MESSRS. E. GRIFFITHS AND CO.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13993, 26 August 1909, Page 3

MESSRS. E. GRIFFITHS AND CO.

1 Mr. E. Griffiths, of E. Griffiths and Co., said Collett and" Co. were being punished for an offence committed by someone else. He pointed out that the maximum water content allowed at Home was 16 per cent., and persons importing into the tinted Kingdom butter containing a larger percentage of moisture than this were liable to prosecution.. That was how the trouble arose in New Zealand, and it would letulilv he seen that very serious tiouhle indeed might easily accrue to the dominion's trade. Continuing, he said: "If upon the arrival of butter at Home the Customs officials, after taking their samples of it as it is landed at the docks and then analysed, find that there is aft excess nf moisture above the 16 per cent, limit, then a prosecution follows. I lie importer is fined and the butter is confiscated, and the details of the prosecution are published in all the commercial papers. For example, if it was 'Such-and-Such butter it would be mentioned as New Zealand butter, 'Such-and-Such brand. Thus It immediately causes buyers of New Zealand butter to !>e rather frightened. Tn addition to this testing of butter as it is landed at the doeks\ the Customs officials appoint inspectors whose duty it is to t;o around to all the retail shops nnd net samples of butter for analysis. Generally they take with 1 heni a small boy or girl and send the child into the ■shop to buy a pound of butter. Immediately it is paid for the inspector goes in and informs the seller thiit the hutter lias been purchased for analysis. It is then divided into three parts, each being sealed ; one is handed to the shopkeeper and the other two urr retained by the officials. If the )>uttor k found to contain excessive moisture, a prosecution again follows, and the seller suffers. The brand of the butter is ncain mentioned in tlw newspapers. This practically notifies the trade that this particular brand

contains excessive moisture. It will be seen by this how far-reaching are the effects of a prosecution in regard to New Zealand butter, and bow difficult it u ill be to sell any brand winch luib boon purchased by anyone who ba^ been prosecuted in regard to it. "With regard to jebtmlaj's prosecution I think it is a very unwise tinny for the department to enforce the Ac' as it is," said Mr. Griffiths, "witliiui enforcing the intention of it This wa<> clearly to prevent the manufacture f"i export of any butter containing execssi v«» moisture. Absolutely m> «ooc whatever could accrue to the mdustrx or tbe department b\ prosecuting tinexporter. Tbose of us 111 the business know full well that moio butter with excessivo moisture content was exported last \ear than was generally known, and we know too that firms at Hoiim who received the butter did everything in their power to prevent prosecutionat Home, knowing perfectly well the ;;roat harm a provn-utloii would do tithe ]N'ev, Zealand industry. And now it seems strange that those people who have done so much for the industry and have done so much to establish and maintain the best possible name foi New Zealand butter, are now bcinji prosecuted merely because they happen to be handlers of butter containing moisture in excess of a certain limit. Atho Act at the present time stands it r so badly constructed as to permit ol these prosecutions, and should bo altered at once; or, on the other hand, if it is not deemed advisable to alter it the Department of Agriculture should 'only epforce it by prosecuting the manufacturing factories when they are the exporters. But to my mind the Act should be amended at onco, am! made so a.-, to enable the manufacturers of the butter to be held responsible for the moisture content. If the people at Horn* consider tlioy are beinn cheated by boitiH allowed .to purchase butter containing over 16 per cent, moisture, wo jn New Zealand are beiny imposed on just as much when we buy similar butter here. If the Government analyst were to analyse some of the butter sold c»o. - the counters in New Zealand ho would be amazed at tho quantity ot water they contain. The Act ought to be amended so as to penalise any factory if any of its butter was found outside its doors containing an excels of moisture."