Lancaster Standard and County Advertiser. — 1905-01-06 (Lancaster, Lancashire, England)

THE CHARGE.  The Chairman, addiessing the Grand Jury, wished them the compliments of the ciees.on and congratulated them on the light character of the calendar with which they had to deal. It only contained the mums of four prisoners. On the first day of this year there came int: fine an Act known as the Licensing Act of 1904. It is an Act which was passed to amend the law with regard to the extinction of existing licitness and the granting of new licences. Previous to the paasing of the Act of 1904, applications for the renewal of existing licences and the granting of new licences rested primarily in the county areas with the county magistrates, and in the boroughs with the borough magistrates, who heard the :applications and decided upon them. These applications came before them at their annual licensing meeting the Brewster Sessions and, where no notice of objecticn was given, the licences were then renewed; but where notice of objection was given for the renewal of any licence they had the absolute discretion of refusing to renew such. licences, subject to appeal to Quarter Sessions. Under the Act of 1904, the power of licensing jure dess to refuse the renewal of the licence was restricted to several grounds. The first of these wa.s---premiscs not being properly conducted; the second, premises being structurally deficient and unsuitable for the purpese; third, where conduct of an applicant for renewal of licence Lae been unsatisfactory. As a general rule the justices had not the power to refuse the renewal of liconces, but they must report the facts of the case to Quarter Sessions. They, when they had heard the report of the justices, and had before them the parties interested, could refuse to renew that licence, but only on condition that compensation be granted. The amount of compensation was to be batted on the principle of difference in value between the premises with a licence and the Fame without a licence. The compensation was not to be provided by the State, but by the Trade itself. That would mean that each Quarter Sessions would have its own separate compensation fund, and contributions to that fund would be levied on licensed premises throughiut the aria of th 4 Quarter Sessions. All cases of compensation would hare to be paid out of that fund. The Act allowed Quarter Sessions the final decision as to the cases in which compensation should be paid, but it did not allow Quarter Sessions power to grant compensation or refuse to renew any licences except en the report of the licensing justices. Further than that, Quarter Sessions must delegate any powers they had in respect to the renewal 4;f licences to a committee. That cammittee would receive the report of the licensing justices and would hear all the evidence of the parties interested. With regard to granting new licences, the change was that whereas under the old system applications for new licenses came before the licensing justices, and were afterwards confirmed by the committee appointed by Quarter Sessions—called the County Licensing Committee—under the new Act that committee would cease to exist, and a new emumittee would ho appointed in its place. The appointment of that eemmittee rested with Quarter Sessions. Crider the new Act licensing justices had far larger powers with regard to granting new licences than they had before, because they might attach to the licence such cenditions which they might think proper in the interests of the community. In addition to that, not only had they power to grant a licence for one year. hut also if they liked, he believed, for several years Before that Act could come into operation there were several things which tretilcl have to be done. A committee would have to be appointed, and various other details looked to in order to put the machinery in motion. All those things were under the consideration of that Court.  With regard to the cases before them. he regretted to say that there were two casco of a crime whieh was becoming exceedingly prevalent not only in this part of the country, but throughout the whole of England- that of attempting to commit suicide. Ir. all the races he advised the Grand Jury to return a true bill.