Chimneys on fire. 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98, s. 44. 10 & 11 Vict. c. 89, s. 30. Ib. s. 31. Fire-engines, etc. Fires beyond limits of district. Ib. s. 33. CHAPTER XXI. EXTINGUISHING FIRES. WITH respect to fires, it is provided that persons wilfully setting or causing to be set on fire any chimney within the district shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £5; but, notWithstanding such liability, such person is not exempted from liability to be indicted for felony. If owing to any omission, neglect, or carelessness, the chimney of any house within the district catch fire, the occupier of the premises is liable to a penalty not exceeding 10s. In order to provide for the extinguishing of fires, the Local Board may provide fire-engines and all necessary appliances and fire-escapes; they may also purchase and keep or hire horses for drawing the engines, provide engine-houses, and employ persons to act as firemen, subject to such rules as they may make for their regulation, and pay them such salaries and rewards as they think fit for their exertions in cases of fire. The engines and firemen so provided may be employed in cases of fire beyond the limits of the district, and the owners of the buildings on fire are to pay for the service rendered; the amount of the compensation, in case of dispute, to be settled by two justices (whose decision is to be final) and recovered as damages. The costs and charges incurred by the Local Board in respect of any of the above-mentioned matters will fall to be defrayed out of the general district rates. By the 28 & 29 Vict. c. 90, s. 30, when occasion requires, the Metropolitan Board of Works may permit any part of the fire brigade establishment of the metropolis with their engines, escapes, and other implements, to proceed beyond the limits of the metropolis for the purpose of extinguishing fires. The Board may also permit any part of the fire brigade establishment to be employed on special services upon such terms of remuneration as the Board may think fit. The Select Committee of the House of Commons on fire protection, in their report (No. 471, Session 1867) recommend, in order to prevent the frequency of fires from the faulty construction of buildings, a general building Act for all towns and places in the United Kingdom governed by Municipal Corporations, Improvement Commissioners, or Local Boards of Health, similar in its general provisions and in the powers it confers on such local authorities to the Metropolitan Building Act, and to the Building Acts of Liverpool. They also recommend that the floors of all large lodging-houses for the poor be made fireproof, and that there be ample means of escape for the lodgers in case of fire. 343 CHAPTER XXII. PLACES OF PUBLIC RESORT. VICTUALLERS or keepers of public-houses within the district Harbouring who knowingly harbour or entertain constables while on duty, constables on duty. are, for every offence, liable to a penalty not exceeding 20s. ; 21 & 22 Vict. and coffee-shop keepers who knowingly suffer common pros- c. 98, s. 44. titutes or reputed thieves to assemble at and continue in 10 & 11 Vict. their premises, are for each offence liable to a penalty not c. 89, s. 34. exceeding £10. A licensed ale-house is a place of public resort for the Harbouring sale of refreshments within the Towns Police Clauses Act, disorderly 10 & 11 Vict. c. 89, s. 35, and the keeper of it is liable to persons. İb. s. 35. penalties under that section for allowing prostitutes to assemble 34 & 35 Vict. therein, although he may also at the same time be guilty of an c. 112, s. 10. offence against the terms of his license under 9 Geo. IV. c. 61. The information under the section being for an offence against public policy may be laid by any one without authority from the person to whom the penalties to be recovered are to be awarded, so long as he professes that the recovery of the penalties should enure to the benefit of that person. This latter point was so held with reference to the provisions of a Local Act incorporating amongst others the 35th section of the 10 & 11 Vict. c. 89; and providing that penalties recovered before justices and not otherwise directed to be paid should be awarded to the corporations of the town or the corporation under the Act, according as the proceeding for the penalty was on behalf of one or other of those bodies. (1) If an unlawful purpose. The words "assemble at and continue" must be taken to Harbouring have reference to the class of persons in question assembling at persons for and continuing in the premises for an unlawful purpose. they go there for a lawful purpose, as for the purpose of getting necessary refreshment, and do not remain longer than is requisite for that purpose, the keeper of the house will not be liable to a conviction for knowingly suffering them to assemble in his premises. With reference to a somewhat similar provision in a local Act, it was held on a case stated for the opinion of the Court, under the 20 & 21 Vict. c. 43, that where the defendant kept a coffee-house frequented chiefly by prostitutes, and had allowed prostitutes to remain there after he had been (1) Cole v. Coulton, 29 L. J. M. C. 125; 6 Jur. (N. s.) 698; 2 L. T. (N. S.) 216. Bear-baiting. 