The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1883. The Price of Bread.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1014, 1 December 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1883. The Price of Bread.

If, as appears to be likely, the com ing into force ot the new Adulteration Act will cause the bakers to raise the price of bread, people will not consider recent legislation in this direction an unmixed good. As will be seen by an advertisement in this issue the Ash bur ton bakers have given notice of their intention to charge in future sevenpence for a four pound loaf—an increase of one penny on what has been paid hitherto—and no doubt an attempt will be made to follow this example in other localities. In Timaru quite a little rumpus has sprung up amongst the purveyors of bread, and we are glad to say that the project to raise the price there has been defeated, owing to want of unanimity. At the same time we admit that the Act presses very hard upon the bakers, although when all is said nothing more is required of them than to give fair value for money received. It was of couise never lawful for a man to give false weight in selling goods of any kind, but in regard to bread there has certainly been a looseness in the manner transactions were carried on. The housewife orders a stated number of loaves, and the chances are ten to one against her testing whether she has received proper weight or not. Now, however, under this new Act, numerous safeguards are provided to prevent the possibility of fraud, and the baker is undoubtedly to be put to far more expense in carrying on his business than he was previously. He has to stamp all his loaves, which must only be made of a certain size, while i.i the matter of stale bread he must make up any deficiency in weight by adding other bread. Naturally enough, the baker considers that the consumer should pay for this extra expense, and equally naturally the consumer will condemn an Act which makes him pay more for bread without giving him any appreciable compensating advantages. Anything which conduces to raise the price of a necessary article of food is to be regretted, and for this reason we hope for the sake of the public that the Ashburton bakers will not be successful in their present movement. Sooner or later they will discover their mistake, as the demand for bakers’ bread will inevitably diminish with the rise in price, as people will prefer to make their own to buying it in too dear a market. Still, we have doubts as to the wisdom of such strict legislation In regard to one special industry, while other tradesmen are not similarly hampered. There is no reason to believe that bakers are more prone to fall into dishonest courses than other people, and some of the provisions of the Act certainly appear to be so very stringent that we can scarcely blame those most nearly affected for taking what they consider the best measures to protect themselves against loss. We question, however, whether increasing the price of bread is the wisest course, and probably ere long the bakers will find this out.