§ 52. Sir WILLIAM DAVISONasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he is aware that in certain circumstances gold and silver watch-cases and gold and silver jewellery manufactured in England for sale in the Irish Free State have to be imported into the Irish Free State in the unfinished state to be Irish hall-marked, then exported to Great Britain to be finished, and re-imported for sale in the Irish Free State; and will he look into this matter?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERI have been asked to reply. The answer to both parts of the question is in the affirmative.
§ Sir W. DAVISONDoes not the right hon. Gentleman think it about time we made some representation to the Irish Free State Government to discontinue fatuous regulations as indicated in the question, especially as we find a market for 90 per cent. of their exports?
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYIn view of the Dominion status of the Irish Free State, are these questions really in order?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe questions relate to imports into this country. I do not think that there is any interference.
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERIt arises in this way. When the United Kingdom was a whole, there were three assay offices for the United Kingdom, one in London, another in Dublin and another in Edinburgh, and each of them had equally the right to assay and apply the hall mark. We in this country have always insisted on applying the British hall mark to all gold and silver, whether made here or imported. It is because the Irish Government is maintaining now that position identical with our own that the difficulty arises. If it could be possible to arrange for reciprocity on the basis that we accept each other's marks as equivalent, that might be very useful; but I am afraid it would require legislation in both countries. If we could do it by Order I should like to do it.