ALLEGED PROFITEERING.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVIII, Issue 18407, 13 May 1920, Page 6

ALLEGED PROFITEERING.

HARDWARE FIRMS CHARGED. SALE OF "bFg~BEN" CLOCKS Six oases of alleged profiteering—tho first informations laid in Christchurch under the Board of Trad© Act—were called at the Magistrate's Court yesterday before Mr S. E. M'Carthy, S.M. Tho informant in each case was Georgo Hart Christie, secretary of 1 hePrices Investigation Tribunal, and tho defendants were local hardware merchants. The date of the alleged offence was May 12 in each case, and tho informations were laid in respect of sales of " Big Ben " alarm clocks to the informant at a price of 255, which was considered unreasonably high. The defendants were as follows: Drapery and Importing Company (the D. 1.0.), Hasfcie. Bull and Pickering, Ltd., A. J. Wnito, Ltd., E. Reece, Ltd., Mason, Struthors and Co., Ltd-, and G. \V. Drayton. Ltd. When the first case was called—that against the D.I.C.—Mr Donnelly, who appeared for tho Board of Trade, said that five other cases local ironmongers had been sot down for hearing. Theso were being defended by Sir John Findlay, K.C., and Mr C. P'. Skerrett, K.O. An adjournment had been, arranged in theso cases for about a fortnight—to which counsel assented —but it was desired that the adjournments should be treated as sine die ones to enable a suitable dato to be fixed for the hearing and to enahlo an information to be laid against another firm. . The Magistrate agreed to Mr Donnelly's suggestion, and the cases were accordingly adjourned sine die.