WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 22 January 1927, Page 4

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Under the new Weights and Measures Ad and its regulations the trader who has hitherto been required to use tested scales and measures has had his obligation extended to selling in standard weights and quantities. In the past the law had no control over the method of selling goods; its .jurisdiction was limited to ensuring that the weights and measures used by traders were accurate. Under the new Act the Department has authority to insist that certain goods shall be sold by Weight or measure, without deduction from ' the quantity of the •mods to allow a margin to cover the cost of packing. At first glance it might appear that the Department has taken unto itself somewhat arbitrary powers, and that the trader should not be subject to dictation by the State as to the way in which he presents his goods to the public for sale so long as he does not misrepresent the quantity or quality of those goods, but the new Act was not framed without consultation with business interests, and the Department asserts that those consulted generally approved the proposals submitted to them. The Act, while protecting the consumer, also protects the trader from unfair competition. In recent years a practice has grown up of reducing the weight of certain commodities instead of increasing the price, and although this practice is adopted openly and the net weight is show'll on the package, it is unfair to the trader who gives full weight and charges more. It is quite conceivable that the manufacturer of a groeerv line can, by the employment of more up-to-date methods, cut his opponent 's price by a penny a pound, but it. is little reward for his enterprise if his rival is allowed to reduce his price level bv selling his product in a fifteen-ounce container. The introduction of standard weights will thus give the consumer a fair basis for comparison of prices. Manufacturers and retailers will not suffer loss on their stocks in hand at the time of the coming into force of the regulations. for from six to eighteen 'months will bo allowed before the new law is put into effect in respect, of various classes of goods, but ns the regulations become operative the public will have the assurance that a pound avoirdupois is sixteen ounces and a quart contains two pints.