ANOTHER 'WARRANTY' CASE

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 114, 11 November 1919, Page 4

ANOTHER 'WARRANTY' CASE

DEFENCE FAILS

MILK VENDOR FINED NOMINAL

AMOUNT.

Last week the defence was made in a prosecution made- by the Public Health Department against a milk : vendor accused of selling milk below standard that the .warranty of standard given by the City Council had been relied upon, and that the milk was sold as it was received from the municipal depot. That plea succeeded, and yesterday afternoon a similar defence was raised by Messrs. Gome and Maiier, milk vendors, of Tasman-stveet, when they were charged before Mr E. Page, ■S.M., at the Magistrate's Court, with having sold milk on 31st July containing but 1.5 .per cent, of fats.Mr J. Prendeville, of the Crown Lawn Office, appeared for the prosecution, Mr. M. Myers for the defence, and Mr.-J. O'Shea, City Solicitor, on behalf of the City Council • The evidence, which was very lengthy and detailed, was to the general effect that the milk in question had been received from the depot on the morning of 31st July, and had been left in a five-gallon can on the footpath, where it remained for about half-an-hour before an employee of the defendants handled it, pouring it into two smaller cans. . Inspector Eawlins shortly afterwards took samples according to the usual procedure, and when analysed the milk was found to be very much below the standard insisted upon by the Act. Mr. M. Myers called evidence in support of the several contentions, and suggested explanations regarding the poor quality of the milk. In short these were that cans might have been placed underneath leaky taps of the storage vats in the do'pot over-ru'cM, that the uneven quality of the "milk might be accounted for by insufficient agitation or plunging, and that em-" ployees might havo interfered with the cream which had risen to the tops of cans which had stood over-night in the depot. .

Several witnesses stated that they had cause to complain that milk received from tho depot had not been up to standard, and that complaints had been made to the officials at the depot. i I', J' °'Sllea called evidence in rebuttal of tho allegation that cans containing drippings from tho leaky taps oi vats had been sent out on 31st July for it was shown that there was no 'STirplus of milk on the.night of 30thdlst July, and that, consequently, no milk was stored in the vats. Evidence was also given that the system had now been to an extent modified, and the large vats were not now used, the cans being filled direct from the coolers H was admitted that on a particularly busy morning a can containing drippings might have been sent out' by a perfectly honest mistake, ,and that"'on one occasion an employee had been seen to take his allowance of a quart of milk from the. top of a can which had been standing all night, thereby Retting very rich milk. The plunging, ifc was explained, was dons by hand, no nach,n ery being provided/but opinions differed as to what differences would from fT 10 Perce»ta,? es °f fete taken irom the large vats before plunging. MfeL? t ßrS|. '" add"»i»« tl>o Bench, refeired to the possibility of mistakes cropp „g up eveil t , ,f thß I care was exercised-the same mistakes had occurred m the past, and the City Council s scheme was not infallible. Mr Prendeville- suggested that the deficiency was most probably due to the failure of the defendants-'emXyee *•? Pj.nnffo.. and so mix the milk before dividing it between the two «£ Sd fi. fj,°" c can wT ld contain Ikh m, he oth? r Pool' milk, i The Magistrate considered that an unportant point, lay in this contention me defence raised must fail, for the reason that the milk W as not od by hJrt a V recelTed' *w it had been «le was I/" °^ l°y eB before that tW J! J B? de- Ho ""'as satisfied that, h; r, had J ef=" no dishonest intention 3 f lli° P rt m of that employee or t-h" defendants The firm had a good! renu tetipn, and -U-as pkinly careful in^ts vanous explanations hid been suggest-

SUGGESTlON^to^he^p^

+j,Ml\ t Pai e went on to say that he rend! d the Council had rendered a great service to the public m standardising the milk supply but h» *ho, ught that some improvement could be made in the handling of the milk. For'instance, it seemeS to him that some contrivance should be in th« d-.i" -^l 1f pot for the stirring of £ hand m-n nlk, hl °ther means than was !?w to> as ' d been Baid> "'ere mistJ-p T a Po"*l** of an honest "onffiT °Ver- night ~ also imS! 6 ™-1! 6 circum9t <™<*s he would th«fc O'^r®-said that'he would bring