10 & 11 Vict. c. 89, s. 36. Closing etc. c. 64. Ib. s. 2. Adoption of Act by corporate borough. warned that they were such, but where no disorderly conduct on their part had taken place, the magistrate had authority to convict, though there might be no proof of disorderly conduct; but that he was not bound to convict if he was of opinion that the prostitutes did not remain in the shop beyond the time requisite for taking necessary refreshment there. (1) Persons keeping places for bear-baiting, cock-fighting, etc., are liable to a penalty of not more than £5, or, in the discretion of the justices, to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a time not exceeding one month. The Local Board may, by an order in writing, authorize the superintendent constable, with such constables as he thinks necessary, to enter any premises kept for such purposes, and take into custody all persons found therein without lawful excuse; and every person so found is liable to a penalty not exceeding 5s. A conviction for this offence does not, however, exempt the offender from anv penal consequences. The Act 12 & 13 Vict. c. 92, for the prevention of cruelty to animals, also contains provisions against bull-baiting, bearbaiting, etc., and cock-fighting, and under that Act it has been held that to assist at a cock-fight elsewhere than in a place "kept or used for the purpose of fighting or baiting any bull, bear, badger, dog, cock,” etc. (s. 3), is not an offence under the Act. (2) Under s. 2 of the same Act, it has been held that a cock is a domestic animal, and that fighting cocks with steel spurs is cruelly ill-treating them within the Act. (3) It is necessary, in concluding this subject, to advert to the public-houses, Public House Closing Act, 1864 (27 & 28 Vict. c. 64), which 27 & 28 Vict. may be adopted in certain districts under the Public Health and Local Government Acts. With the exception of the district of the Metropolitan Police force, the Act is permissive only, and shall be in force only within the limits of such corporate boroughs and districts of Improvement Commissioners as shall adopt the same by a resolution of the Council or Board assembled at a meeting held for the purpose, of which due notice has been given and which is required to be summoned on such requisition of the ratepayers as is required in the case of the adoption of the said Local Government Act, 1858 (as to which see ante, p. 13), by a corporate borough, or in a district of Improvement Commissioners, to which the Local Government Act has not been applied, in pursuance of sections 12 and 13 of the Local Government Act, and notice of the adoption of the Act shall be given to the Secretary of State. The reference to the Local Government Act only applies to the notice to be given of the meeting of the Town Council to Ib. s. 9. (1) Greig v. Bendeno, 1 E. B. & E. 133; 27 L. J. M. C. 294; 4 Jur. (N. s.) 875. (2) Morley v. Greenhalgh, 3 B. & S. 374; 9 Jur. (N. S.) 745. (3) Budge v. Parsons, 7 L. T. (N. S.) 784; 32 L. J. M. C. 93, 95 ; 3 B & S. 379, 382. be held for the adoption of the Act, and not to the proceedings As to adopat such meeting. (1) The Act shall come into operation in a corporate borough or district of Improvement Commissioners in which a resolution adopting the same has been passed at the expiration of one month from the date of the passing of the resolution; and no objection whatever to the legality of the adoption of the Act by any corporate borough or Board of Improvement Commissioners shall be made at any trial or in any legal proceeding after the expiration of three months from the date of the passing of the resolution adopting the same. tion of Act by corporate borough. 