liquor traffic’ because everyone agrees with it because the people who are reading it are against the reform bill but also against alcohol. Source D is from William Magee, Bishop of Peterborough, speaking on the Licensing Reform in the House of Lords. Its audience is other MPs and important people debating about the reform bill.

In evaluation they two sources both agree on condemning the Reform bill, however they disagree on why they condemn the reform bill. Source B believes it should be harsher as its important to England, more important then other reforms such as education act etc. Where as source D feels that it should be abolished for good as it is getting in the way with peoples free will.

BY PATRICK CLANCY