I beg to ask leave to present a Petition on behalf of the majority of the residents of Invergordon in my constituency. The Petition draws attention to the anomaly that the local licensing authority is treated quite differently from any other licensing authority, except Dumfries, in Scotland.

It showeth that the Petitioners are aggrieved by the decision of the Secretary of State for Scotland by which he refused to consent to the approval of the Licensing Court for Ross and Cromarty of the application by Mrs. Thomson, Salson Hotel, Invergordon, for a hotel licence. The Petition concludes:

Wherefore your Petitioners pray that the said Licensing Court be empowered to approve applications for hotel licences in the Cromarty Firth State Management Area to provide adequate facilities for the growing tourist traffic and also local requirements in the said area.

And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.