§ MR. P. O'BRIEN (Kilkenny)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland will ho explain why the imports of margarine into Ireland from English and Scotch ports are not described as margarine in the Custom House Daily Shipping List, as is done in the case of margarine imported from the Continental ports, and whether he will give the number of prosecutions for illegal sales of margarine in Dublin, Cork, Belfast, and other Irish ports during the year 1898?
§ THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR IRELAND (Mr. GERALD BALFOUR)The inquiry contained in the first part should be addressed to the President of the Board of Trade. As regards the second part, there were 35 prosecutions for illegal sales of margarine in Dublin in 1898, all of which resulted in convictions. In Cork there were two prosecutions in the same period, both of them leading to convictions, and in Belfast there were 16 prosecutions with a similar result. From returns received from 15 other Irish ports it appears that no such prosecutions took place at any of them in 1898. I may add that since the 1st January last there have been five prosecutions in Limerick, resulting in four convictions.