The Sun.
London, England, 1828-08-05 00:00:00

THE LICENSING OF HOTELS.

The Magistrates at Bow-street Office seem consi-
derably perplexed about the construction which they
ought to put on the new Act relating to the Li-
censing of Hotels. A long conversation on the
subject took place yesterday, between Sir Richard
Birnie, Mr. Minshull, and Mr. Mallard, a county
Magistrate, all of whom agreed that the new law
was a decided hardship on the Licensed Victuallers
of the metropolis, and indeed amounted to an inva-
sion of their vested rights. They concurred in opi-
nion, however, that the clause in the Act, " if they
(the Magistrates) shall think fit," gave them a dis-
cretionary power either to grant or refuse their cer-
tificate, and therefore that it would be as much their
duty, under the new Act, to ascertain whether the
hotels for which licenses were sought were indis-
pensable to the public convenience, as it was with
respect to public-houses under the Licensed Vic-
tuallers' statute. _ _

Sir RICHARD BIRNIE, in the course of this con-
versation, remarked, that as they were all unanimous
as to the meaning of the clause referred to, it might
he advisable to inspect the Strand Hotel, or New
Somerset Coffee-house, in order that they might be
the better.prepared to decide on the question whe-
ther it ought or ought not to be licensed when the
question should be brought before them on the en-
suing (this) day.
The other Magistrates agreed in the propriety of
this remark, and accordingly undertook to make the
proper inquiries. In about three-quarters of an hour
afterwards they returned from their mission, and
Mr. MlNstitai. then stated, that, in his judgment,
the neighbourhood in which this hotel or coffee-
house is situate was already amply provided with
htn of public entertainment. On either side,
within a few yards of the hotel in question, stood
two apparently most respectable public-houses, and
at intervals of only a few perches, right and left,
were others, so that there seemed no pretence for
saying that further public accommodation was ne-
cessary.
Sir R. BIRNIE.—For my own individual part, I
think not only the Strand, but every other neigh-
bourhood in the metropolis, is overstocked with
public-houses.
Mr. MlNsituu..—l think, as they have gone so
far, it would have been just as well if they had done
away with licences altogether, and have opened the
trade to any one who might think fit to embark in it.
As it is, we are reduced to a most unpleasant di-
lemma, for in admitting the rights under the new
Act, we cannot shut our eyes on the wrong which
its provisions inflict upon the Licensed Victuallers.
Sir RICHARD BIRNIE.—I am, and always have
been, averse to interfere with vested rights ; and, I
confess, it is most hard upon those Licensed Victu-
allers who have kept their houses for a series of
years, to have the value of their little property de-
stroyed by a sweeping enactment of this sort. We
have only to administer the law as we find it, and
congratulate ourselves that we had no hand in the
making of it. Those on whom it presses are the
proper parties to represent their own grievances
where alone redress is to be obtained, and if they
neglected to do so they, and not we, who put the
obnoxious law in force, are to be blamed.
Here the conversation ended.

The consideration of the Strand Hotel, which
was fixed for to-morrow (this day) was postponed
until Wednesday, when Mr. Halls is to be in town.