§ MR. H. T. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN (Kent, Faversham)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that consignments of fresh foreign fruit are constantly made in this country, packed in English packages, with the names of English salesmen upon them, and sold as English fruit; that the Board of Customs having been applied to to detain such consignments, under the 16th clause of the Merchandise Marks Act, 1887, declined to do so, on the ground that the requirement under thatsection—
That the name of a trader in the United Kingdom should be accompanied by a definite indication of the country of manufacture,applies only when such name is borne on goods of foreign manufacture, and not to raw produce such as fruit; and whether, having regard to the fact that the word "goods" in the said Act is defined by Section 3 to meanAnything which is the subject of trade, manufacture, or merchandise,he will ascertain if this decision, was in accordance with the existing law; and if it is, whether he will take steps, by amending the Merchandise Marks Act of 1887, or otherwise, so as to bring transactions such as these within its scope?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE (Sir M. HICKS BEACH, Bristol, W.)No, Sir; I was not aware of the facts alleged in the question, but having consulted the Commissioners of Customs, I am informed: "(1) That fruit imported into this country packed in a particular manner or in a particular shape would not be amenable to the Merchandise Marks Act merely on account of the 162 mode of packing or the shape of package; (2) that mere address marks on outer packages are not treated as coming within the operation of the Act; and (3) that the requirement under Section 16 of the Merchandise Marks Act, 1887, that the name of a dealer in the United Kingdom should be accompanied by a definite indication of the country in which the goods were made or produced applies only where such name is borne on articles of foreign manufacture, and not when it is borne on packages of raw produce such as fresh fruit. But in any cases where the name of a dealer in this country on the package was not a mere address mark, but could be held to give a British character to the fruit, the fruit could be dealt with under Section 3 of the Act." Under these circumstances, I do not think it is necessary to propose any amendment of the existing law.