327 



SEPTEMBER 



September i. — To-day we held our Brewster's Sessions at 

 Bungay when, as no complaints were made, all the licenses were 

 renewed. According to the calculation of the superintendent of 

 police there is in Bungay a licensed house to every io6 of the 

 population, infants in arms included, and this without reckoning 

 the wine-merchants or the establishments which trade in alcoholic 

 liquors by virtue of what are known as ' grocers' licenses.' In the 

 parishes of the district things are little better, for here there is 

 a licensed house to every 207 of the population. It will be 

 observed that in Bungay and its neighbourhood the toper need 

 not go thirsty for lack of opportunity to quench his drought. 



The superintendent also read his report for the year on the 

 crime statistics of the district. I am glad to say that they show 

 a marked and progressive diminution, owing chiefly, I believe, to 

 the spread of education among the classes from which spring the 

 majority of criminals. For instance, I can remember that when 

 first I served upon this Bench we were often called upon to 

 deal with charges of brutal assault, cases in which people had 

 been got down and kicked or knocked about with heavy sticks, 

 and so forth. Now we have but few of these offences, a fact 

 that cannot be attributed solely to the measures which we took 

 to put a stop to crimes against the person. 



This afternoon I went to Bedingham, where the harvest is 

 going on well. There remains, however, a good deal to be secured, 

 including the beans, the oats, a little wheat, and one field of 

 barley. The bottom in the last laid pasture, No. 21, on which 

 the barley has now been cut, is looking really splendid. All the 



