Trouble Brewing.

BEER -- History; ALCOHOL; HISTORY of public welfare; TRADE regulation; REFORMERS; SOCIAL policy -- History; HISTORY; GOVERNMENT policy

This article recounts the controversy in Great Britain over a proposed bill to severely restrict the brewing industry in 1908. The Licensing Bill of 1908, introduced by Herbert Asquith's Liberal government, sought to radically reduce the number of licensed premises by as much as a third. From a Liberal standpoint, the legislation was firmly grounded in moral responsibility and intended less to weaken the commercial interests of wealthy brewers than to remedy social ills.