HC Deb 26 August 1909 vol 9 cc2426-8

(1) The Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland (in this Act referred to as "the Department") may, with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, make regulations providing that in cases which appear to the Department to relate to Irish agricultural or horticultural produce, or to the produce of any other Irish industry, and to affect the general interests of the country, or of a section of the community, or of a trade, the prosecution in Ireland of offences under the Merchandise Marks Act, 1887, shall be undertaken by the Department, and prescribing the conditions on which such prosecutions are to be so undertaken.

(2) All regulations made under this Section shall be laid before Parliament within three weeks after they are made if Parliament is then sitting, and if Parliament is not then sitting within three weeks after the beginning of the next Session of Parliament, and shall have effect as if enacted by this Act.

(3) Nothing in this Act shall affect the power of any person or authority to undertake prosecutions otherwise than under the said regulations.

(4) The expenses of prosecutions undertaken by the Department in pursuance of this section shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

The VICE-PRESIDENT of the DEPARTMENT of AGRICULTURE for IRE-(Mr. T. W. Russell) moved, in Section (1), after the word "Ireland" ["Lord Chancellor of Ireland "] to insert the words "and of the Board of Trade."

Mr. MOONEY

I would ask the Vice-President of the Board of Agriculture what is the meaning of this Amendment? This is purely an Irish Bill dealing with solely Irish matters which are to be decided in purely Irish courts, and I would ask what is the reason for bringing over the Board of Trade to Ireland to regulate these matters?

Mr. T. W. RUSSELL

The Board of Trade is the authority for the United Kingdom.

Mr. SEDDON

Does this Bill refer to manufactured articles being imported into Ireland, and if so, will the hon. Gentleman say whether he will see to it that so far as the importation of watches is concerned—

Mr. T. W. RUSSELL

This Bill is limited to those industries which are under the Department's Act of 1899.

Mr. T. M. HEALY

I take a great interest in the Board of Trade associating themselves with, and forcing themselves on this Irish Department, but I do not know whether the Board of Trade are aware of the absurd position in which this Department is placed by this Amendment. The section will now read: The Department of Agriculture, and so on, may with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and the Board of Trade; so what will happen when the Board of Trade quarrels with the Lord Chancellor of Ireland I cannot well imagine.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendments made: In Section (1) to leave out the words "or horticultural."

In Section (1), after the word "Irish" ["any other Irish industry"] to insert the word "rural."

Mr. T. W. RUSSELL moved, at the end of Section (3), to insert: "(4) In this section the expression 'rural industries' means the rural industries mentioned in Sub-section one of Section thirty of The Agriculture and Technical Instruction (Ireland) Act, 1890."

Mr. MOONEY

The hon. Gentleman has just left out, by a previous Amendment, the words "or horticultural." In the Act of 1899 the words were brought in under the definition Clause. The point I wish to put is that the definition Clause of the Act of 1899 includes certain words, and by the Bill before us the hon. Gentleman takes out certain words of that definition Clause. Is he not diminishing the power of the Board in doing that?

Mr. T. W. RUSSELL

This Amendment is designed to limit the power of the Department under the Bill to those special industries enumerated in the Act of 1899. Horticulture is included in that list, and therefore there is no need to repeat it.

Bill Reported with Amendment.