§ MR. JAMES ROWLANDSI beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the whole of the trade engaged in the manufacture of gold plate has been at a standstill since he made his Budget Statement; and whether he will consider the claim of the manufacturers to a rebate on the stocks in hand?
§ MR. GOSCHENI have received representations that the trade in gold plate has been thrown into some confusion by the proposed abolition of the duties on plate. Some inconvenience is, however, inevitable when an abolition or reduction of duty takes place as regards the articles affected. My attention has been exclusively drawn in respect of the difficulties in which manufacturers or others are placed as regards their duty-paid stocks to the case of wedding rings. As wedding rings have been for years 1082 specially exempted from a drawback on exportation, no question of rebate can arise in their case. But it may be worth considering whether an extension of the date for the duty on gold plate to come into operation would not convenience holders of duty-paid stocks.