§ MR. JOHNSTONI beg to ask the Attorney General for Ireland whether complaints have reached him as to the state of the law regarding pawnbrokers in Ireland, and that the hours during which pawnbroking establishments are kept open in some localities in Belfast is largely in excess of the time permitted by Act of Parliament; and whether he will consider the propriety of assimilating the law of Ireland with that of England, as regards the granting of licences to pawnbrokers, and the general regulation of the trade?
§ MR. MADDENNo complaints have reached me with reference to the particular point mentioned in the question, but I am bound to say that my examination on several occasions of the law of pawnbroking in Ireland has led me to the conclusion that it is in a very unsatisfactory state. It is governed by two old statutes, passed in the 26th and 28th years of George III., the latter of which contains the provisions as to hours referred to in the question. The provisions of this statute as to hours of business apply only to Dublin and a district within three miles of that city. I shall certainly consider the question referred to in the concluding paragraph of the question, with a view to introducing legislation on the subject in the coming Session.