§ Mr. Bennetpresented a petition, signed by between two and three thousand Licensed Victuallers of London and Westminster; setting forth, "That the houses wherein the petitioners, and other licensed Victuallers carry on their trade, acquire, by means of their being exclusively licensed for that purpose, a degree of value far beyond that of other places of trade which are free for the use and occupation of any person who may choose to carry on business therein; that to enable a licensed victualler to exercise his trade with any fair prospect of success, and any degree of respectability, he must of necessity embark a considerable capital in acquiring a permanent interest in his house, the value and security of which depend solely on the continuance of his licence to retail exciseable commodities; and property to the extent of several millions is invested in houses of this description in that part of the United Kingdom called England; that the obvious intent of the several statutes investing a power in magistrates, and other competent persons, to grant licences to the keepers of public alehouses, victualling houses, &c was, to guard 120 against the setting up of such houses where the wants of the neighbourhood did not require them, and the admission of persons of improper character to retail excisable commodities therein; and the regulations requiring a renewal of such licences annually, were established with a view to secure the due collection of the revenue arising from the duty imposed from time to time on such licences; that contrary to the spirit and true context of the several statutes on this subject, the justices of the peace in the several districts in which the petitioners reside, have assumed a power to suppress and refuse to renew such licences at their discretion, at the annual meetings appointed by law, and that without assigning any reason for such decisions, acquainting the suffering parties of the cause of complaint, or permitting them to be heard in their defence against these arbitrary determinations; that the court of King's-bench, the only jurisdiction for redress against the abuse of power by justices of the peace, have determined never to entertain an application at the instance of a party whose licence has been suppressed, unless it can be clearly and fully established by affidavit, that the refusal on the part of the magistrates has proceeded from motives of partiality, malice, or corruption; facts and motives which the almost general practice of the magistrates in refusing to assign reasons for their decisions, render it next to impossible to ascertain or establish; that armed with such assumed power, and protected by such judicial determinations, the justices, in numerous instances which have occurred, have exercised it from motives of partiality, interest, personal pique, and the most wanton caprice, to the utter ruin of many honest industrious persons, and their families; that powers, such as those assumed and exercised by justices of the peace in regard to victuallers licences, the petitioners have no hesitation to pronounce, are inconsistent with the principles of the constitution, contrary to law, and destructive of the property of the individuals subject to their jurisdiction, having a tendency, by the most powerful operation, to defeat the very end for which the jurisdiction was established, by rendering insecure, uncertain, and comparatively unproductive, the property of the licensed victualler, which must necessarily drive from this trade men of character, respectability, and capital; that the petitioners are prepared to 121 prove at the bar of the House, or in any other way that the House may be pleased to order, the oppressive, partial, and capricious exercise by the justices of the peace in many of the districts wherein the petitioners reside, of the power complained against, as well as that such power is in no case expressly given to such justices, by any of the statutes now in force for regulating licensed victualling houses, &c. and that its exercise is contrary to the fair context and obvious intention of the several statutes passed upon the subject; the petitioners refrain from entering into all the cases of hardship, oppression, and unwarrantable interference, of which they complain, many of which are detailed in the several reports of the committee appointed by the House, to inquire into the state of the police of the metropolis; they submit to the House the propriety of some legislative relief from the intolerable oppression under which they now labour, and look with confidence to the House for such regulations, as, while they provide sufficient restraints for the public safety and good order, may afford the petitioners and other persons exercising the same trade, that security in the enjoyment of their property, which by the constitution and law of the land, every British subject is entitled to; the petitioners therefore humbly pray, that the House will take their case into consideration, and grant them such relief as to the House shall seem meet; and the petitioners farther pray, that the House will be pleased to permit the petitioners to be heard, touching the matter of the said petition, by their counsel or agents, and to adduce evidence before the House in support of their complaints."
§ Ordered to lie on the table.