§ MR. BIGGARasked Mr. Attorney General, If it is a criminal offence, punishable by summary conviction, for Volunteer and other regimental bandsmen to play tunes while marching through the streets of London or other English cities and towns; if Military have any greater privileges than civilian bandsmen as to playing tunes through the streets of English or Irish cities and towns, and, if so, under what statute; and, if, where there is no local Act or Corporation bye-law to extend the ordinary common and statute law, it is lawful for magistrates in Ireland summarily to convict and fine or imprison Military or civilian bandsmen for playing tunes while marching through the streets of Irish cities and towns as English bandsmen were constantly doing everywhere through England?
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERAL (Sir HARDINGE GIFFARD)Sir, in the absence of my hon. and learned Friend the Attorney General, who is unable to be here, I beg to answer the hon. Member's Question. In the terms in which he has put it, it is not a criminal offence in itself for Volunteer and other regimental 22 bandsmen to play tunes while marching through the streets of large towns. The 27 & 28 Vict. c. 65 enables street musicians to be given into custody for playing in the street near a house after being required by the householder to depart. Neither military nor civil bands have any peculiar privileges; but, in fact, it would hardly be contended that military bandsmen, in the performance of their duty, were street musicians within the meaning of the Act. I have said it is not an offence in the language of the hon. Member's Question; but it must be remembered that neither street musicians, nor bandsmen, nor anybody else are entitled to obstruct the Queen's Highway; and, treated as an obstruction, which it sometimes is, a band may be made a subject of punishment on summary proceedings both in England and in Ireland.