§ Sir F. FLANNERYasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the deputation representing the fabric glove-making trade which was received by his predecessor; whether he has been informed of the promised support to the British manufacturer and his workers given by his predecessor; whether he is aware that there are now offered for sale in this country fabric gloves exhibited in the boxes in which they are exported, but the bands (which have "Made in Germany" on them) taken off, and the fly-leaves of the boxes with the same wording removed also; whether he is aware that the gloves thus exhibited bear on themselves no mark of origin and are accepted by the British public as being made in England; and whether it is the intention of the Government to take steps, either by legislation 1274W or otherwise, to prevent this form of evasion of the Merchandise Marks Act?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANThe answer to the first two parts of the question is in the affirmative With regard to the third and fourth parts, the Merchandise Marks Act does not require all foreign goods sold in the United Kingdom to bear an indication of their origin, but only that any description applied to them shall not be false. As my predecessor informed the deputation of which my hon. Friend was a member, a Departmental Committee is at present considering the desirability of amending or extending the Merchandise Marks Act with regard to indications of origin, and I must await the Report of that Committee before introducing any legislation on the subject.