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2. A copy of the memorandum is also being sent to the Governors-General of Canada and the Commonwealth of Australia. 3. It is understood from notices which have appeared in the press in this country that the matter is already engaging the attention of your Government. I have, &c., L. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

Enclosure. Contamination of Apples by Arsenic. A circular, a copy of which is enclosed, regarding the contamination of apples by arsenic has been issued to,the local authorities of England and Wales by the Ministry of Health. The Minister of Health has come to the conclusion that the amount of arsenical contamination found on apples from the United States of America appears recently to have been on the increase. Various provisions are contained in the laws of this country for enabling local authorities to protect the public against the sale of contaminated food, the most effective for the present purpose being those of the Public Health (Imported Food) Regulations, 1925, under which an officer of the Port Sanitary Authority may seize at the port of entry any imported food which is found tij be unfit for consumption and have it destroyed. For this purpose he would be empowered to detain a consignment pending the result of the chemical examination of a sample. The Minister, however, felt that the necessity for any such action would be averted if steps could be taken to secure that apples are reasonably free from contamination at the time of packing, and his Majesty's Ambassador at Washington has accordingly been asked to make representations to the United States Government with a view to securing, in the case of apples exported from the United States of America, that suitable precautions are taken before the fruit is packed. Ministry of Health, Whitehall S.W. 1, 21st December, 1925. Contamination of Apples by Arsenic. Sir, — I am directed by the Minister of Health to say that his attention has recently been drawn to the presence of considerable quantities of arsenic on the surface of certain imported apples. Two cases of arsenical poisoning have been traced to the consumption of imported Jonathan apples, and a number of samples of these apples which have been examined have shown various amounts of arsenic, ranging up to grain per pound. The contamination of apples by arsenic has been occasionally reported for a number of years, but the quantities of arsenic found by analysis on former occasions have generally been insignificant, and until recently no cases of illness have been traced to the consumption of such apples. The amount of arsenic is liable to be especially large in apples grown in dry foreign climates where the apples are repeatedly sprayed during growth and the rainfall is not sufficient to wash off the deposit. The Minister "understands that importers of apples from the regions concerned are taking such steps as are possible to secure the removal of the contamination from future consignments, but he desires to urge upon local authorities the necessity, especially during the next few weeks, of making full use of their powers under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, the Public Health Acts, and the Public Health (Imported Food) Regulations to protect the public by the examination of samples of apples likely to be affected, and by arranging for the withdrawal from sale of those which are found to be dangerously contaminated. I am, &c., R. B. Cross, Assistant Secretary. The Town Clerk, or the Clerk to the Council, or the Clerk to the Port Sanitary Authority.

No. 13. New Zealand, Dominions No. 81. — Downing Street, 16th February, 1926. With reference to my despatch, Dominions No. 35, of the 22nd January, I have the honour to transmit t.o Your Excellency, for the information of your Ministers, the accompanying copies of a parliamentary paper (Cmd. 2587), containing the treaty with King Feisal, signed at Bagdad on the 13th January, 1926, with an explanatory note. I have, &c., L. S. AMERY. Governor-General His Excellency General Sir C. Fergusson, Bart., LL.D., G.C.M.G., K.C.8., D.5.0., M.V.0., &c.

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