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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

سانيسيا

Reference

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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The Government should make it compulsory on all dealers in jewellery to exhibit in a prominent part of their establishment an official notice calling the attention of the public to the fact that all articles of jewellery manufactured locally bear the Government stamp, a facsimile of which should be reproduced on the notice.

as Maltese make should be prosecuted.

103. The local industry is now limited to small hand-made articles of gold and silver. The foreign competition of machine-made articles is so keen that our workmen before the War were reduced to a very small number, and the filigree We have interviewed several artisans, industry in particular had almost died out.

and they all agree that unless a tax of twenty-five per cent. is imposed on gold aud silver filigree work, especially on such articles as can be sold under 308., the industry of filigree work cannot be revived. We strongly recommend that such a duty be imposed.

In Malta at present gold articles of one standard only can be manu- 104. factured, whilst foreign articles of all standards are allowed to be imported. No articles of local manufacture can be sold unless stamped. Foreign articles are not subject to any mark or stamp. This anomaly is very hard to understand, and should be removed at once. We recommend that the local legal standards be of 18, 14, and 12 carats, and that all dealers in jewellery should label their goods, whether foreign or local, showing the standard.

105. We understand that in England all articles must be stamped, and recom- mend that all imported gold articles of 12 carat or over, for sale locally, be stamped in in Malta unless they have been previously stamped in England or the Colonies. This measure is most important, as in some enemy countries A Government there is no control or stamping of goods for exportation. notice showing the different marks should be put up in a conspicuous place in all dealers' establishments. We do not propose a local legal standard of 9 carats, at least we do not wish that a special stamp be introduced for articles of this standard, but as the importation of articles of that standard is allowed local manufacture should be permitted. This recommendation is made simply to remove an anomaly and not because the making of articles of such standard is likely to be a profitable industry in Malta, as all such articles are machine-made.

106. Silver articles imported in Malta may be of any standard. The better qualities are guaranteed to be from eight hundred to nine hundred milliems. There are two silver standards in Malta, viz. :---

Deniers 11, equal to 959 milliems. Deniers 11, equal to 917 milliems.

So that our artisans are forbidden to manufacture articles of a standard equal to that of the better-class imported article. We suggest that a third standard of 10 deniers, which at one time was permitted in Malta, should again be allowed. It is equal to 875 milliems. We do not recommend a lower standard, equivalent to 800 milliems, for that would be too low a silver standard and might give a bad name to the trade in Malta, which up to now has been held in some esteem by other countries.

107. The suggestions mentioned above relating to the stamping of gold articles should be made applicable to silver articles of not less than 875 milliems. As in the case of gold articles, the local manufacture of silver articles lower than the legal standard should be permitted, inasmuch as the importation of similar articles is allowed.

108. We seize this opportunity of recommending that the present old style of nomenclature of the silver standard in Malta be dropped, and that that of other countries, preferably of the United Kingdom, be adopted.

109. In order to remove other incongruities and disadvantages to local artisans we suggest :—

i. That the consul for gold and silversmiths should base his valuation of silver articles on the current London Mint price of silver, and not, as at present, on the standard price of fifty years ago.

ii. The artisan or person under whose supervision the article of gold or silver is manufactured should register his signature with the consul and be allowed to send the declaration, duly signed, and thus obtain the stamp- ing without being obliged to attend personally, which means loss of time and work and unnecessary inconvenience and consequent increase of the cost of the article.

iii. At present, besides the official legal standard which is stamped on the article, the consul places a number corresponding to the number of years

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from the time that the Government took over the stamping of gold and silver articles, very often creating confusion. Last year the number was 17, and purchasers suspected that local traders were selling 17 carat for 18 carat gold. All such numbers should be abolished.

110. If the above suggestions are adopted a revival of the jewellery industry may be confidently expected.

111. Wine. The manufacture of wine has made great strides during the last few years, and has become a promising industry in Malta and Gozo; it should receive encouragement, and all cheap Greek artificial wines should be prohibited.

At one time it was absurd that, while the manufacture of wine from raisins was practically prohibited in Malta, Greek wines, made from raisins, etc., were allowed to be imported on payment of the same duty as natural wines, and it appeared that local legislation, instead of protecting focal products, protected the foreign article. We understand that the quality imported into Malta is very often the refuse prohibited in other countries, and the consumption of which is probably forbidden in the place of origin. The importation of such wines is not only a hindrance to local production, but it has also ousted the Sicilian natural The Chamber of Commerce addressed the Government on this subject in June, 1914, enclosing a letter from local wine importers and manufacturers, and the local Government had promised to give the matter earnest attention. recommend that a total prohibition be enacted..

wines.

We

112. Gozo Cheese.-The values of the quantities exported given in the official statistics are as follows:---

1911-12. 1912-13. £4,777 £6,805

1913-14. £6,820

1914-15. 1915-16. £4,989 £2,258

The decrease noticeable in 1914-15 and 1915-16 is due to the prohibition of exportation, and also to a reduction in the number of sheep owing to the high price of fodder and to an increase in local consumption. We believe that this industry, which at one time was very flourishing, will regain its former prosperity if the exportation will be unfettered and if the Agricultural Department could devise means of standardizing quality.

113. Textiles. This industry includes two branches, sail cloth and other cotton goods.

Sail Cloth. Sail cloth used to be a speciality of Malta, and in the times of sailing vessels the demand was extensive, and it used to give employment to a large number of workmen. Even in these times, up to the outbreak of hostilities, the industry was kept up and the sales were still very extensive. Preference is given to Malta sails, inasmuch as, being manufactured by hand, and the thread being coarser, the manufactured article is much stronger than the machine-made product.

Cotton Goods. The export figures in the Customs returns are:-

1912-13. 1913-14. 1914-15. 1915-16. £12,849 £10,727 £13,070 £7,161

1911-12. £10,910

The thread used with the Maltese looms is in a small quantity manufactured in Malta and to the greater extent imported; the local thread is used for the weft and the British thread for the warp.

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114. There is no organized weaving industry, but the looms are all spread in individual houses. The women work at their looms during their spare time and when they have no other more profitable work. The cloth consists in the so- called nankeen," and in a superior quality exclusively sold to visitors, and in some rough qualities which are used by the lower classes. The latter qualities represent the bulk of this industry, so far as local consumption is concerned. With a little encouragement machinery might be introduced, and, if craft schools were to be instituted, the production in due course might suffice for the needs of the place and even allow of an increased exportation.

115. Minor Industries.—There are some minor industries which should receive encouragement, such as:—

116. Manufacture of Cement Tiles.--This industry provides the local market with the cheaper quality of tiles. Our attention has been called to the fact that the Government levies a fee of 79. per boatload of sand. We recommend that the fee be abolished, or at least that it be substantially reduced.

117. Shoemaking. The majority of this committee do not understand why ready-made shoes should have been excluded from the five per cent. ad valorem duty imposed by Ordinance No. III. of 1917. The Government should, in their

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