the legal profession, the magistracy and the large body of clerks to justices whose peculiar duty it is to advise the justices in Licensing Sessions. The Editor acknowledges the assistance that he has received from his son, Mr. Alexander Glen, B.A., LL.B., Barrister-at-Law. 5, ELM COURT, TEMPLE, 25th August, 1874. W. C. G. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. THE object of this little Treatise is to supply a complete work of the Laws regulating the licensing and management of Public Houses and other places of public entertainment and resort, with other cognate matters, which, having some practical acquaintance with the subject, I have been induced to prepare for the Press. The Licensing Act, 1872, being the basis of the Work, its provisions, together with the multifarious existing enactments in the previous Acts, are embodied in their proper places,—a task, owing to the defects in that Act, the complications made by amendments instead of repeals, and the many questions publicly raised during the short time it has been in operation, by no means a light one. Departing from the usual method of editing a statute,—the giving it in the order of the sections in the first part with notes, and the supplemental statutes in chronological order in another part-it appeared to me, and I had determined while the Bill was before Parliament (seeing that its provisions were not placed in their natural order, and that into most of them large portions of the earlier Acts must be incorporated), that the most convenient mode for practical use was to arrange the Work under appropriate chapters or sections, each containing all the enactments in extenso, with the notes and cases bearing upon it, and the necessary Forms, and so presenting at one view the whole law upon any branch of it. This plan, which is the one adopted, has occasioned me much additional labour and delayed the publication of the Work some weeks. The delay, however, has enabled me to give further consideration to the doubtful points arising upon certain sections of the new Act, particularly that on the construction of sections 45 and 46,* and to insert the Forms of Licences prescribed by the Home Office † (which I had the honor of revising), as well as to adapt all other Forms, of which a comprehensive body is given throughout the Work,+ to those Official Forms. Besides the facilities given by the new arrangement adopted, and the correction of the often-misleading side notes in the enactments, there are others afforded by *See pp. 48, 49. + Appendix I., pp. 290-298. See Table of the Forms, pp. xxix-xxxi. the Introductory Notes, a Table of Contents, Cases I trust that my expectations of the general usefulness of this little volume, upon which I have bestowed every possible care (some unavoidable errors must have crept in, which will no doubt be excused), will be realized by its receiving a fair share of the patronage accorded to my other works and to those of other Editors of the I should not omit to acknowledge here, that I am In conclusion, I feel bound to say that, although the it will not, upon more mature consideration than has hitherto been given to it, be found so unworkable as some persons have stated it to be,-not being amenable to the severe criticisms passed upon it; and that, if the magistrates, as they have done at the majority of Benches, will, in carrying out its provisions, read them with a desire to apply to them fairly the usual principles of construing acts of parliament, a very great improvement upon the previously existing state of things will be effected. LONDON, 26th September, 1872. G. C. O. |