§ DR. CAMERON (Glasgow, College)I beg to ask the Secretary of the Treasury if he would now state under what authority a violin (consigned from Paris to Mr. D. Lawrie, of Glasgow, at the Midland Grind Hotel, St. Pancras), dated 1696, and purporting to be the work of Antonius Stradivarius, of Cremona, was on the 25th March detained by the Customs Authorities at Dover; if it is true, as stated by the station master at Dover in explanation, that its detention was due to the fact that in consequence of violins, represented as the work of classic makers, having been imported, consignees of such instruments are now required to state whether the imported article is for private use or sale; and, if for sale, to prove the accuracy of the date and name of the label before the instruments are given up by the Customs; whether the fact of an old violin having passed the Customs is to 559 be taken as a Government certificate of the genuineness of its date and signature; and if the regulation is intended to protect purchasers of violins against imposition, why an exception is made in the case of violins declared to be for private use, but which may subsequently be sold?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Mr. JACKSON,) Leeds, N.The violin in question, the value of which was declared to be £80, was imported from France, and was found upon examination to be marked "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Facie bat, Anno 1696," and was detained under Sections 3 (Sub-section 1b) and 16 (Sub-section 1) of the Merchandise Marks Act, 1887. The violin was at once delivered on the facts being reported to the Board, although the value was declared at £80, and not £800, as stated in the hon. Member's former question. The fact of any violin having passed the Customs is no guarantee of the accuracy of the description which it may bear, the action of the Department, in the absence of specific information, being confined to inscriptions obviously misleading. It is assumed in the case of a violin imported for private use that the purchaser has satisfied himself as to the genuine character or otherwise of the article; but should it subsequently become an object of trade after passing the Customs, if it infringes the provisions of the Act, the person selling it would be liable to the penalties involved.