Hall marks on gold & silver plate

LICENCES. 109
the authorised standard, or if equal to it, after an assay, to place the
<strong>marks</strong> of the Goldsmiths' <strong>Hall</strong>, with the additional stamp of the
letter F, denoting its foreign origin.
A strong objection is raised to the system of placing the same
<strong>marks</strong> upon foreign standard plate as upon English, for although
the additional letter F is added, it can easily be obliterated and
passed off as English, or even if left, few people would notice it, but
look only to the lion and Queen's head the usual guarantee of
British standard plate.
One hardship in connection with the assay and stamping of
foreign plate at Goldsmiths' <strong>Hall</strong> is, that although the duty of
IS. 6d. per oz. may have been paid when imported to the Customs,
unless the person sending the plate for that purpose can produce the
certificate of its payment he will have to pay the duty over again, at
the <strong>Hall</strong>, and in many cases, where the plate had been in the owner's
possession for twenty or thirty years and could not produce proof,
he would be liable to pay it a second time.
Mr. (now Sir Walter) Prideaux, in his examination before the
Committee on Gold and Silver <strong>Hall</strong>-Marking in 1878, gave the fol-
lowing replies to the chairman on the subject of sales by
auctions :
Is a large quantity of foreign plate sold by auction at the present
time? I have heard that a good deal has been sold.
How is it that you do not put a stop to this ; you have the power,
have you not, by Act of Parliament ? No power whatever, but by
proceeding for the penalties.
That is very severe, is it not? 10 upon each article.
Supposing there were a dozen spoons, the penalty would come
to a large sum ? Yes.
Supposing that I have a set of foreign silver, and I send it to
an auction room, and I sell it by the lot and not by the ounce, does
not that get over the difficulty ? I have not had occasion maturely
to consider the question, but I should think not.
Supposing that the auctioneer is not liable by the existing law,
do not you think that he ought to be ? Certainly ; and my opinion
is that he is liable he is the seller.
With regard to licences, we may
refer to a case which was de-
cided in 1 877 in the Court of Exchequer. It was on an appeal from
the decision of a metropolitan police magistrate with reference to
the licence duty imposed by 30 & 31 Vict., c. 90, s. i. It was contended
that the weight of pure gold in a chain that had been sold
was less than two ounces, and consequently that the lower rate of
duty only was sufficient; but the Inland Revenue contended that
there was nothing as to pure gold in the statute, that the weight of
the article sold as gold must be taken as the weight which regulates
the rate of duty. The magistrate upheld the contention of the defendant
in this case, and dismissed the information; but on appeal
to the Court of Exchequer they took the view of the Revenue against
that of the magistrate, namely, that the higher duty attached to it,
and it was held that the weight of the article sold as gold is the
weight which regulates the rate of duty.