coffee public-houses have during the last three years been established in London and the suburbs, by private persons who are interested in the movement, and in some instances by a few private persons in combination. In all or in almost all of these cases the founders and proprietors of the houses look for a moderate return of interest on the money they have sunk, but true Christian philanthropy has been the real motive power which has led them to take an active part in the matter. establishments may be mentioned : Among these 1.-The "Edinburgh Castle Coffee Palace," Rhodeswell Road, Limehouse. 2. The "Dublin Castle Coffee Palace," 39, Mile End Road. 3. The "Royal Standard Cocoa House," Bell Street, Edgware Road. 4.-The "Rose and Crown Coffee Palace," Knightsbridge (opposite the barracks). 5.-The St. Katherine's Coffee Palace," 156, High Street, Camden Town. 6. The "Chimes Coffee Palace," Great Smith Street, Westminster. 7.-The "Victoria Coffee Palace," Canonbury. 8. The "Welcome Coffee Public-house," Westow Street, Upper Norwood. 9. The "Magdala Castle," Latimer Road, Notting Hill. 10.-The "Royal Oak," Acton. 11.-The "Star and Garter," Chelsea. 12.-The "Red House," Tottenham. The first two on this list were established some years ago by Dr. Barnardo, and are well worth a visit, if only to observe how like a coffee tavern can be made to an ordinary public-house without being one in the sale of alcoholic drinks. Each and all the others will interest those who call in; and they will be found, generally speaking, on the model of the houses of the Coffee Tavern Company, though several in their general “appointments" are superior to them. One and all we believe pay their way, and in most instances are commercial successes. We do not give the names of their founders and proprietors, as probably the majority of them would not wish them to appear in public print. As auxiliaries to the coffee public-houses, and conducive to the success of the movement, are the street stalls and barrows with their non-alcoholic refreshments. Many of them belong to the public companies already mentioned, and ply their work when the houses are closed at night and before they open in the morning. The Church of England Temperance Association is doing good service in this direction. The cabmen's shelters are also founded on temperance principles, and have been greatly appreciated by those on whose behalf they were established. Among these minor agencies may be especially mentioned the Kiosk and Coffee Stall Company, 40, Charing Cross. This Company was established only last year, and may be considered as coming before the public under the special auspices of the Coffee Public-House Association, of whose work we have already given an outline. Its object is to establish kiosks, stands, stalls, rooms, shops, and other buildings, either of a permanent or temporary nature, especially in places of public resort, and thus it seems to occupy a field hitherto for the most part unworked. The first of its establishment was a kiosk recently erected in Hyde Park, with the permission and approbation of the First Commissioner of Works. Such is a brief history of the temperance refreshment houses movement in London and the provinces, the rise and progress of which will ever remain a remarkable feature in the social reformation of the present era, whatever be its ultimate results. It is a matter for wonder as well as for congratulation that whereas about four years ago only three established companies were at work in the desired direction, the number now in the United Kingdom can be little short of seventy, if not more. It is a matter also for satisfaction to know that this movement is not confined to this country. Its fame has crossed the seas, and in Switzerland and Holland, in the United States and Canada, and in our Australian Colonies it has already made considerable progress, and the day is probably not far distant when the coffee public-house, preserving its general character, but adapting itself with a certain elasticity of aspect and arrangement to the difference of climate and manners, will become firmly established at the Antipodes. But while commending the excellence of the movement, and rejoicing in the success already achieved, and anticipating also its ultimate triumph, we must not be too sanguine of immediate results, or expect that temperance refreshment houses are about to effect a sudden revolution. They will undoubtedly form a considerable tributary, swelling the great stream of social progress which flows steadily onwards, fed from many different sources; but their influence is likely to be very gradual. It can hardly be expected that they will reclaim from actual intemperance many members of the present generation, for the drunkard of forty years of age has probably so injured his digestive organs, that stimulants have become a fatal necessity, and has habituated himself to spend so much on drink, that he cannot afford to buy the best and most easily digested food. These men must lie on the bed which they have made for themselves. But with younger men the coffee tavern may have the happiest effects. It is not meant, of course, that every man who passes his evening at an establishment of this kind, instead of going to a tavern, must necessarily be a teetotaller. He may have taken his pint or his quart in the middle of the day, and be none the worse for it. He comes to the coffee tavern simply as a more rational, more wholesome, and more comfortable way of spending the evening, than by sitting for hours in a noisy and unsavoury public-house, drinking liquor which he does not want, and probably cannot afford. And it must never be forgotten that in any scheme for checking intemperance, no effort should be spared to discountenance drinking in the evening. The promotion of evening sobriety will, therefore, be one of the great gains to be anticipated from the spread of these places of refreshment; and it is quite possible that an acquired taste for coffee or cocoa may lead a man in time to care less and less for anything else. On the utility of alcohol in repairing the waste occasioned by hard manual labour the doctors disagree. But it is certain that very hard work can be done for a protracted period by men who only take it seldom or not at all, as the recent performances of athletes in the rowing, running, and bicycling arenas abundantly testify. The greater facility for procuring non-alcoholic drinks of a good quality may probably lead the