27 & 28 Vict. c. 64, s. 9. Ib. s. 4. "Corporate borough" shall mean any place for the time Definition of being subject to the Act, 5 & 6 Will. IV. c. 76; "District of "corporate Improvement Commissioners" shall mean any place within the borough," etc. jurisdiction of a Board of Improvement Commissioners as defined for the purposes of the 12th section of the Local Government Act, 1858 (as to which see ante, page 11), and "Board of Improvement Commissioners " shall mean such lastmentioned Commissioners. "Refreshment house" shall in this Act have the same mean- Definition of ing as it has in the Act passed in the session holden in the "refreshment houses," etc. 23 Vict. c. 27; that is to say, all houses, rooms, shops, or Ib. s. 4. buildings kept open for public refreshment, resort, and entertainment, at any time between the hours of nine of the clock at night and five of the clock of the following morning, not being licensed for the sale of beer, cider, wine, or spirits respectively, shall be deemed refreshment houses within the Act, and the resident, owner, tenant, or occupier thereof shall be required to take out a license to keep a refreshment house (23 Vict. c. 27, s. 6). "Exciseable liquor" shall mean any spirits, foreign wine, Ib. s. 4. beer, cider, sweets or made wines, as defined by the Acts relating to the excise. Save as hereinafter mentioned, no licensed victualler within Closing pub the limits of this Act shall sell or expose for sale or open or lic-houses and refresh keep open any house, room, garden, or other place for the sale ment houses. or consumption of exciseable liquors or any article whatsoever lb. s. 5. between the hours of one and four o'clock in the morning. No person within the limits of this Act shall open or keep Ib. open any refreshment house, or sell or expose for sale or consumption in any refreshment house any refreshments or any article whatsoever between the above mentioned hours. Any person acting in contravention of this section shall be Ib. liable to a penalty not exceeding £5, to be recovered in a summary manner as provided by the Act 11 & 12 Vict. c. 43. Nothing herein contained shall preclude a licensed victualler Ib. from selling exciseable liquors to or allowing the same to be consumed by persons lodging in his house, or the keeper of a refreshment house from selling refreshments to or allowing the (1) See 29 J. P. II. Closing same to be consumed by persons lodging in his house, within public-houses the above-mentioned hours. and refresh ment houses. c. 64, s. 5. Nothing herein contained shall authorize a licensed victualler 27 & 28 Vict. to sell exciseable liquors on any Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday, or day appointed for public fast or thanksgiving, otherwise than during the times at which he is now authorized by law to sell the same, or authorize any other person to sell exciseable liquors, keep open any refreshment house, or sell refreshments otherwise than at the times and upon the conditions prescribed by the Acts of Parliament in that behalf made. Occasional license. Ib. s. 7. Partial suspension of Act. 28 & 29 Vict. c. 77, S. 2. If any licensed victualler or keeper of a refreshment house within the limits of this Act applies to the local authority for a license exempting him from the provisions of this Act on any special occasion or occasions, it shall be lawful for the local authority, if in its discretion it thinks fit so to do, to grant to the applicant an occasional license exempting him from the provisions of this Act during certain hours and on a special occasion or occasions to be specified in the license; and no licensed victualler or keeper of a refreshment house to whom an occasional license has been granted under this Act shall be subject to any penalty for a contravention of this Act during the time to which his occasional license extends, but he shall not be exempted by such occasional license from any penalty to which he may be subject under any other Act of Parliament. The occasional license must be obtained from the local authority, though such a license may have been obtained with the consent of a justice of the peace from the Inland Revenue Commissioners under 25 Vict. c. 22, s. 13, and 26 & 27 Vict. C. 33, S. 20. (1) A licensed victualler within the metropolis who has obtained an occasional license from the Excise with the consent of a justice of the peace under 25 and 26 Vict. c. 22, s. 13, and 26 & 27 Vict. c. 33, s. 20, requires also an occasional license from the Commissioners of Police under 27 & 28 Vict. c. 64, s. 5, in order to enable him lawfully to supply exciseable liquors at a public hall held off his own premises, or premises which are neither a public-house nor a refreshment house. (2) The licensing justices at the time of granting or renewing any license, upon the production of such evidence as they shall deem sufficient to show that it is necessary or desirable for the accommodation of any considerable number of persons attending any public market, or following any lawful trade or calling, if, in the discretion of such justices, they shall think fit, may grant to any licensed victualler or keeper of a refreshment house whose place of business is in the immediate neighbourhood of such market, or of the place where the persons follow such lawful trade or calling, a license exempting him from the provisions of the Public-House Closing Act, 1864, between the (1) Hannant v. Foulger, L. R. 2 Q. B. 399; 36 L. J. M. C. 119. (2) Hannant, app., Foulger, resp., 8 B. & S. 425. |