§ Captain TERRELLasked the Home Secretary whether he has any figures which he can lay before the House showing the amount realised from pedlars' licences; is he aware that in 739W these days of unemployment many people have difficulty in raising even this small sum; and will he consider whether simple registration with a smaller fee would meet the 'requirements of control?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANThe fee of 5s. for a pedlar's certificate is fixed by Section 5 of the Pedlars Act, 1871. In the Metropolitan Police District the amount realised by these fees in 1922 was £2,284. I have no information as to the amounts received by other police authorities. I do not think that a fee of 5s. for a certificate available for a year throughout the whole of Great Britain is excessive, and I may point out that, before granting a certificate, the police authority is required to satisfy itself that the applicant is a suitable person, and simple registration would therefore not meet the needs of the case.