MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2219, 4 August 1914, Page 9

MAGISTRATE'S COURT

MILK, WATER, AND ARNOTTO. ALLEGED. MILK ADULTERATION. A oharge of adultering milk was preferred agaiiißt William Incledon, a milk vendor, before Mr. D. G. A. Cooper, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday. Tho charge, to which tlto defendant pleaded not guilty, was that ou March 13, he did sell to Walter Arch milk containing water. Mr. P..S. K. Mncassoy appeared for the Public Health Department (prosecutor) and Mr. M. Myers defended. In outlining tho faots of the case l Mr. Macassey said that on March 13, tho I defendant's employee delivered to Mr. Arch a can of.milk. A little later thcJsamo day Inspector Middleton took a/sample of the. milk . contained in the can received from Incledon. On examination the milk found to contain 23.6 per cent. of.added water. In addition it was foundithat-amotto had been added to.the milk, in order to give it a creamy appearance, The addition' of water and arnotto was a. very serious offence/;especially when it was considered that littlo babies are fed on | milk. Urirtyr Sub-eection 7 of-Section j 12 of the Aot a first offender' was liable' r to a fine'-of £50. Under Section 15, if 'the offender were found guilty, His Worship was empowered to, direct' that the. offender's name, occupation, and the nature of the offence should be Published In the newspapers throughout few Zealand. Counsel asked that this course he adopted if (the defendant wero found guilty. "It would be difficult to imagine, a worse oase than this," he concluded. Levhm Arch, said that her husband had a dairy in Mansfield Street. She recollected the inspector's visit on March 13, when ho took a 6ample of the milk from the can received from The inspector paid 3d. for the sample, and left a portion in asealed bottle with witness. s • Inspector Middleton.' gave/ cvidenoo as. to taking the samples of milk supplied by Nicledori to Arch. Inspector Cowdrey stated 'that on March 20 • he went to Incledon's dairy and found a stone jar containing liquid and an enamel mug'half full,of some other liquid. Dr.'Maclaurin,. of the Public Health Department, stated that the mug, andjar contained solutions of arnotto, a vegetable colouring .rnatter, which; when added to milk would hide the addition of water. ■;■ ■ ■ •_ .."■■ ' To Mr. Myers: The arnotto is..said to 'have no injurious effect.' Very little arnotto would colour a good deal of milk. Richard L. Andrews,. Government Analyst, stated'that he'analysed the sample of milk forwarded by Inspector .the- Department," under the direction':of Dr. Maclaurin.' Witnoss's',aiialy6is..was checked hy.Dr. Mac'lriurin, who. gave-the. certificate: on. ..which the sprosecution was based. :'-'.. • r 3?or tiny'.defence; Mr. Myers said that; theie-'Werd two/reasons why the information .should be' : dismissed. •In the ,first, : ;'place"the\ analysis': was. not carricd!,'out;by. the' person who signed the certificate of''the analysis. The Act ;coUterhplated i; that '.where an' inspector : took a samplo of.milk purchased",from tho'."person gelling, he dividc/d 'it into' three partsf-one for himself,"oho for the defendant,' and.'one for "the vendor. The vendor charged in.this case, did not receive a sample of the milk, and if •Dr.. Maclaurin did not make the analysis,., the .certificate on which the prosecution 'was based .was waste paperi •'Couhsel could inot understand why the person :whb actually made the'analysis could riotyissue the certificate.' The second point .was that •the' : 'vendbr 'himself'.should have had•'"an •opportunity to obtain a sample• of_the.milk in. order to. .have an. analysis"'taken'. This was provided by'the Act, but, the sample 'of"tho.milk' was --taken on March 13, and'it was not.'till April 25 that the defendant. Incledon was summoned The Department had two courses open to ' them—they, could have'-obtained a. sample <on the same day from Incledon or could liavc been-directed'to do. so by Arch. The whole procedure was irregular. . ; .''.', Mr. Macassey stated that Dr. Maclaurin- actually assisted with the analy-. sis, - and v was present when the. .'lest, which disclosed the added water, was inside. 'Counsel quoted a case'which' • showed that the Court had; accepted : a...certificate under circumstances identified to the preseht case. . • .■•iMr..|. Myers strongly-contended that the,certificate was issued by Dr. ,Maclaurin Upon.the statement of the' person who acteally made the .witness Andrews. ' " -"'" ; ; ' ,' : ':

His Worship reserved-dmsion:'- 1 . ". ' [Note.—Arnotto • (variously '-'spelt annattb, aniwtto, etc.), is a- small' tree,' iTnative.of Tropical America, the seeds ofe which are useful for the manufacture of dyes.] -,

POLICE BUSINESS. ...'''.. ':, Vincent Fufnis's, deemed to be, an idle and disorderly person, in that he consorted with reputed thieves and women of ill fame, was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon. He was also made the subject-of ajwohibition order; ' Matthias Ellison was fined £2, and costs 195., for using objectionable language. ~'"' ' For insobriety, .Charles W; Rogers was sent to the Roto Roa Inebriates' Home for twelve months. Susan' M'Laughlin was fined 205., and Patrick Simmott and Albert White: were fined 10s. each. ■ MAINTENANCE OASES. :■ For disobeying a maintenance' order, the prrears of which amounted to £145 lis., Robert James-Nisbet was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, wairaut to be suspended on the payment of £1 per week off the arrears. ' | : Gqbrge Hunter, charged with disobeying a maintenance order, in arrears to I the extent of £87, was sentenced to two months' imprisonment, warrant to be suspended on the payment, of 10s. per week off, the arrears. ■ George Ooufors3, who was in arrears to the extent Of £25 10s., was sentenced to a month in gaol; warrant to ho bus- , pended on the payment of ss. por week off the arrears. i ! Thomas Carswe'll, who was £13 Is. I 6d. in arrears, was sentenced to. fourteen days, in gaol; warrant .to be suspended on payment of ss. per week off, the- arrears.

TlKimas Flanagan, who was £4 in arrears, was sentenced, to seven /days' imprisonment; warrant to be suspeuded on payment of ss. per Week off tho arrears.

John Thomas Williams, who was £14 in was ■; sentenced to-fourteen days' imprisonment; warrant to bo 'suspended on the payment' of 2s. 6d. per week off the arrows. ; William Henry M'Cullough, who wag in arrears to the extent, of £13 10s., was sentenced to ..fourteen days' \mprisonment; warrfiiTf/'tb-be suspended on the payment of ss. per week off the arrears. . ' Kathleen Nornh Robertson was granted a separation order against Alexander Robertson on the grounds-of failure to provide. The defendant was ordered to pay £1 ss. per week maintenance, and costs £1 Is. Elizabeth Doyle, who had kept a child ill au unregistered house longer than seven days, was fined 10s.