§ MR. BARRANasked the President of the Board of Trade, If he will sanction the use of glass measures of capacity made prior to the Act of 1879, which are defective to the extent of 50 minims or drops in 20 ounces for veterinary purposes, upon their being marked by the inspector accordingly; and, if not, will the Board of Trade allow compensation for loss of value; and, whether, as the glass measures used by apothecaries and retail chemists and druggists do not alter in any way by use, it may be distinctly understood that any glass measure bearing the mark of verification of an inspector appointed under this Act will be considered a legal measure in any part of the United Kingdom?
§ MR. CHAMBERLAIN,in reply, said, the Board of Trade had no power to interfere with the verification by local authorities of glass measures; but they were, by the assistance of the Pharmaceutical Society and the principal local authorities, preparing suggestions as to the scale of error which should be permitted. The Weights and Measures Act of 1878 provided that a measure duly stamped by an Inspector under the Act should be a legal measure throughout the United Kingdom, unless found to be 56 false or unjust. There had recently been a conviction in the case of a measure stamped by an Inspector; but it was quashed on appeal on the ground that the possessor was not aware that it was false or unjust.