ON PAWNBROKERS (IRELAND).
2g legally to come at what the goods sold for, not having the auction-book pro-Mr.
perly kept, and neither the auctioneer nor the pawnbroker showing the person the J-W.
E.
Haynes.
amount of overplus coming; and I consider that it would be a great improve-ment if the sale was conducted by a specially licensed auctioneer for that pur-24 May 1838.
pose, and a sale-book kept in proper form, thus; the pledging number, the name of the pledger, the description of goods, the amount of money lent, the interest, the total, what the goods sold for, and another column showing the overplus ; that this book should be kept by the auctioneer himself, and that he should be under a penalty for not producing it to the pawner upon his pro¬ ducing a ticket in which those goods were entered; I think there should be inspectors appointed to see after not only the auctioneers but the pawnbrokers in Ireland; I think the auctioneer, after paying the pawnbroker the principal and interest calculated on each article, should lodge the overplus in the bank to the credit of the inspector of the district for the benefit of the owner; because, if the pawnbroker gets his money and his interest, it is all he originally bargained for in his dealing with the poor person, and it would be right that the overplus should be lodged for the owner in an available manner; that the auctioneer should return to the inspector, within 10 days after each sale, an exact account of the goods sold, the date of the sale, the original entry, the sum lent, the interest due at the time of the sale, the total due, the amount produced by the sale and the overplus on each, with the amount of total overplus lodged; that the auctioneer should give the pawner, upon application and payment of Id, a certificate entitling him to receive his overplus ; that in case the inspector does not reside in the town, the auctioneer should pay the overplus, upon a premium of Id.
to the shilling, the same as pensioners' bills are discounted; if the over¬ plus is not claimed within a certain time after the date of the sale, then it should be forfeited to the Load Fund Board or any other charitable board; at present the overplus is forfeited if it is not claimed in three years, and the pawnbroker keeps it; then pawnbrokers to produce their books upon demand before magistrates and inspectors; pawnbrokers, upon gross breach of the statute, to be disqualified, and power of appeal given to the judge of assize, and his deci¬ sion to be final; by that means, when pawnbrokers knew they were liable to lose their license, they would be more cautious to act honestly.
Though there are very respectable men among them, there are some of them not so ; I think that, so far, what relates to the overplus is the principal thing.
4,57.
Do you think there is any improvement required with respect to notice of sale to persons that have pawned goods ?—I
think the notice of sale is a hardship, not only upon the pawnbrokers, but in some measure upon the poor people, because they are charged for them though not served.
458.
But if the notice of sale was given upon application, would not that prac¬ tically remove the objection ?—I
am afraid it would not, because, if a dozen or 20 persons come in, and their goods were, some of them, 15 months, and some 12 months, and some 13 months, the pawnbroker may put down upon the back of the ticket that he would sell them upon the 21st of June, and he might not be enabled to sell a particular article, either from want of buyers, or some other wTant, upon the 21st of June ; and he might subject himself to penalties for what he did not intend to be an evasion of the statute.
I think it would be a hardship upon the pawnbrokers.
459.
Mr.
Hutton.]
Do you recommend, that, instead of these precautions, the pawnbroker should never receive any portion of the profits of the pawned goods, when sold, except as much as would cover his advance, and interest upon it.
?—
And all expenses attending the sale of the pledge.
460.
And that the rest should be lodged in other hands?—Yes,
for the benefit of the pawner.
461.
Mr.
Roche.]
As regards giving notice, might not the pawnbroker be em¬ barrassed by the habit of giving in fictitious names ?—Yes,
he might, and it would be a great relief to pawnbrokers, if the notice were confined to ringing a bell at Ms door, and putting up a bill, saying, that he was to have an auction upon a certain day of all pawns from No.
1 to No, 2,000, then a person would only have to inspect his ticket, and see whether his number came between No.
1 and No.
2,000; if it was outside, there would be no danger of selling his pawn, and if it was inside, he would have to pay interest.
462.
What would be the interest, at your establishment, upon a loan of 20s, for six months ?—It
would be 2 s.
0.88.
d 3 '463.
And
