Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: I want to help the hon. Member. One very much appreciates that a man's house is his castle, and therefore it is necessary to take some steps to see that a tenant or owner is protected; but the purpose of this Clause is to deal with cases of emergency. Cases may arise where, perhaps, there is a fuse or something of that sort which might possibly set the house on fire, in which circumstances it...
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." This is the first time that I have had the honour of addressing the House, and l am sure that the House will be good enough to grant me that indulgence which is so necessary to one who has the ordeal of addressing it for the first time. The Measure which I have the honour to introduce is the Licensing (Standardisation of Hours) Bill,...
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: I am very glad to hear you say it. This Bill will give an opportunity to the House of Commons to express its view on the recommendations of the Licensing Commission. Many other criticisms will be raised against the Bill. I am sure it will be said that one result of it is to take away to a great extent the existing powers of licensing authorities. That is true, but the Bill does not altogether...
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: The hon. Member for Bodmin (Mr. Isaac Foot) gives me an opportunity, which otherwise I would have missed, of stressing that particular point. I am very much obliged to him, because I had nearly forgotten it. I can see that he is going to argue against us that the Bill will cause greater anomalies than existed before.
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: I am much obliged to the hon. Gentleman. He is perfectly right, and I do not wish to make a false point. As the Bill now stands, it is true that licensing authorities will have the power to grant extensions, and that they can use their discretion as to whether they do or not. I am seeking to point out that this Bill is, at any rate, doing something to do away with those anomalies. I am sure...
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: If the hon. Member for West Bermondsey (Dr. Salter) will kindly allow me to proceed, I have no doubt that I shall be able to make that point perfectly clear. I have been very careful so far not to say anything which would tend to hurt the feelings of those who are obviously very much opposed to us. If the hon. Member will give me an opportunity I shall be able to make everything perfectly...
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: That is wrong, because, as a matter of fact, as far as the licensing justices in my constituency are concerned, they had a meeting and unanimously passed a resolution in favour of this Bill.
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: I do not want to interrupt the hon. Member, but he is under a misapprehension. It is perfectly true that there was a Bill, of which I have a copy, which it was proposed to introduce into the House, but the provisions of the Bill I have introduced and the other Bill are not, I can assure the hon. Member, the same.
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: My hon. Friend seems to try to lead the House to believe that because he says something, it is necessarily true, and that if I say anything, it is necessarily untrue. I can assure the House that the hon. Member is under a misapprehension. The terms of the two Bills are entirely different. The licensed trade would have gone much further, but, so far as I am concerned in introducing the Bill, I...
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: I think if the hon. Member looks at Section I of the Licensing Act of 1921, he will find that the word "club" is used there.
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: No.
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: No.
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: At present the public-houses there may be closed at 10, 10.30, or 11, but under my Bill there will only be two choices. They will close at either 11 or 10.30.
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: The hon. Member is wrong there, because so far as refreshment licences are concerned, provided the premises are usually used for supplying food and are structurally suitable, a certificate has to be given.
Lieut-Colonel John Lockwood: rose in his place, and claimed to move, "That the Question be now put," but Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKER withheld his assent, and declined then to put that Question.
