THE WEISS JUDGMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13452, 31 May 1907, Page 3

THE WEISS JUDGMENT

j • Sir, There is a very widespread' fooling that the present law as to the permits:hio 1 specific gravity of our New Zealand wine*, j which has culminated in the decision of Mr. ; Justice Cooper in the Weiss appeal, neet, j | revision. As the ca«e now stand? the laws jo: nature and that of this colony arc in 'direct opposition, and the production of a ! natural and unadulterated wine in this ; country will, when wo have a good reason— like that of our last, dimmer for instance— !render both the grower and the seller of this produce of the soil subject to fine or |imprisonment and (as in the Weiss rase) to (the destruction of the business of the rej tailer. Our law prescribes that no New Zealand wines may lw retailed under a wins ! license which are of a specific gravity of over 20 per cent. In ;t poor and rainy sea!son, when the sunshine and solar heat arc lat the minimum, our grapes will be so inferior in saccharino as to produce a win® j which will meet the requirement of tho law. jln a good season it will be otherwise, and [this strength will be found to be frequently exceeded. This is no art of man, but a lavs' of nature. Again, in a given season boiho soils will produce a much richer and stronger wine than will others. Those wim» of the highest gravity aro much the mora j valuables both for .keeping and for exjioit, and all the world over command the best price. If we are to foster this industry it jis imperative that the law as it now standi | should be amended. It- may bo assumed, jas I have no doubt is the fact, that, our law with this proviso of the 20 per cent, clauso I was passed in pure ignorance. Probably jits author had heard or read of the strength of the thin wines of Franco and German?, and supposed that a higher strength would 1 indicate that adulteration . would be pro- | vented in this way. Hut experience has proved that tho very contrary,, is the (m |To make .some, of our vintages meet kgut I requirements it is necessary that I hoy should be adulterated with water ; ft eoiulU I tion of things which it is impossible to !**- lievo our Parliament over contemplated. At. present as a community wo are in thi* paradoxical position: while wo are endeavouring at our experimental farms lev footer and promote tho production of native winoi in our law courts wo are punishing in tho,most severe manner those who aro at prosent engaged in this industry in a bonafide and honest manner. This is a very strong assertion as I am aware, but. tho history of the caso reported in your columns , -shows it to bo perfectly true. As many of your readers "may not liavo* watched this case, perhaps- I,» may bo permitted to recall it. Mrs. Weiss, a widow,' in Wellington, has for a length of timo had a license as a wino seller. Several I months' since tho poiico charged her under tho_ Act with foiling wine,,, of a greater strengtH than* *20 per cent., and it waft** proved that her wino was some of it 22 per; cent., if my memory is not at fault. It was also shown that this whs tho sccoud caso against her. In defence she swore, as did ' also her assistant, that tho wino had never been tampered with in any way. . Tho grower of the wine, which ; carno from •.% vineyard near Nelson, also swore that to the best of his belief tho wine was in the same state in which ho sold it, and that it) was the pure juico of tho grape and hart not in any way been fortified or adulterated in making. Theso facts wero tacitly admit-: ted'by the prosecution and no evidence was-, attempted to be led to the contrary. As> to tho previous conviction, Mrs. Weiss gavei evidence that when at had , been proved by the police that'tho wino elio was soiling at» that time, which. came from a vignerou at Napier, was too strong she had ceased- to sell any more from his vineyard and had obtained her supplier: from tho present, quarter. There were other matters which she pleaded in mitigation, such as her having asked ' the authorities to" analyse her " wino for her, * a request that hud been 'refused, which, although adding to tho hardship in this particular case; does not touoi* the central truth which I us a well-wisher ta native industries, with a belief that the pro« duction and use of, wines are conditions ,of society to bo desired by all good citizens, do not propose to dilate on. I only wistt to call public attention to tho present very unsatisfactory and 'illogical state of the law in this particular,- with a,, hopo that something may soon bo done by our Legislature to remove from tho Statute Book a provision which tends to prevent tho growth o£ a valuable end most interesting industry, and which has caused in the case under consideration the crying injustice of tho ruin of aniinofTonsivo widow, fo£ as tho law now stands a second conviction carries with it tho-cancelling of the *. license™ , ...... VIONEBON.