NEWSPAPER COMMENT. LONDON, February 29.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 28

NEWSPAPER COMMENT. LONDON, February 29.

The Times, in commenting on tKe money market, sbates that the outstanding feature is the weakness of brewery shares Dealers have marked down prices throughout the list as a precaution, and dealings are impossible. Brewery Commercial i Trust preferred sihares fell two point 6, and deferred- shares three points. The Financial Times says that the nominal marking dtown' of values of brewery and allied stocks represents an aggregate shrinkage of £32,000,000. The Daily Telegraph declares tha-t-Mv Aequith'a bill has signed the death i warrant of the Government. The Financial News cays the impression was gaining ground this afternoon that the bill was introduced for the purpose of filling the cup for the House of Lords and to convince teetotallers that it was hopeless to think of inducing the country to agree to their views in the direction of spoliation. The number of licensed premises in England and Wales on January 1, 1906, was 124,175, made up thus: — j Full victuallers' licenses 66,426 Beerhouses -.. 31,582 Refreshment houses 886 I Off lioenses— shops, etc 14,163 Off licenses — beerhouses, etc 11,118 Total — 124,175 The number of registered clubs was 6721. Wine a-nd spirit dealers' retail licenses, 1571. During 1906 a total of 1587 licenses (1224"on" and 363 "off") were extinguished. Reference to the compensation authorities constituted under the act of 1904 were made in 2045 oaaes, with the result that 1575 renewals were refused. Compensation money was paid before the end of the year in respect of 614- of these houses, whioh were closed. Payments in 1906 for licenses referred in 1905 accounted for the extinction of 271 lioenses. The Justices in Brewster Sessions refused renewal of 168, and their deoisions were confirmed, after appeals to Quarter Sessions, witn the net tesult that 141 licensee ware aboushea. In the case of 542 licenses no application was made to the justices for renewal. The balance of the total named was made up by 17 beerhouses at Manchester, and two At Salford surrendered without compensation in consideration of alterations permitted to other premise 3. The compensation paid in respect of the 614 renewals refused in 1906 was at an average rate of £645 14s 4d per license, or £688 17s 6d for a full victualler's license, and £624 4s lOd for other licences- The payments made during 1906 in respect of the 271 lioenses which remained over for settlement from 1905 were at an average rate of £834 11s 8d per license, or £817 11 B 4d for a full victualler's license and £841 9s 3d for other licenses. Altogether in the two years, 1905-6, a total of 1069 licenses were actually extinguished by compensation, leaving still alive 996 licenses whose renewal had been refused, but in respect of which at the end of 1906 the compensation claims had not been settled. The total amount paid in compensation during 1906 was: — On account of renewals refused in 1906 £396,469 0 9 Refused in 1906 and carried over .. .: 226,172 4 0 Totri .. '. . .. tt £622,641 4 9 The number of new licenses granted in England and Wales in 1906 was 56 "on" and 211 " off" licenses.

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