Illegal liquor sales in the House of Commons

This is a weird one. About the bars in the House of Commons.

One of the most annoying aspects about the very limited hours British pubs opened until recently was the situatiopn in the House of Commons. Where the bars stayed open well into the early hours. One rule for MP's and another for the rest of us. Irritating to say the least, bastards who could get a drink anytime themselves voting to limt when we could drink. I'll say it again: bastards.

But take a look at this. Those in charge of the House of Commons bar were up before the, er, bar for selling booze without a licence.

"In the King's Bench Division, before the Lord Chief-Justice, Mr. Justice Humphreys and Mr. Justice MaCNAGHTEN, on the 7th inst., the Court granted to Mr. Alan Patrick Herbert, of Hammersmith Terrace, W., a rule nisi for an order in the nature of mandamus under Section 5 of Jervis' Act, calling on Sir Rollo Graham Campbell, the Chief Magistrate, 15 members of the Kitchen Committee of the House of Commons, and Mr. Robert John Bradley, manager of the Refreshment Department of the House of Commons, to show cause why the Chief Magistrate should not hear and determine the matter of two applications for summonses by Mr. Herbert against the other respondents.

Mr. Monkton read an affidavit by Mr. Herbert, who deposed that on May 17th, 1934, counsel on his behalf applied to Mr. Fry, at Bow Street, for process against the members of the Kitchen Committee and Mr. Bradley on two informations alleging contraventions of Section 65 (1) of the Licensing (Consolidation) Act, 1910, by the unlawful sale by retail of intoxicating liquor at a refreshent room at the House of Commons on April 10th, 1934. One of the alleged unlawful sales was to Mr. Herbert himself, and the other to Mr. Victor Cazalet, M.P. On that occasion Mr. Fry said that the Chief Magistrate would like to deal with the matter himself. The application was accordingly renewed before the Chief Magistrate on May 22nd, when he intimated that, on the authority of Williamson v. Norris, he would have been prepared to grant summonses against the Kitchen Committee but for a further difficulty which he felt. That difficulty was stated by the Chief Magistrate in these words: —

Assuming for the purpose of this application that an offence may have been committed, are members of the House of Commons carrying out duties entrusted to them by the House, under the control of the House, in a way long practised and approved by the House, within the precincts of the House, amenable in this matter to the jurisdiction of this Court? Are they not protected by the privileges of the House and amenable only to the House of which they are members?

At the conclusion of counsel's argument the Chief Magistrate said that he was not satisfied that he had jurisdiction to grant the process applied for, but the matter could be raised by mandamus."
Brewers' Journal 1934, page 343.

I love the Chief Magistrate's argument: the normal laws of the land don't apply to MP's in the House of Commons. Basically that they got to try and judge themselves.

Though it sounds like entrapment. Mr Herbert grassed himself up to the authorities. It appears he only bought a drink so he could get the bar into trouble. What's the word for someone like that? I know: bastard.

Hours of Closing

Shouting at the TV is one of my hobbies. Especially, but not exclusively, if there's something on that's beer-related. The passage today reminds me of just such a throbbing temple moment.

QI was the programme. That Stephen Fry mocks the belief in myths of the contestants made it all that more galling from hiim to be talking absolute bollocks. The topic was DORA (Defence of the Realm Act). DORA was a whole bunch of draconian legislation, part of which lumbered Britain with pubs closing in the afternoon. Fry wildly incorrectly said (though I'm sure it was just a script he was reading) that DORA introduced the first pub closing times. No it effing didn't. Not even close.

Funnily enough, I remember covering pub closing times in school history. Legislation regulating the opening (and closing) times of pubs was enacted in the 19th century.

The following is taken from The Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act 1874. These opening times remained in force until WW I.



Hours of Closing.

3. Hour of closing premises licensed for sale of intoxicating liquors,.] All premises in which intoxicating liquors are sold by retail shall be closed as follows (that is to say,)

(1) If situate within the metropolitan district—

• (a) On Saturday night from midnight until one o'clock in the afternoon on the Sunday ; and
• (b) On Sunday night from eleven o'clock until five o'clock on the following morning ; and
• (c) On all other days from half-an-hour after midnight until five o'clock on the same morning; and

(2) If situate beyond the metropolitan district and in the metropolitan police district or in a town or in a populous place as defined by this Act;

• (a) On Saturday night from eleven o'clock until half- an-hour after noon on the following Sunday : and
• (b) On Sunday night from ten o'clock until six. o'clock on the following morning ; and
• (c) On the nights of all other days from eleven o'clock until six o'clock on the following morning ; and

(3) If situate elsewhere than in the metropolitan district or the metropolitan police district or such town or populous place as aforesaid,—

• (a) On Saturday night from ten o'clock until half-an-hour after noon on the following Sunday ; and
• (b) On Sunday night from ten o'clock until six o'clock on the following morning ; and
• (c) On the nights of all other days from ten o'clock until six o'clock on the following morning.

Such premises wherever situate shall, save as hereinafter mentioned, be closed on Sunday afternoon from three or half-past two according as the hour of opening shall be one o'clock in the afternoon or half-an-hour after noon until six o'clock.

Such premises wherever situate shall be closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday, and on the days preceding Christmas Day and Good Friday respectively, as if Christmas Day and Good Friday were respectively Sunday, and the preceding days were respectively Saturday, but this provision shall not alter the hours during which such premises shall be closed on Sunday when Christmas Day immediately precedes or succeeds Sunday.

"The Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act, 1872, 1874" by James Paterson, 1889, pages 148-149.


Hours of closing. That's exactly what it felt like. Hours of closing and just a few minutes of opening. Note that the crappy Sunday opening hours that were the bane of my younger years dated not from WW I but the 1870's.