§ MR. VERNON HARCOURTasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether it is the fact that at the next Licensing Sessions all existing beerhouses which are not or cannot be brought up to the new standard of value prescribed in the 46th and 47th sections of the Licensing Act, 1872, will be absolutely deprived of their licences without any default or misconduct on the part of their owners and tenants; and, if so, whether he will introduce a Bill this Session to prevent the loss of property to persons who have invested their money on the faith of the Law with respect to valuation as it existed upon the passing of that Act?
MR. BRUCE,in reply, said, the first part of the hon. and learned Member's Question fairly represented the state of the case as it stood. These sections were passed last Session after a great deal of debate and a great deal of consideration by the House, and so far as these regulations went, without any Division, and, so far as he recollected, with very little difference of opinion. The object of the sections was to give effect to those guarantees which had been provided by the Beer Acts some 30 years ago. These Acts provided, with reference to the population of districts, that no licences should be granted to houses which were not of the value of £8, of £11, or of £15; but this provision had been scandalously evaded, and the result had been the licensing of a number of houses not of the proper value. Although these houses were not of the proper value, still, if they were brought within the proper value fixed by the Act of Parliament, the Justices under the Act of last Session had power 1874 to continue the licence. The Act of last Session however imposed three conditions. One condition was rather in favour of the beer-house owners than otherwise; for instance, the gross value was substituted for the rateable value. This was clearly favourable to the applicant. Secondly, the Act required that the probability of the renewal of the licence should not be considered in the value of the house, which he considered a fair provision. It had not been considered, and could not have been considered when the licence was first granted, and he saw no reason why it should be taken into account when a renewal was asked for. The third condition was that in estimating the value of the house the value of land other than pleasure grounds attached to the beer-house should not be included in the value. He had no intention of introducing a measure to amend in this respect the Act of last Session.