FALSE PACKING OF WOOL.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12593, 8 September 1906, Page 3

FALSE PACKING OF WOOL.

EXDAXOERLXG A SHIP'S SAFETY i

Before the ?loyal Cammiesion. ywterday Mr William Niobolb gave sotne particulars of a particularly glaring case of false packing of wool that had occurred two years ago. Hβ had purchased a line of "fleece" wool in Chrietchuroh, and as the ship was in a hurry ho sent the wool to Lyttelton without seeing it. Ho also purchased a quantity of "pieces,"' and scut the lot down to port. The invoices came to hand, hut tin , weight* sot down in them revisiic! a puzzling difference as eomjiisrt'ii with what he had been expecting. Hi. , »t once wont down to Lyttelton to iiwpoet the wool. On examination he found tlio ends of tho ba-ks perfectly good, but when they wen> opened out tin- centre was lcuimL to eon>ist only of '<!;•£>." The ; 'dag«s v ' were just getting h'}t- and Mr Xicholls was pesitive that if that wool had gone to London it would have caused a fire on. the voyage. In reply to the Commissioners, who oxprfrisod astonishment at this evidence, 31 r Kit hills remarked that •"hoijJ .sellers ioinetimes did peculiar things to get a living."' He agreed that a prosecution ought to have followed, but eaid that it was very difficult to y,t'X a conviction in such a case. Dr. .'.k-Arthur .suggrsted that the prosecution wr.ulH have acted as a wholesome warning to others even if a coin-id ion had not bc-cn obtained. Continuing. Mr Xicholis stated that the Wool L'uyvts' Association took the matter up. but very little of it found its way into tin* papers. Mr Foster: Did the papers hear much r.bout it? Mr Nicholls: Xo, T think they published all they knpw. The offender's name was not printed. Mr For-tvr: Did the newspapers know hi* name:' Mr Xic'nolN: Xo. T don't think ro. Continuing. Mr Xieholls said that the seller of this fnl-cly packed wool blamed his men, and ;is he was a young man thfl Association did not care to go further. It was a!i-o said flint the buyer had no claim on the seller if he rejected the wool before lie had paid for it. At any rate, that was the way it was put to t-liom. Dr. McArthur: That- is not good law. It is a fraud to falsely pack wcol and offer it for sale. After some more conversation with, witness on the case, the Commissioners proceeded to examine liini on other matters.