§ MR. BROOKE ROBINSON (Dudley)To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the attention of the police has been drawn to one, if not two, performing bears that have for several weeks past been in the streets of the Metropolis; and whether, in view of what occurred upon a previous occasion,
† See page 1375.1523 the police will now, before a fatal accident happens, require these bears to be taken away from the Metropolis.(Answered by Mr. Secretary Akers-Douglas.) The police have been paying due attention to this matter, and since the 1st May have taken action in six cases in different parts of the Metropolis. In two cases convictions were obtained, in the other cases the defendants were discharged The police have no power to require that these bears shall be removed, and can only intervene when they are the cause of obstruction or are exhibited to the annoyance of inhabitants or passers by.