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54
affected by the suggested Revocation could attend and be heard
thereon. The Inquiry was duly held on 3rd December and the
various interested associations and individuals gave evidence and
opinions. At the end of the year the decision of the Secretary of
State had not been received.
An application was received from Eel-pie Shops in Stratford
for the Council to make a Half-Holiday Order for Thursdays, but
no prima facie case being made out for such an Order the Council
decided to take no action.
In my Report for last year I dealt with the question of the
considerable element of doubt and misapprehension as to the
provisions of the Act, applying both to the various Orders made
by the Council and all other shops as to closing immediately preceding
and succeeding Christmas and reproduced the special
advertisement which was published dealing with the matter.
However, during the year under review the Secretary of State
issued certain permissible arrangements, and for the purposes of
record are reproduced on the following pages in toto:—
Home Office,
Whitehall, S.W.
2nd December, l'J14.
Sir,
I am directed by the Secretary of State to say that it
appeared from the numerous inquiries on the subject which were
addressed to him last winter that considerable doubt prevailed in
many quarters as to the extent to which and the manner in
which shopkeepers could avail themselves of the provisions of
Section 4 (5) of the Shops Act, 1912, during the Christmas
shopping season. He thinks, therefore, that it may be of assistance
to local authorities if he states certain arrangements which
will, in his opinion, be permissible under the Act this year, when
Christmas Day and Boxing Day (both of which, he is advised,