§ MR. SETON-KARR (St. Helen's)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that large quantities of foreign-made glass bottles are received at the ports of London, Liverpool, Belfast, and Glasgow, and also at other ports in the United Kingdom, and pass into this country without any restrictions as to marks on bottles or packages; whether such importation of foreign-made goods is a violation of the principle of the Merchandise Marks Act of 1887; whether he will cause full inquiry as to such alleged importation to be made; and whether the Government will, if necessary, amend the letter or the administration of the existing law to meet the case, and prevent such unrestricted importation as aforesaid?
§ *SIR M. HICKS BEACHI have no knowledge of the number of foreign-made glass bottles imported into this country. If they are imported without any false indication of origin or other false trade description there would be no infringement of the Merchandise Marks Act. The Committee which reported in 1890 declined to recommend that the law should be so altered as to render compulsory the marking of all goods with an indication of origin.
§ MR. SETON-KARRWill the right hon. Gentleman undertake to inquire into the facts of the case as to whether these bottles are imported in large Quantities or not.
§ *SIR M. HICKS BEACHThe difficulty is this. Glass is one of the articles of which we have returns: but glass bottles are not separated in this return from other articles of glass.
§ MR. SETON-KARRI should like to ask whether he will inquire whether glass bottles, as differentiated from glass goods, are imported in bulk from foreign countries without any mark to show in what country they are manufactured, thus causing a presumption that they are manufactured in this country?
§ *SIR M. HICKS BEACHI have no doubt that is so, but I have endeavoured to explain that the law is not broken, unless they are so marked as to give a false idea of the place of their manufacture.
§ MR. SETON-KARRIn consequence of the unsatisfactory answer I have received I beg to say that this day four weeks I shall call the attention of the House to the importation of glass bottles in the manner described, and move a Resolution.