Afraid of His Pranks

NZ Truth, Issue 1229, 20 June 1929, Page 4

Afraid of His Pranks

,-. - 7 •„.,'.' „:.-[. ■*— - .""■ iy' (From '!;N& Truth's'^Special Christchurch Representative). V ■ A FEW months ago Arthur Jkmes I nkster, a Christchurch hairdresser, '■•' A featured as the injured party m an amazing human drama, m ;. which,, as the victim ,of two young people's complicity, he was driven 7 to the i point of makingTa'n attempt on his life. More recently, Inkster filed into court to adopt another role, but, providing he behaves^ himself during the next four weeks, nothing more .is likely to be heard of it... .. • Inkster was found one night without lawful excuse on the premises of Miss Annie Ball, a shopkeeper, of 11 Cranford Street, and the woman to|d the, police that she was afraid that Inkster's molestation might result m injury to her. . Sub-inspector O'Hara informed the court that Inkster went to . Miss Ball's place whenever he had had drink. r " • Mr. Fv. D. Sargerit'.s' application that the case should be adjourned for a month was finally, agreed to by the magistrate. •niiuniiiiiimiHiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiminim

When, a publican puts across an inferior spirit m a bottle that has previously contained a popular brand and sells it as being that, brand, he profits, from the extra few shillings that represents' the differencedn the retail price Of the two commodities. On the other side of the ledger is the' customer, who suffers through not getting his moneys worth, and also the manufacturer of the genuine article whose prestige and profits are. affected by the customer becoming disgruntled and turning-' to?' some other weil-known brand. There is the "know-aU". N type of individual who claims that he can differentiate between brands of whisky by listening to the gurgle of the spirit, as it is poured into a glass or by simply smelling it. At the same time the average man knows>when a drink is pleasing to his taste and' he is not slow to turn to some other: brand when one fails to please. '■„,,' . The New Zealand Government Health . Department is just as much concerned m seeing that the public is i-etailed good spirits as it is any other form of edible or liquid sustenance. The distilleries are whole-heartedly with • .f!hem m: this respect and it is not surprising to find ,: that elaborate precautions are taken to .protect the public against: the liquor s < faker and barefaced adulterator.

not true to label. , The publican m his turn can have bis sample analysed by an independent analyst and if the two fail to agree the third sample can then be tested. Sometimes an attempt at getting within the law and still gulling the public is made as a result of the introduction of the measures or "bowsers" as they are commonly known. The- law says that" the label of a bottle must be defaced before it can be refilled. A case is on record of a licensee who has been caught time and again at dispensing bad liquor. He has adopted the subterfuge of making a faint knife scrape through bottle labels then filling them up with his own cheap importation. These bottles are hung upside down behind the bar and to all appearances are full of the particular brand that appears on the scratched label and are sold as such. The - customer never handles the bottle and cannot get close enough to examine it. With reference to beer, the standard of cleanliness and purity maintained m New Zealand beer and breweries is high and causes the authorities little concern. It is the. whisky brands that need watching and the Public Health Department is doing that to the best of its ability. j * '. '■' • ■' ■ ■