§ MR. YOXALL (Nottinghamshire, W.)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the fact that the County Council of Derbyshire requires a deposit of 10s. from any person claiming to have a beer cask tested; and whether the requirement of such deposit is in accordance with the Statute, and, if not, what steps he proposes to take in the matter.
§ MR. RITCHIEMy attention has been called to the practice referred to by the hon. Member, and I have been in communication with the Derbyshire County Council on the subject. The council have informed me that they consider casks to be vessels, such as those contemplated in Section 22 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1878, and not measures used for trade. They have, however, instructed their inspectors to test the capacity of casks when asked to do so, on payment of 10s. for each day's work, not for each barrel. Such testing would not appear to be done by the inspector as part of his employment under the Weights and Measures Acts, inasmuch as the barrels are not verified and stamped as measures, and the Board of Trade have no power to deal with the matter.
§ MR. YOXALLI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the fact that certain brewers in the Nottingham and Leicester districts sell beer in casks by weight and not by measure, contrary to the law, and, if so, what steps he proposes to take in the matter.
§ MR. RITCHIENo, Sir; I am not aware that the facts are as stated, nor that the sale of beer by weight is necessarily an offence under the Weights and Measures Acts.
§ MR. YOXALLI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the Weights and Measures Act, 1878, so far as it relates to brewers' casks used as measures in the trade, is not adequately enforced; and what steps, he proposes to take in the matter.
§ MR. RITCHIEI am not aware that the law is not properly enforced. Its enforcement rests with the local authorities, and not with the Board of Trade.
§ MR. YOXALLI beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade what local authorities in England and Wales are, responsible, under the Board of Trade, for the due administration of the Weights and Measures Act, 1878; and if he will lay upon the Table of the House a list of the names of the said authorities for the various districts of England and Wales.
§ MR. RITCHIEThe local authorities in England and Wales responsible for the administration of the Weights and Measures Acts are the councils of counties and county boroughs, and the corporations of boroughs having at the time of the census of 1881 a population of not less than 10,000. I hardly think that it would serve any useful purpose to lay upon the Table a list of such counties county boroughs, and boroughs.