§ Mr. KILBRIDEasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the number of prosecutions which have 1582 been instituted and the number of convictions obtained by the Board for the fraudulent substitution and sale of margarine for butter during the 12 months ending 31st December, 1908?
Whether the Secretary of State for the Home Department could state the number of prosecutions which have been instituted and the number of convictions obtained by his Department for the fraudulent substitution and sale of margarine for butter during the 12 months ending 31st December, 1908?
Whether the President of the Local Government Board could state the number of prosecutions which have been instituted and the number of convictions obtained by the Board for the fraudulent substitution and sale of margarine for butter during the 12 months ending 31st December, 1908?
And whether the hon. Member for South Somerset, as representing the President of the Board of Agriculture, could state the number of prosecutions which have been instituted and the number of convictions obtained by the Board for the fraudulent substitution and sale of margarine for butter during the 12 months ending 31st December, 1908?
§ The PRESIDENT of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr John Burns)Perhaps I may be allowed to answer these questions. None of the Departments referred to have instituted prosecutions of the kind mentioned. The matter would not come within the province of the Home Office or the Board of Trade, and the Local Government Board or the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries could only act if they were of opinion that a particular local authority had failed to execute or enforce the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts in relation to butter, and that their failure affected the general interest of the consumer or the general interest of agriculture in the United Kingdom, as the case may be. I may add that Returns are received by the Local Government Board showing the number of samples of butter examined by the public analysts, and the number of cases in which proceedings are taken by the local authorities where the butter is found not to be genuine. The Returns for 1908, however, are not at present complete.
§ Mr. KILBRIDEDoes not the Report of the right hon. Gentleman's own Department contain a paragraph to the effect that the legislation of the past two years dealing with margarine has not succeeded in stopping fraud?
§ Mr. FLYNNIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Butter and Margarine Act of two years ago is largely inoperative because of the reluctance or inactivity of the various Departments in this country?