§ MR. THORNE (West Ham)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will grant a Return of the number of shopkeepers who have been summoned for Sunday trading under the Act of Charles II.; and whether the Government are prepared to promote legislation to repeal the Sunday Trading Act.
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. GLADSTONE, Leeds, W.)The figures of prosecutions for trading on Sunday are to be found in the annual volumes of Judicial Statistics. The totals for England and Wales wore 2,925 in the year 1893, 3,729 in 1897, 4,950 in 1900, 5,510 in 1903, and 5,411 in 1904, but I must refer the hon. Member to the volumes quoted for the details of these prosecutions, which are very unevenly distributed throughout the 933 country. As regards the latter part of the Question, the whole subject of Sunday trading is at present under consideration by a Joint Committee of the two Houses.