Criminal Law Additions and Alterations
| Published date | 01 January 1965 |
| Date | 01 January 1965 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201836502900109 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Criminal
Law Additions
and
Alterations
THE
REFRESHMENT HOUSES ACT, 1964
THE Refreshment Houses Act, 1860 (as amended) provides
that
no person may keep open ahouse, etc., for public
refreshment, resort
and
entertainment between 10 p.m.
and
5 a.m. without alicence
under
the Act.
This
provision does
not
apply to premises which are licensed for
the
sale of beer,
cider, wine or spirits.
The
licensing authorities are
County
and
County
Borough Councils.
The
purpose of
the
new Act (which is to come into force
on
rst
April, 1965) is to
amend
the
provisions of
the
1860 Act
so as to control
the
activities of a small
number
of places
commonly known as
"near-beer"
establishments or "clip
joints".
At these establishments non-alcoholic drinks are sold
at exorbitant prices to persons who have been enticed in with
vague promises of sophisticated entertainment.
The
record
known case is where three foreign visitors to
London
spent
fifteen minutes in a near-beer establishment
and
having
consumed nothing
but
fruit juice, were faced with a bill for
£27.
There
are about 1800 refreshment houses in
London
alone, of which
about
40 are "near-beers".
Under
the
1860 Act there was no power to attach con-
ditions to a licence.
That
situation is now remedied although
it is
not
thought
that
the
need to impose conditions will arise
generally because, so far as is known, all
the
"near-beers"
are
situated in a small area of
the
West
End
of London.
Restriction on imposing conditions
Section I(3) of the Act provides
that
conditions may be
attached only in a case where it appears to
the
licensing
authority desirable in order to ensure
that
persons frequenting
the
refreshment house are
not
misled as to
the
nature
or cost
of
the
entertainment provided.
60
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