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UNITED KINGDOM] was passed for Scotland, by which sale on Sunday was wholly forbidden, except to travellers and lodgers, and was restricted on week days to the hours between 8 and 11  This act also introduced a distinction between hotels, public-houses and grocers licensed to sell liquor, and forbade the sale to children under 14 years, except as messengers, and to intoxicated persons. In England, after a series of enactments in the direction of progressive restriction, uniform regulations as to the hours of opening and closing for licensed premises were applied in 1874, and are still in force (see below). In 1878 complete Sunday closing, as in Scotland, was applied in Ireland, with the exemption of the five largest towns, Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick and Waterford; and in 1881 the same provision was extended to Wales.

Other changes worthy of note are the following. In 1860 the free sale of wine for consumption off the premises was introduced by the Wine and Refreshment Houses Act, which authorized any shopkeeper to take out an excise licence for this purpose; the licences so created were subsequently known as grocers’ licences. By the same act refreshment houses were placed under certain restrictions, but were permitted to sell wine for consumption on the premises under an excise licence. In 1861 spirit dealers were similarly authorized to sell spirits by the bottle. The effect of these measures was to exempt a good deal of the wine and spirit trade from the control of the justices, and the idea was to wean people from public-house drinking by encouraging them to take what they wanted at home and in eating-houses.

In 1869 this policy of directing the habits of the people into channels thought to be preferable, which had been inaugurated in 1830, was abandoned for one of greater stringency all round, which has since been maintained. All the beer and wine retail licences were brought under the discretion of the justices, but they might only refuse “off” licences and the renewal of previously existing beer-house “on” licences upon specified grounds, namely (1) unsatisfactory character, (2) disorder, (3) previous misconduct, (4) insufficient qualification of applicant or premises. In 1872 an important act further extended the policy of restriction; new licences had to be confirmed, and the right of appeal in case of refusal was taken away; penalties for offences were increased and extended, particularly for public drunkenness, and for permitting drunkenness; the sale of spirits to persons under 16 was prohibited. In 1876 many of these provisions were extended to Scotland. In 1886 the sale of liquor for consumption on the premises was forbidden to persons under 13 years. In 1901 the sale for “off” consumption was prohibited to persons under 14, except in sealed vessels; this is known as the Child Messenger Act. These measures for the protection of children were extended in 1908 by an act which came into operation in April 1909, excluding children under 14 from the public-house bars altogether. The progressive protection of children by the law well illustrates the influence of changing public opinion. The successive measures enumerated were not due to increasing contamination of children caused by their frequenting the public-house, but to recognition of the harm they sustain thereby. The practice of taking and sending children to the public-house, and of serving them with drink, is an old one in England. A great deal of evidence on the subject was given before a Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1834; but it is only in recent years, when the general concern for children has undergone a remarkable development in all directions, that attempts have been made to stop it. In 1902 clubs, which had been increasing, and habitual drunkards, were brought under the law.

In 1904 a new principle was introduced into the licensing system in England, and this, too, was due to change in public opinion. Between 1830 and 1869, under the influence of the legislation described above, a continuous increase in the number of public-houses took place in England; but after 1869 they began to diminish through stricter control, and this process has gone on continuously ever since. Reduction of numbers became a prime object with many licensing benches; they were reluctant to grant new licences, and made a point of extinguishing old ones year by year. At first this was easily effected under the new and stringent provisions of the legislation of 1869–1872, but it gradually became more difficult as the worst houses disappeared and the remaining ones were better conducted, and gave less and less excuse for interference. But the desire for reduction still gained ground, and a new principle was adopted. Houses against which no ill-conduct was alleged were said to be “superfluous,” and on that ground licences were taken away. But this, again, offended the general sense of justice; it was felt that to take away a man’s living or a valuable property for no fault of his own was to inflict a great hardship. To meet the difficulty the principle of compensation was introduced by the act of 1904. It provides that compensation shall be paid to a licence-holder (also to the owner of the premises) whose licence is withdrawn on grounds other than misconduct of the house or unsuitability of premises or of character. The compensation is paid out of a fund raised by an annual charge on the remaining licensed houses. This act has been followed by a large reduction of licences.

State of the Law in 1910.—In consequence of the long history and evolution of legislation in the United Kingdom and of the innumerable minor changes introduced, only a few of which have been mentioned above, the law has become excessively complicated. The differences between the English, Scottish and Irish codes, the distinction between the several kinds of liquor, between consumption on and off the premises, between new licences and the renewal of old ones, between premises licensed before 1869 and those licensed since, between excise and justices’ licences—all these and many other points make the subject exceedingly intricate; and it is further complicated by the uncertainty of the courts and a vast body of case-made law. Only a summary of the chief provisions can be given here.

1. The open sale of intoxicating liquor (spirits, wine, sweets, beer, cider) by retail is confined to persons holding an excise licence, with a few unimportant exceptions, including medicine.

2. A condition precedent to obtaining such a licence is permission granted by the justices who are the licensing authority and called a justices’ licence or certificate. Theatres, passenger boats and canteens are exempted from this condition; also certain dealers in spirits and wine.

3. Justices’ licences are granted at special annual meetings of the local justices, called Brewster Sessions. Justices having a pecuniary interest in the liquor trade of the district, except as railway shareholders, are disqualified from acting; “bias” due to other interests may also be a disqualification.

4. Justices’ licences are only granted for one year and must be renewed annually, with the exception of a particular class, created by the act of 1904 and valid for a term of years. Distinctions are made between granting a new licence and renewing an old one. The proceedings are stricter and more summary in the case of a new licence; notice of application must be given to the local authorities ; the premises must be of a certain annual value; a plan of the premises must be deposited beforehand in the case of an “on” licence; the justices may impose conditions and have full discretion to refuse without any right of appeal; the licence, if granted, must be confirmed by a higher authority. In the case of old licences on the other hand, no notice is required; they are renewed to the former holders on application, as a matter of right; unless there is opposition or objection, which may come from the police or from outside parties or from the justices themselves. If there is objection the renewal may be refused, but only on specified grounds—namely misconduct, unfitness of premises or character, disqualification; otherwise compensation is payable on the plan explained above. There is a right of appeal to a higher court against refusal. In all cases, whether the justices have full discretion or not, they must exercise their discretion in a judicial manner and not arbitrarily.

5. Licences may be transferred from one person to another in case of death, sickness, bankruptcy, change of tenancy, wilful omission to apply for renewal, forfeiture or disqualification. Licences may also be transferred from one house to another in certain circumstances.

6. A licence may be forfeited through the conviction of the holder of certain specified serious offences.