The Patea Mail. Established 1875. FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1883. LIGHT-WEIGHT BREAD.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1062, 20 July 1883, Page 2

The Patea Mail. Established 1875. FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1883. LIGHT-WEIGHT BREAD.

A very useful little measure has been introduced by the Hon. T. Dick, the purpose of which is to prevent the sale of bread of less than the standard weight. An Inspector may be appointed by the ‘‘local authority,” which means any Borough Council, Connty Council, or Town Board, duly constituted, and his duly shall be to inspect from time to time all bread offered for sale or in course of delivery to customers within the limits of the district for which he has been appointed ; and if he shall think fit he may weigh the bread, or cause it to be weighed by any baker or seller who offers such bread for sale, or who is in course of delivering the same to customers. The penalty for lightweight is a fine not exceeding five pounds. Clause three says that after the passing of this Act no baker or seller of bread shall make, sell, or offer for sale any bread not made up into loaves of two, four, six, or eight pounds respectively under a penalty not exceeding five pounds. Stale bread, that is bread which has been manufactured for a period of twenty-four hours, is excepted from penalty as regards weight; bat it is provided that if such loaves are found deficient, the baker or seller must make up snob deficiency by adding other bread to bring it op to the proper weight, or he will become liable to a penalty similar to the others. Clause seven states that every person who shall wilfully resist or obstruct any Inspector, appointed or acting under the provisions of the Act, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, nor less than two pounds. Nothing in the Act ip made to apply to “ fancy bread,” which is interpreted to mean “ all bread of the kind usually sold as cottage loaves, twists, French loaves ; and all small bread not exceeding in any case one pound weight.” These are the main provisions of the bill, which, if it becomes law, will do much to check an evil which prevails to a considerable extent throughout most parts of the colony.