Saturday, 23 March 2013
Licensing Act 1902
Folkestone Chronicle
16-8-1902
Local News
The Home Secretary directs the special attention of
Magistrates` Courts and others concerned to the fact that Section 14 of the new
Licensing Act comes into force at once. The section provides that there will be
no General Annual Licensing Meeting this Autumn, and that every licence in
force on October 14th shall, on production to the Clerk of the
Licensing Justices, and on payment of half the ordinary fees, remain in force
until April 3rd next, unless previously forfeited, or unless the
licence or the premises become disqualified. In future the General Annual
Licensing Meetings will be held within the first fourteen days of February.
Folkestone Herald
20-9-1902
Notes Of The Week
There are several features of the Licensing Act of this year
which deserve the serious consideration not only of those connected with the
liquor trade, but also of those who are interested in the promotion and
advocacy of temperance principles.
The Act of 1902 falls into three well defined divisions, the
first of which provides for an amendment of the laws relating to drunkenness;
the second deals more particularly with the licensing laws previously in force;
while the third division has reference to clubs, and the regulations under
which they are to be carried on in future.
Dealing with the first division, that referring to
drunkenness, the Act provides that a person found drunk, and apparently
incapable of taking care of himself, may be apprehended, and dealt with in the
ordinary way; but if such a person be in charge of a child under the age of
seven years, the penalty on conviction may be extended to forty shillings, or a
month`s imprisonment. In the case of a person drunk on licensed premises, the
burden lies upon the licensee to prove that reasonable steps were taken to
prevent drunkenness. Again, by the 5th Clause, habitual drunkenness
is made a ground for a separation order being granted either to the husband or
to the wife of the inebriate. It is to be noticed in this connection that power
is given to the Justices to make suitable provision for the support of the wife
and for the custody of the children. The Court may, however, commit a wife to
an inebriate retreat, if she herself consents to that course, as an alternative
to granting a separation order to her husband. The definition of the expression
“habitual drunkard” is given in the Inebriates Act of 1898, and the sale of liquor
to such a person, whether on licensed premises or in clubs, is prohibited for
the term of three years. The penalties that may be imposed under this Clause
(6) are very rigorous. The inebriate himself may be fined 20s. or 40s.; the
licensee or official of a club who serves him is amenable to a penalty of £10
or £20; and any person aiding or concerned in such serving is liable to a fine
of 40s., or a month`s imprisonment in default of payment. It will be seen,
therefore, that stringent provisions have been made in the case of the habitual
drunkard, and it is of vast importance to all interested in the liquor trade to
realise the necessity of complying strictly with the new requirements.
We now turn to the Clauses which apply to the licensing
itself. Records of convicted licensees are to be kept in every case, and must
be produced to and taken into consideration by the Justices at every renewal of
the licence. In the case of what are known as “off licences”, in which an
Excise licence sufficed before the new Act, it will be necessary to obtain a
licence from the Licensing Justices. The present holders of those licences are
exempted from the operation of the Act, but in all other cases the grocers`
licences are to be within the full discretion of the Licensing Authority.
Clause 11 gives the Justices enlarged control over the structure of licensed
premises. For instance, in the case of any alterations for which permission is
required, it will be necessary to deposit a plan with the Clerk to the Justices
twenty one days previous to the licensing meeting. Again, no increased
facilities for drinking and so on can be made without the consent of the
Justices; and, further, on the renewal of a licence the Justices may order
reasonable alterations in licensed premises. With regard to the licensed
refreshment rooms at the railway stations it is now enacted that Directors of
such railways shall not be ineligible to sit and adjudicate as Licensing
Justices. A special provison is made in Clause 13, to the effect that no Clerk
to Licensing Justices may act as solicitor or agent – by himself, clerk, or
partner – in any licensing matter in his own district, under a penalty of not
exceeding £100. Finally, the date of the Annual Licensing Meeting is changed
from August to the first fourteen days of February.
Other provisions are that – (1) provisional licences shall
not be granted between special licensing session days, except in case of
urgency; (2) both parties to the transfer of a licence must attend in person,
and the Justices are empowered to make regulations for the prevention of
frequent transfers; (3) occasional licences are only to be granted in open
Court, unless under certain exceptional circumstances; (4) In cases of appeal,
the costs of the Justices appealed from are to be paid out of the county or
borough funds; (5) no petty sessions are to be held on licensed premises, and
inquests are not to be held on such premises where other suitable places have
been provided. Under this division of the Act the canteen arrangements in
connection with the Army and Navy are not interfered with, and they remain,
therefore, outside the provision of the new law.
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