COLONEL HERBERT (Monmouthshire, S.)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the delay of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue in dealing with appeals under the Licensing Act, 1904, in respect of compensation in cases where the renewal of licences has been refused by the county licensing authority; 1571 whether he is aware that, in consequence of such delay, eighteen licensed houses in Monmouthshire, which twelve months ago were declared unnecessary or unsuitable, still remain open for the sale of intoxicants; whether the machinery for dealing with the large number of similar appeals from all parts of the country exists in the office of the Commissioners; and whether he will take steps to render operative the Licensing Act, 1904.
§ MR. RUNCIMANIn six of the eighteen cases in question the full details required by the Board of Inland Revenue have not yet been obtained from the claimants, and it is not desirable to deal with cases from any district otherwise than together.