Final report of Her Majesty's Commissioners appointed to inquire into the operation and administration of the laws relating to the sale of intoxicating liquors.

  • Great Britain. Royal Commission on the Liquor Licensing Laws
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Final report of Her Majesty's Commissioners appointed to inquire into the operation and administration of the laws relating to the sale of intoxicating liquors. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

    170/406 (page 152)
    CHAPTER XV, THE COMBINATION OF THE TRADE IN INTOXICATING LIQUORS WITH OTHER TRADES, OCCUPATIONS, &c. 1. GENERAL. Looking to the evils connected with, the liquor trade, and the acknowledged need for its strict regulation, it would seem to be advisable that the trade in intoxicants should be kept as distinct as possible, and that all unnecessary temptation should be removed. This principle is generally conceded in practice as regards premises licensed for consumption on the premises, it is not so with off-licenses. 2. AS REGARDS PREMISES LICENSED FOR CONSUMPTION ON. i. Mixed trades, Sfc. in public-houses. Though there is no statutory prohibition, as in Scotland, against the sale of other articles, groceries, &c, except cooked food, in public-houses, on-licenses are never now Staines. granted to shops. We were told of a few instances at Leeds and elsewhere, where a •11,450. grocer's shop is also a public-house, a relic apparently of a former state of things ; but these are exceptions, and usually, as we have seen, public-houses fall into the opposite error of not supplying any kind of refreshment other than liquor. Lee Warner. In tne t°wns public-houses are generally public-houses and nothing else, but in the 24,930. country districts, especially where licensed houses are very numerous and cannot make Stafford a living, licenses are often held as annexes to small farms or mills. ?G6 098*1 Probably a diminution of the number of houses would by itself abolish this state of things without any further statutory restriction. ii. Meetings of Benefit Societies, Sfc. on Licensed Premises. ^f^6* It is extremely undesirable that benefit societies, &c„ should hold their meetings in Diprose. public-houses, but there seems to be no way of preventing this if the members wish it, 16,071. except in the case of registered societies, for which it might be forbidden. iii. Inquests, Sfc. held on licensed Premises. Eothera. The coroner for the borough of Nottingham for want of better accommodation holds 10,765. many inquests in public-houses, and though the coroner of Liverpool holds his inquests Sampson, in a court, provided for the purpose in the police buildings, he, in his capacity of 12,211. solicitor has had to attend inquests in outlying districts in public-houses, a practice which he deems to be inconvenient, and even scandalous. The witnesses, in one case which he attended, had been served with drink together with a number of other persons standing about, and he does not think that the witnesses so treated are always in a state to give evidence. Prince. In Brighton, though there are plenty of facilities for holding inquests in the town 25,697. han and m the police stations, they are held in the great majority of cases, where they 25,699. are nQ£ keld in the county hospital, in licensed premises ; a very undesirable practice in the opinion of the witness. Gibbard. In the country also, as in Bedfordshire, inquests are held in public-houses, and 22,972. certainly in one village, the revising barrister always holds his court in licensed premises. Lee Warner. In one instance, in Norfolk, petty sessions are held in a public-house, to the great 24,868. prejudice of evidence tendered by witnesses the worse for drink. 45 & 46 Vict. Borough justices may not use as their room any room on licensed premises, and the ° '] 60 2) ru^e s^ou^^ ^e extended to county justices. All such courts should be completely dissociated from licensed premises by law. > iv. Lodgers in Public-houses. The evils arising from families permanently lodging in public-houses have been already referred to in the instances, among others* of Devonport and Plymouth; and