§ COLONEL COTTON (Cheshire, Wirral)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether definite instructions have yet been given to the officers of Her Majesty's Custom House as to the proper examination of undeveloped photographic dry-plates; whether he is aware that considerable inconvenience is caused to the owners of such plates by the absence of a properly lighted "dark-room" for the purpose; whether a second case has been brought to his notice of a valuable batch of plates from the Canary Islands having to be examined, greatly to the risk of spoiling them completely, in au old box covered with a tarpaulin; and, whether he will take care that proper accommodation for the examination of these plates be provided at the various offices of Her Majesty's Customs?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. JACKSON,) Leeds, N.The answer to the first and fourth paragraphs of the question is yes. As regards the second and third paragraphs, the Commissioners of Customs inform me that no complaint has reached them since the issue of the instructions of any inconvenience having been caused by the absence of a properly fitted "dark room"; nor are they aware of any instance in which the examination of a batch of plates from the Canary Islands occurred under the conditions mentioned in the question.