§ THE EARL OF MAYO had given Notice to draw the attention of His Majesty's Government to a case of gross negligence on the part of a Custom House official at Holyhead Harbour. The noble Earl said: My Lords, on the arrival of the mail boat from Kingstown on Friday, February 14, I saw the luggage of a passenger opened. The Custom House official examined and passed the luggage of this passenger at Holyhead. The last article to be examined was an etching, framed in glass, and the passenger warned the Custom House officer of the nature of the article, saying that it was framed in glass. These Customs House officers use, as do other Customs officers I think all over the world, a substance 33 called sawyer's chalk to mark the luggage in order that one may pass out of the gate. With this in his hand he banged the chalk against the etching, smashed the glass, and ruined the etching.
§ I will tell your Lordships what the etching portrayed, because it is rather interesting. It portrayed the entry of the troops into Courtrai during the war. There were only one hundred impressions taken of this etching, and I happened to be the owner of the etching and the passenger. This is the disagreeable part of the matter. My man of business reported this, and asked what redress I was going to get. The head of the Custom House denied all negligence. I was staying at Holyhead for some little time, because I was not well, and I used every means to find out who the man was, and his name. He was not there, and I do not think he has been there since. It is a very disagreeable thing to have to mention. This etching, which I happened to buy in an exhibition in Dublin, is excessively hard to procure now. I collect etchings, and I should have to pay a very large price to procure one like this. Ever since this incident occurred, I have had a man trying to find a similar etching all over London, and among the trade generally, but he cannot find one. One of the hundred impressions made of this etching was exhibited at Wembley.
§ I now ask His Majesty's Government what redress I am to get. I am perfectly aware that you cannot summons the Customs; you can only summons the individual who did it under what is called tort, which is negligence. I ask the Government what redress under the circumstances I am likely to get. I do not like to obtrude my personal affairs on your Lordships' House, but this was such a very gross case that I felt bound to do it. I am sorry to say this is the second occasion this has happened to me, but on the first occasion the damage was so slight that I did not like to make any trouble about it.
§ THE EARL OF CLARENDONMy Lords, in reply to my noble friend, may I say, first of all, how grateful I am to him for having written me privately to tell me exactly what it was that he was going to say this afternoon. There is, however, a little discrepancy between the version of the incident as given by my noble friend and the information which 34 I have been able to procure from the Government Department concerned. I think it is only fair that I should give the House the version of the incident as it has been stated to me by the Department. When the noble Lord arrived at Holyhead his baggage, like the baggage of all passengers, had to be examined in the usual way. The noble Earl pointed out to the Customs officer that a particular box amongst his possessions contained this valuable etching.
§ THE EARL OF CLARENDONThe information I have here is that the etching was contained in a wooden box and that the Customs officer did not ask—
§ THE EARL OF CLARENDONThe Customs officer did not ask for the box to be opened, but marked it with chalk, saying that it could be removed with the noble Earl's luggage, when the time came for removal of that and other luggage. The officer then proceeded with the examination of other passengers' baggage. Some five or ten minutes later he noticed this particular package containing the etching lying upon the floor. It rather seems that what actually happened was that some porter, or other individual in the Customs office, must have knocked the package off the place where it was lying to the floor, for when the package was picked up the Customs officer noticed a sound as of broken glass proceeding from the inside, and particularly drew the attention of the porter to that circumstance. The noble Earl has asked what compensation or redress he can get from the Government. I regret to inform him that, in view of the fact that the Customs Department disclaim all responsibility for the action on behalf of their officer, no claim can possibly be considered. I would remind the noble Earl that so far as the duties of Customs officers are concerned, they are limited entirely to the examination of the baggage of passengers, and to nothing else. The Commissioners have been unable to obtain any definite information as to how the accident occurred. They naturally would 35 desire to express their deep regret that it occurred within premises under their control, but they are fully satisfied, from such information as they have been able to procure, that the officer in question was not responsible for the accident.