CO129-365 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1910 [1-3] — Page 18

principle of papular election

15

with an unofficial majority

is more fully recognised than in the Straits) with the

object of creating a Body that will be more likely to have

a permanent policy. Such continuity can hardly be expected

of so large a Body as the Justices of the Peace, who

Some 178

number

and whose personnel is subject to frequent

changes, in whom the licensing of Public Houses and

premises under Adjunet Licences has hitherto been vested.

The object in establishing a permanent Board of Licensing

Justices is, as I explained to the Council, two-fold. On

the one hand it is desired to facilitate Public House

Reform; on the other hand it is desired to secure to the

taxpayers of the Colony the monopoly value of the Publicans

and Adjunct Licences and to prevent that public asset being

claimed as a right by the holders of the licences. The

Board as a small and compact body, with a continuing policy

of its own, may take such measures as it sees fit to

Patter

gradually give effect to this object, as for instance by

fixing a period at which any or all licences may be

determined without compensation, the more so since the

Public Houses in the Colony are for the most part in the

hands of an undesirable class of foreigners the large

majority of whom have not held Licences for longer than 2

or