The Old Publican’s Monopoly: A 1885 Labor Dispute Over Where You Drink

I suppose the habit of spirit drinking was spread abroad by the soldiers of the guard. Moreover, good ale is still brewed in Scotland and Ireland, notably at Drogheda, and the old music about King Arthur’s quart testifies that in early times, 'The best loved ale was called blue-cap.' I suppose the habit of spirit drinking was spread abroad, much of the dogged misery brought over that and other bad traditions, and they were a somewhat desperate class, and from them the soldiers of liner were largely recruited. Boot ale (in Low Latin, ‘boot allam’) had, by the way, in old records, a far different meaning; it is, properly, a gathering where each paid his share, and thence comes to mean a public house. In King John's reign, the Council of St. Alban's forbade taverners, forestallers and others to hold ‘boot ales’ where they pleased. A King’s officer would hold a ‘boot ale’ within easy reach of the royal funds, out of the range, that is, of the common law, and that is how he would compel men to repair, just as a publican nowadays is at times able to prevent a man from setting work, unless he deals with the house of call, where workmen assemble and wages are paid.