HC Deb 29 August 1893 vol 16 cc1440-2

Bill, as amended by the Standing Committee, considered.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (Mr. H. GARDNER, Essex, Saffron Walden)

moved the following Amendment:— Clause 2, page 1, line 15, after "(1)" insert "Every person who sells for use as food for cattle any article which has been artificially prepared shall give to the purchaser an invoice stating the name of the article and whether it has been prepared from one substance or seed, or from more than one substance or seed, and this invoice shall have effect as a warranty by the seller of the statements contained therein.

Amendment agreed to.

MR. MORE(on behalf of Mr. HENEAGE) (Shropshire, Ludlow)

moved the omission of Clause 4.

Amendment agreed to.

MR. H. GARDNER

moved the following Amendment:— Clause 6, page 4, line 4, after "analyst,'' insert "and the seller shall, on payment of a fee sanctioned by the Treasury, be entitled to have the sample analysed by the chief analyst, and to receive from him a certificate of the result of his analysis.

Amendment agreed to.

MR. MORE

moved an Amendment in Clause 7, page 4, line 23, leave out "Sub-section 1."

Amendment agreed to.

MR. H. GARDNER

moved in Clause 7, page 4, line 27, leave out "or by the Board of Agriculture."

MR. MORE

urged that the Board of Agriculture should be the prosecuting Body, and for these reasons. First, that the Report of the Departmental Committee had so recommended; secondly, that the Board of Trade, prosecuting under the Merchandise Marks Act, was a precedent; and, thirdly, that the Act would be inoperative without this power, as the farmers were too weak, and the County Councils could not be relied on to prosecute. If the Treasury objected to the retention of the Board of Agriculture as the prosecuting Body, and if from this cause the Act should prove to be inoperative, he hoped means would be taken to strengthen it.

MR. H. GARDNER

remarked that in the first instance these words, which he now moved to omit, were inserted, but the Treasury decided that it would be very undesirable that the Board of Agriculture should be the prosecuting Body, and it was necessary, therefore, to exclude the words.

Amendment agreed to.

*MR. MORE (for Mr. H. HOBHOUSE)

moved the following Amendment:— Clause 7, page 4, line 29, at end, insert "but in the case of an offence under Section 3 shall not be instituted by the person aggrieved or by an association except on a certificate by the Hoard of Agriculture that there is reasonable ground for the prosecution.

Amendment agreed to.

MR. H. GARDNER

said, this Bill was accepted by both sides of the House, it had passed the Grand Committee, and he hoped that permission would now be given for it to be read a third time.

Motion made, and Question, "That the Bill be now read the third time, "put, and agreed to.

Bill passed.