THE WOOL INDUSTRY.

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12874, 18 August 1910, Page 4

THE WOOL INDUSTRY.

A FRAUDULENT PRACTICE

FALSE PACKING OF WOOL.

ISpecial to "The Colonist-.")

Christehurch', August 17

. A \\-6rA merchant writes as follows I'o "Tho Press" :—"Tho question of what is known as 'false pa'ekina' is one of great, importance in. ■fclfo wool; trade. Th>, \d\n\\ 'laisci packing,' is' npplic'a to the packing of wool (pos-: sibly through carelessness niorq often than through fraud), ill. such. a. Way that wool 6t a higher value is placed all round the biif.'sitle of a bale, or a I'tig, v.-itli infdrier wool or rubbish in the middle. The packing may then bo sampled anywhere, and its contents appear to bo good wooL A peculiarly flagrant instance .of false packing been rred in.CKH&tchVirbh a low montlis ftgoj .and tlie victims of the fraud.) a local firm of wool merchants,,, being unable to obtain redress; get llie majchiHeV.y oj the law in motion to recover damages. It was hoped that tho case might bo fought out in Court, so as to bring tho question prominently before the notice of wool.jseHers- and wool, buyers,, ami several of llie leadlttK -br<>k'oi's : bt the city were subpoeiuicd as witnesses, including the chairman of the Wool Buyer's' Association. Tho defendant,. hpwey'ei'j ..'at tho last '.moment' paid the whole siim {Tpmaudwt Irito the Court It is "not liiiprobablo that this action may bo followed.by others in flagrant cases of the same sort, for local buyers are determined tb do all they can to put an end to the fraudulent practice t jle#e referred to —a. pfa<c.tiJco • whi'cli is as dctirtniehtai to the interests of honest seller's as to those of the buyers." Seen by a "Press" representative iin reference to the statements made above, Mr Walter Hill, a'well known wool broker, said that unfortunately a good deal of false packing was in vogue throughout New moj;e or less. Ho would not say it w&s general,,but.it was \iii evidence.. The effect oh tlie inarketnf the fraud was discovered was to discount.the wool froiri the' district whence it came, but he did not think it affected the. price of New Zealand wool. Asked as td how the. frauds, fej-e perpetrated, Mr ■BtiiL-Haid thai; tliere were two or three Ways; one was to hide inferior fleeces in the middle of the bale, the pcupetrators kriowing that at a wool sale the bales were only cut open at the ends as a rule. In extremo classes of good wool thoyw era cut at thei ends arid round llie sides of the bale, so that wherever the bale was opened, it was impossible for the buyer to discover the inferior wool. .Then frequently locks and inferior pieces were rolled up inside the fleece. The re--riiedy must be legislation, giving the buyco: the right to criminally prosecute the perpetrator on the discovery of the malpractice. There had been a particularly bad.case sotriO years, ago, but Owing to the iack of evidence to prove actual knowledge oh the part of the vendor, the buyers had unfortunately been debarred from taking action. The vendor, however, had had to accept the rejection of all wool "not actually shipped, and at the same time to all the lots offered by liim, in previous sales, guaranteeing to indemnify the buyers against any loss should further lots (of which lie was the vendor) be discovered to bo falsely packed, for which purpose a sum of money equal to £2 per bale, £160 in all. was de-* posited with a trustee to meet any legitimate claims. . Howover, only one or -two claims had been made.