The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-08-24 00:00:00

LICENSING SYSTEM.

Your Committee hamar had a petition referred to them%
•hirh was presented to the House by certain Magistrates
of the county of Seeley, complaining of 'aspersions on their
characters by evidence take% before your Committee, during
the last Session of Parliament, proceeded to hear the par-
Ilea themselves; and having ets done, they feel it their duty
to declare, that they consider the Magistrates as exempt
from all blame. Mr. Whither* may have a right to censure
the party of whom he bought the house in quesrion, but the
conduct of the Magistrates stands unimpenched ; they acted
according to their long-declared inteution, and deprived a
public-house of • license, under the opinion that a power
which is annually put in execution *as intrusted to them
by law.
Your Committee refrain from again generally discussing
the licensing questtu• ; they refer to the First Report of last
year, in which they endeavoured to demonstrate bow the law
really stands, as well a• the practice which has arisen out of
it: the mines of hardship and most unwarrantable totes-ft.
rence on the part of a division of the Middlesex Magis-
trates, which are detailed in the evidence annexed to this
Report, fully satisfy your Committee of the necessity of
tegistalive remedy; and they trust this osestion, important
as it is to the property of thousands, anti above all to the
moral, of the poorer classes of society, will lie brought be-
fore the consideration of Perlianient early in the ensuing
Session.

FEMALE

lON.

Your Committee have had referred to them • Petition
from the City of Loudon, relative so the extent and perni-
cious effects of female pereditutiou in the metropolis; and
the inquiries they bave instituted into the subject have satis-
fied them that it is seceasary to make anise alteration is the
existing 111114. The extent of thisevil appears to them to he
of the greatest magnitude,

Your Committee have bemi informed that a Society has
beets establialsed, cultism itself " The Guardian &sciety," the
object a to preserve the public morels, and to pro.
vide teioporary asylums tOr prostitutes retained by the ope-
ration of the law Gout the public streets; and to aurd to
such as are destitute sus ploy meld and relief. That Society
has furnished to pow Consissittse some details upon this
subject, that are /nowt afflicting. Out of three parolees,
consisting of 9;954 houses and 55,050 Sobabitants, there are
360 brothel., mid 4,000 'commove prostitutes. By the autho-
rity of the late Lord Mayor, this Society visited Bridewril;
and the result of %Mr examination Is as follows:—They
visited and examined II I of these switched women, the ages
of whom varied from 14 to 64; tie largest proportion ap-
pearsug to be of the ages from 18 to 22 :

AO. Â. No. Age. No. Age. No. Apo.
1 of 44 110 of 21 110 of 26 sor 32
I of 16 l3 or 22 9 of 27 2 or 33
of 17 6 of 23 4 uf 24 5 of 35
II of IS 1 of 24 6 of 90 3 uf 36
19 of 19 3of 25 70f3011 of 54

Out of these, eighty-five had heeu i■ a state of prustii isnot,
frees Iwo months to twenty 'eats; and the largest propor-
tion of these f.utti two I 4 three years. These unfortunate
creatures are repeatedly comuilted to prison ; and instancy.a
have nerurettl whret they have been imprisoned twin IS to
30 MKS.

year committee refreitt hum going farther into detnils
AN Ibis subj. ; mod 1641.44 the information shore elated,
tiny It Ae w.s badany (Indeed* stitch could he relied on
IY ostolola:vAlio avv.int of that class of %%Juno 'ohm lop.