working classes to learn wisdom, and to find by experience that they can work as well and even better on them than on alcoholic stimulants. The coffee tavern, however, can only succeed if it is patronised by the working classes, and if it is so patronised it is fulfilling its existence. The same thing cannot be said of public-houses. Their commercial success is in inverse ratio to their moral expediency. But the proprietor of a coffee tavern will have the satisfaction of knowing that his own profits represent the improvement of the people, and that the richer he grows the more self-controlled are his customers becoming. But whatever the ultimate result of the movement, there will be the satisfaction of knowing that it has been tried, and that it has obtained the hearty support of many of the most eminent men of the day, who have the interests of their countrymen deeply at heart. But the movement we have been speaking of is as yet confined almost exclusively to what we call "towns," and only a slight attempt has been made to extend it to villages. Let us then conclude with a few remarks in reference to the prospect of its further extension among small populations in the rural districts. The subject was brought before a meeting of the London Farmers' Club last February, and received considerable discussion. The general feeling seemed to be that village clubs might be much more widely established than at present is the case; and really there can be no possible objection to their multiplication. By the term village clubs is meant institutions for agricultural labourers similar to those for working men in towns, and indeed to the clubs so intimately associated with the town life of the higher classes-in fact, rooms or complete buildings for the social intercourse, amusement, and recreation of the working poor of our villages after their hours of labour. The agricultural labourer is by nature a social creature equally with his fellows in towns; he enjoys society after his kind; he likes chatting over the events of the day, and indulging in local gossip ; he is by no means averse to reading the newspapers where he can get them, and he appreciates his pipe more in company than alone; and it is but reasonable and fair that he should have proper opportunities for indulging his tastes, especially when they are truly legitimate, as his brethren in towns mostly have. But at present the only available centre where he and his village friends can meet on common ground and indulge in social intercourse is the village public-house, and it can hardly be said that this is a resort which tends to his improvement in mind, body, or estate. We have no wish to speak uncharitably of these institutions or their proprietors. Many of them are very well managed as far as the landlords can control their customers, and the landlords themselves are often among the most decent and respectable of the rustic community. But at the same time there is no disputing the evils associated with and resulting from the village inn. It is the resort of the idle and dissolute, as well as of the hard-working and respectable; of the drunken as well as of the temperate; in a word, of the bad as well as of the good, and the constant result is that the latter often though gradually drift into the category of the former. It is in the village publichouse that poaching affrays are concocted, dishonest schemes suggested, bad language freely indulged in, and habits of drunkenness fostered; for, unfortunately, he who is most lawless, who uses the foulest words, and drinks the most, is the hero of the taproom. It is, therefore, a hardship that the more decent labourers, and especially the younger men and lads, who are more susceptible of bad influences, should have no common place of resort but that where evil predominates over good, and where there is the strong temptation for men to drink more than they require, "for the benefit of the house," as it is called, or to give evidence of what are supposed to be their manly qualities. The village public-house but too often undoes the good work of the village school and neutralises the religious influences of the village church, and, therefore, surely any movement which might lessen its evil effects is most deserving of encouragement. But how and on what principles are village clubs to be founded and managed? Some of those already in existence supply beer to the members under certain restrictions, and some not. There is no reason, however, why village clubs should not prosper without alcoholic beverages being sold at them. Let there be good tea, coffee, and cocoa, and the men will soon find that they can do very well without stronger drink. Tobacco smoking should certainly be allowed, even if a separate room had to be provided for the smokers; for, whatever the anti-tobacco crusaders may say to the contrary, the moderate practice of smoking seems to be soothing to body and mind, conducive to health and even longevity, as countless instances both in town and country abundantly testify. Newspapers and periodicals should be provided, and the village library should have its head-quarters at the club. Games such as draughts, dominoes, bagatelle, and so forth should be provided when possible. Lectures and penny readings should also be organised—and in nine cases out of ten the incumbent of the parish and his friends would answer for these—and when they take place the wives and daughters of the members should be admitted. Indeed, it may be advisable that females should be members of these clubs as well as the males, though, of course, the movement is mainly concerned with the latter. These clubs should not be exclusively church clubs, but available for members of all religious communities alike; and some of their promoters hold they should be open on Sunday evenings. All members should pay a weekly or monthly fee ; and the clubs should be based on a commercial principle, and sa far as possible be made self-supporting. The poor both in town and country do not take kindly to institutions which have too pronounced an element of charity in them, and, indeed, are inclined to resent what might be interpreted as a bribe to reform their habits. This, however, need not prevent the well-wishers of the agricultural poor and philanthropists in general, the clergy, the squires, tradesmen, and others with means in a village from directly or indirectly supporting the club, and especially in aiding its first establishment, which last matter |