§ MR. WIGGIN (Staffordshire, Handsworth)asked the Secretary to the Board of Trade, Whether Her Majesty's Government, before proceeding with the Merchandize Marks Act (1862) Amendment Bill, will confer with the Governors of the Birmingham Assay Office, seeing that out of 1,156,748 watch cases marked during the last three years, Birmingham marked 651,171, London 409,788, and Chester 95,789?
§ THE SECRETARY (Baron HENRY DE WORMS) (Liverpool, East Toxteth)The Department is not unacquainted with the practice of the different assay offices, including Birmingham and Chester. It is, indeed, particularly indebted to the assay master of the Birmingham office for information recently afforded on matters affecting the assay of watch cases; and it hopes to have the opinion of the Governors of the different assay offices in giving practical effect to any new regulations for the marking of watch cases.