§ MR. BOWLES (Lambeth, Norwood)To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that while in the larger provincial cities the average annual charge for a stage carriage police licence is under 5s., this charge in London is £2, in addition to the Inland Revenue licence of 15s.; and can he inform the House upon what principle this differentiation is made.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) I am aware that in some of the large provincial cities the annual charge for a public carriage licence does not exceed 5s., while in other large towns it is more; but the conditions of traffic in London are unlike those in any other city, and it is estimated that in the current financial year the cost of administering the Public Carriage Acts will involve a net charge of about £2,000 on the Metropolitan Police Fund, after allowing for the sums received for licences.