HC Deb 29 November 1906 vol 166 cc307-8
MR. JOYCE (Limerick)

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the recent prosecution at Manchester of Messrs. Lonsdale and Thompson, Limited, provision dealers, for exposing for sale and marking several cases of eggs branded Pat Murphy, Castle Murphy, with a figure of a man dancing between two lines; whether he is aware that it was proved that there was no one in the egg business trading as Pat Murphy and no such place as Castle Murphy in Ireland, and that the eggs referred to were Russian produce; and whether, in view of the injury likely to result to the Irish trade by the selling of foreign produce under fictitious names, he intends to take any steps to prevent the recurrence of such action.

MR. JOSEPH A. PEASE; for Sir EDWARD STRACHEY) (Essex, Saffron Walden

Perhaps I may be allowed to answer this Question on behalf of the Board of Agriculture. The attention of the Board has been called to this case, the facts of which are correctly stated in the Question. The Board will be ready to co-operate with the Irish Department in preventing breaches of the Merchandise Marks Acts, which might prove injurious to traders in Irish agricultural produce.

MR. JOYCE

Has the firm of J. J. Lonsdale & Co., of which the hon. Member for Mid. Armagh is a distinguished member, anything to do with the convicted firm?

MR. LONSDALE (Armagh, Mid.)

I know nothing of them.

MR. JOSEPH A. PEASE

The Board of Agriculture has no knowledge as to who are or are not directors of the firm, but if the hon. Member wishes information as to who are the directors of the firm, he can obtain the information at Somerset House.