IMPORTANT BUTTER CASE,

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13691, 6 March 1908, Page 6

IMPORTANT BUTTER CASE,

A QUESTION OF MARKS,

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

London*. January 24. At Croydon Police Court on Saturday James Price, of Sydenham Road, appeared in answer to 11 summonses charging him with unlawfully selling to the Croydon Board of Guardians casks of butter to which a trade mark was falsely applied within the meaning of the Merchandise Marks Act, 1887, such trade mark being the trade mark of the Danish Butter Producers' Company, duly registered. Mr. Macmorran, K.G., and Mr. Bonsey appeared for the prosecution, instructed by the solicitors to the Danish Government; Mr. George Elliott defended.

Sir. Maemorran said that iu September last Hie defendant entered into it contract, with the guardians of the Croydon Union for the supply of goods, including Danish butter at In per lb. Some casks were supplied. One, of tlio officers, being rather doubtful as to whether the butter was Danish, telephoned to the defendant telling him that all subsequent deliveries must bo in casks with the staves bearing the Danish butter brand. The Danish Government had registered in this country a trade mark. Every cask was mado in a certain way, and on the butter itself was a label bearing the mark, which could not lie taken off without, disturbing the butter. It was now contrary to the law of Denmark to export; any butter not so marked, and it was also marked with the number of the dairy from which it came. Furthermore, the exporter put oji the top of tho casks shipping numbers, which as far as possible enabled tho very casks to be identified.

Mr. Fftgan, the workhouse infirmary steward, said the casks came marked " Best selected dairy butter* XXX brand." There was, however, nothing to show that they camo from Denmark. In the delivery note and invoice the butter was described as ''1111b Dan. bid,tor."

Mr. Harold Fa her, Agricultural Commissioner to the Danish Government, in reply to Mr. George Elliott., said it. was a fact that Denmark imported largo quantities of Siberian butter. It was not imported for the purpose of sending it to England in Dai nil casks, A dairy received a certain numnur of marked staves, and for every two it received it could export lewt. of butter. The quantity of milk received by the dairy was recorded in a book, and if it exported Siberian butter in Danish casks the number of staves used, which were officially supplied, and for which they had to account, would bo in excess of the mimbemaccounfcd for by the quantity of butter produced by the dairy. It. was not customary to send the marked staves back to Dei; nark from this country. Tile defendant pleaded guilty to two technical offences, whereupon the prosecution withdrew nil imputations of fraud and the other summonses. For the two technical offences the defendant was fined £10 on each summons, £20 in all, and '•"/ t id to pay the cfcits of the prosecutio- _ ' , / ■: ,71 '