Hall marks on gold & silver plate

io8 HALL MARKS ON PLATE.
A.D. i8;o. 33 & 34 Victoria, c. 32, s. 4. This provides that
after July 6, 1870, it should not be necessary
to take out a licence as a dealer in plate.
Repealed, except Sections i, 4, and 5.
for makers of watches
A.D. 1876. 39 & 40 Victoria, c. 35. Section 2 enacts that all
gold and silver plate imported from foreign parts should be sent to
an Assay Office in the United Kingdom to be assayed and stamped,
and that such plate should be marked in addition to the <strong>marks</strong> used
at such Assay Office, with <strong>marks</strong> of the letter F in an oval escutcheon.
This mark continued to be used on foreign plate until 1904,
when the Act of 4 Edward VII, c. 6, was passed.
This Act made it compulsory en gold and silver smiths, etc.,
to have all foreign plate assayed at the <strong>Hall</strong>, and if not of the standard
allowed by law, shall be dealt with in every respect as made
in the United Kingdom, the sale or exchange of such foreign plate
being prohibited unless so assayed. Upon pain that every such gold
or silver smith, etc., shall forfeit and pay the sum of ten pounds for
every offence, and in default of payment shall be committed by the
Court to the House of Correction, and kept to hard labour for any
time not exceeding six months, or until payment be made of the said
forfeiture.
This important addition to our hall-<strong>marks</strong> with regard to
foreign silver was rendered necessary in consequence of the quantity
of spurious silver from abroad which had found its way into this
country, and notwithstanding an Act had been passed in 1841 prohibiting
its sale unless of the proper standard, no notice had been
taken until 1875, when procedings were instituted by the Goldsmiths'
Company to recover penalties. In this respect the English Government
tardily followed the example of the French, who for more than
a hundred years had ordered all such silver from foreign parts to
have a separate mark of E (etrange).
The opportunities of importing plate without having it assayed
and marked at Goldsmiths' <strong>Hall</strong> are extremely easy, and no steps
are taken by the Customs when it arrives in this country to test its
quality. The officer takes the duty of is. 6d. per oz. on whatever
stuff it may be, if it bears any resemblance to silver, and it is released
without any mark being placed upon it. Although the traffic
in unmarked plate is prohibited by law, the Customs take no cognisance
of the prohibition, and are not in co-operation with the
department who have the control of the standard, and whose duty it
is to detect this base silver, and who would break it up when below