§ MR. F. E. SMITH (Liverpool, Walton)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any application for permission to raise money under the Licensing Act of 1904 for the purpose of providing compensation has been made to the Home Office; and whether in any case the Home Office has refused to allow the loan to be spread over a longer period than one year; and, if so, on what grounds such refusal has been made.
§ MR. GLADSTONEI have received and granted several applications for permission to borrow on the security of the Compensation Funds under the Licensing Act 1904. I have required the loans sanctioned during the past year to be repaid at or about the end of 33 the present year, that is to say at latest out of the compensation levy to be made in 1908. In view of pending legislation I have thought it desirable to avoid so far as possible creating liabilities which would continue beyond the date when any amendment of the law may take effect.
§ SIR EDWARD SASSOONI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the amount levied upon and paid by the trade in respect of the licences extinguished under the operation of the Licensing Act of 1904.
§ MR. GLADSTONEFull information on this subject is given in the Annual Volumes of Licensing Statistics. The Volume for 1907 is not yet completed, but I can give the following figures as approximately correct:—In the three years 1905, 1906, 1907, the compensation authorities in England and Wales have received from charges imposed on existing on licences under the Act of 1904 a total sum of about £3,289,163. Out of this a total of about £2,310,960 has been paid away in compensation for licences extinguished.
§ MR. LIEF JONES (Westmoreland,) Applebyasked if this money had not actually been paid by the consumers of intoxicants.