§ MR. T. HART-DAVIES (Fulham)To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his attention has been called to the practice of hawking beer from door to door, which of late has prevailed in many of the working-class 275 districts of London; and whether he proposes, by legislation or otherwise, to take steps to prohibit the practice.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) I am informed by the police that a practice has grown up, and widely prevails in working-class districts and elsewhere, by which retail orders for beer in jars and bottles are placed with brewers and publicans beforehand and complied with by house-to-house delivery on appointed days. The question of the legality of such transactions sometimes involves points of considerable intricacy, and has come before the High Court more than once; but the Board of Inland Revenue and the police take proceedings whenever it seems desirable, and have done so successfully from time to time. It is a matter which I will take into consideration in connection with licensing legislation when opportunity occurs.