§ MR. JOHN KELLY (Camberwell, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he 1390 is aware of the observations which Mr. Justice Grantham is reported in the Times newspaper of the 28th instant to have made at the hearing of the action of "Keen v. Usher and Others (Limited)" on Tuesday last, with reference to the evidence of the manager of the defendants as to the existence of a practice, which he declared to be universal, and by which Brewery Companies employ persons to manage their licensed houses, who are in fact the mere servants of such companies, dismissable at a week's notice, but are made to sign agreements with the Brewery Companies for yearly tenancies in order that such agreements may be produced before the Licensing Justices; whether he is aware that a practice of the kind, though not universal, is very common; whether he would propose to take any, and, if so, what, steps to put an end to it; and whether he can give the House an assurance that, at any rate, the notice of Licensing Justices generally will be at once called to the character of the frauds so practiced upon them?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. MATTHEWS, Birmingham, E.)Yes, Sir. I have seen the newspaper report of the observations referred to. I am not aware of the frequency of the practice described. I am advised that there is nothing in the Licensing Acts to require the licensee to hold the premises for a term of any particular length; and, more-over, inasmuch as under certain circumstances, the licence may become forfeited, and the premises disqualified, it is not unreasonable or contrary to the public interests that the owner should reserve to himself an active control over the management of the house and the power of getting rid of an objectionable licensee at very short notice. With the view of ascertaining whether this control is secured in such a manner as to constitute in any sense a fraud on the Justices, I have asked the learned Judge to be so good as to favour me with his observations as to the facts before him, as to which I have insufficient information.