Manchester City Council Bill [Lords](By Order)

Does my hon. Friend agree that the 1871 Act watered down a previous Act? I looked up the meaning of a petty chapman and it stems from a law handed down by Edward VI in 1553. A petty chapman was a retail dealer. The King said:"““No Tinker, Peddler, or petit Chapman shall wander about from the Towne””—" in other words, that person was restricted to a particular town—"““but such as shall be licensed by two Justices of Peace.””" The earlier law was much stricter than even the 1871 law. It is about time we went back to the original 1553 law.