§ Mr. TALBOT (Oxford University)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he can see his way to introduce into this Bill for the Amendment of the Licensing Laws, a provision for bringing under the jurisdiction of the justices the ante-1869 beerhouses, of which the Royal Commission reported in 1899 that in many instances they stand in urgent need of reform.
§ THE SECRETARY or STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. RITCHIE, Croydon)No, Sir, I think not. I am not prepared to disagree with the Royal Commission on this point, but it has to be remembered that the Majority Report coupled their recommendation for dealing in the way indicated with the ante-1869 beerhouses, with a statement that the legal right and Parliamentary title enjoyed by these houses would render compensation necessary if the renewal of a license was refused upon any ground other than the four settled in 1869. It is my object at present, in the interests of obtaining some measure of licensing reform, to keep my Bill free from the difficulties and controversies which, as I am sure my right hon. friend will agree, are involved in his suggestion.