Public House Reform: A Public Meeting

57x88cm Large poster for a public house reform meeting addressed by 'Dr. Martin of Manchester', opposing the temperance movement. Printed in Hartlepool where the meeting was due to take place on February 16, 1870, the poster is in very good condition, old folds, a single close tear to the top left hand margin, light soiling only, an unusual survival thus. The poster promises the appearance under the chairmanship of Mayor George Moore of 'Dr Martin of Manchester, Hon.Secretary of the License Amendment League...' Concerns about drunkenness drove political campaigns in the 1860s to reform the licensing system in Britain with The Liberal Party broadly aligned with the pro-temperance campaigns and the Conservatives sided more with the drink trade in aiming to maintain the status quo.