§ LORD EUSTACE CECILasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been drawn to a statement recently made by Dr. Letheby, before the Commissioners of Sewers, to the effect that 600 half-chests of so-called Moning Congou tea, described as composed of broken down and rotten leaves of tea and other plants mixed with earthy matter and iron 960 filings, had been sold by public auction at the Commercial Sale Rooms, Mincing Lane, during the last month; and, whether, in view of a very similar sale having been made the subject of legal proceedings only last year, the right honourable Gentleman proposes to do anything towards the protection of the health and pockets of all classes of Her Majesty's subjects, both by assisting to bring the present offenders to justice as well as by redeeming the assurance given by him to the House last Session that he would give the whole subject of adulteration his best consideration, in order to bring about an improvement of the existing Law?
MR. BRUCEsaid, in reply, that in consequence of having received notice of this Question only that morning it had been impossible for him to make sufficient inquiries as to the accuracy of the statement; but, presuming the facts were accurately stated, he saw no reason against the offenders being prosecuted by the Solicitor to the Excise for a breach of the Act of George IV. with respect to the adulteration of tea. As regards the amendment of the law, he stated that the weak points in the existing statute were the insufficient penalties and the want of some person who, under all circumstances, would undertake prosecutions under the Act. The Bill introduced by the hon. Member for Birmingham on the subject considerably increased the penalties, and although he regretted that it dealt only with a portion of the defects in the present law it was clearly an improvement, and he purposed supporting it. The second and much more difficult point required further consideration.