§ MR. BRAMSDON (Portsmouth)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the fact that there are about forty Licensing Acts now in force, commencing from the year 1660, affecting the sale or control of intoxicating liquors, many of which contain the perplexing system of legislation by reference, and of the number of important judicial decisions thereon, and in view of the difficulty caused thereby in their construction and administration, he will promise that the new Bill to be introduced next year upon this subject shall be one of consolidation.
§ MR. GLADSTONEI am fully alive to the importance of consolidating the Licensing Laws, and I have been considering it for some time past. But I 1274 cannot at present make any statement as to next year's legislation.