1-150-621 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'Two Drops of Comfort', 1871. A publican holds up a notice detailing the latest proposed government measures whilst one of his regulars keeps a firm grip on his beer with one hand, whilst he daintily grips his chaser with the other. The cabby's long whip rests in the crook of his arm. At this time Henry Austin Bruce was Home Secretary and this cartoon relates to his new Licensing Bill. This proposed that people should have access to a selection of respectable public houses. It also proposed that local magistrates should assume licensing responsibility as well as determining the numbers of public houses in their areas. Regulations of opening hours for both rural and urban areas were included in the Bill. This Bill met with considerable opposition from an increasingly powerful temperance movement, as well as from drinkers and breweries. From Punch, or the London Charivari, April 15, 1871.