The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-10-06
BEER-HOUSES AND PUBLTCS.
Regulations of the Retail Liquor
Traffic in English Cities.
The Various Grades OF License and How
They Are Procured-The Laws Made
and Penalties Provided,
Correspondence of the indianapolis journal.

SUBJECT enables ME to lay before your readers
in this letter an intelligent statement of the
regulations under which the retail liquor
traffic is carried on in this country. First
All persons engaged in this traffic must have
license The victualer's license allows the
person holding it to sell all kinds OF drinks,
but there are licenses granted for the sale OF
beer and cider; Others for the sale of beer
and wine; others for cider and perry, and
still others for table beer only, and for wine
only. The houses at which beer is sold, with
out spirits, are called beer houses" to dis
tinguish them from the "publics," which
operate under victualler's or "full'' license.
OF the former not including those which
are licensed to sell only for consumption off
the premises, there are "a OF in the United
Kingdom, against 90, 34S of the latter class OF
houses. The total number of persons in
Great Britain and Ireland holding licenses OF
one kind or another to deal in and retail ex-
cisableliquors for use as a beverage, is 229,-
997, the revenue from these licenses amount
ing. for the year ending March 81, 1888, to
nearly 100000. The houses resembling
most closely the American saloon are
the two classes already singled out, viz.
beer houses and publics, particularly the
latter. beer license costs $3.50 a year,
and the premises covered by it, to meet the
requirements of law, must be of an annual
rental value of from $50 to $3.50, according to
location. A house for which victuallers
license is sought must have at least two pub
lie rooms in which spirits are sold, and one
in which they are not sold, exclusive of the
rooms occupied by the family keeping it.
In cities having not less than 100 600 inhabit-
ants, the annual value of each house must be
not less than $780, while in places of less
than 10000 the minimum is $3.50, and else I
where it is as low as SIS. The cost OF a "full"
license varies according to the annual value
of the premises, said annual value to be
taken at either the amount at which the
place is rated, or the amount of rent it
brings, or at an independent valuation, as the
licensing authorities may determine If the
annual value were $75, and under 500, the
license would be $40 a year. and so on in
fair graduation, up to So, 500 house, in which
case the license would cost an annual sum OF
$3.50, that amount being the maximum. The
license for house of an annual valuation of
$500 would cost $3.50 year.
PROCURING LICENSE.
The power of granting or refusing licenses
rests with the local magistrates but should
| these dignitaries refuse to renew or transfer
license when requested to do so the Ii
censee, having given bonds for the costs,
may carry his grievance to the general or
quarter sessions. In cases where a new
license is applied for the decision of the mag
istrates is final though if the license be
granted, such grant is not valid until con-
firmed by special licensing committee APP
pointed by the magistrates from their own
number, the members of which are supposed
to thoroughly canvass the merits of the case
The sessions at which licenses are granted or
renewed or called brewster sessions" In
Middlesex and Surrey embracing the greater
portion of London, these are held between the
LIST and 10th of March; elsewhere between
the Goth of August and the 18th of Septem-
ber Anyone intending to object to the re-
newal of a license must give due notice of
such purpose, with a general statement of
the nature of his objections, both to the
court and to the licensee and the evidence
in such cases must be given under oath. An
applicant for new license must give TWEEN
ty-one days notice to one of the overseers
and to the superintendent of police
of the district. Also within twenty
eight days of the licensing session
notice must be affixed and maintained
between the hours OF 10 and 5, on two sue
cessive Sundays, on the door of the house for
which license is sought, and on the door of
the parish church or chapel or other con-
spicaous place. and such notice must also be
advertised in local paper on some day not
more than four nor less than two weeks be-
fore the application, and on such day or DAYS,
if any, as may be fixed by the licensing jus
tees" The plea usually made by the appli-
cant is that public house is needed III that
particular locality, and 1t is all the better for
the would-be publican if he can get his appli-
cation Endorsed by his neighbors. II these
should oppose him, his chances are reduced
by that much, though it would not necessa-
rily follow, even were the entire neigh borhood
against him, that his request would be re-
fused. Perhaps, however, | should qualify
the last assertion by saying that such oppos-
ton would not have been necessarily effec-
tual few years ago; for times have changed
lately and magistrates are exercising the IL |
censing power in these days with more dis
creton.
HOURS OF CLOSING.
The hours of closing throughout the United
Kingdom, rigidly enforced. are as follows:
In Scotland, all day on Sundays and from II
P. NJ. to s A. NJ. o. other days. In Ireland
Supday-elosing obtains everywhere except
ing in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and
Belfast. In these places the public houses
open on Sundays from . P NJ. to P NJ The
universal rule for other days is to close from
10 P. NJ to A.. NJ. Sunday closing also OBJ
tains in Wales. In England the hours vary,
as the following table will show; In London
within the four-mile radius of Charlng
Cross, the publIcs must 6e closed on ordln-
airy days from half hour after midnight to !
5 A. Nj. On Saturdays they close at midnight |
and rnna al clnsnL nm I'll / !