RE-LABELLING FROZEN MUTTON.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1180, 15 July 1911, Page 8

RE-LABELLING FROZEN MUTTON.

AUSTRALIAN TAGGED AS NEW / ZEALAND. .The cases which tho New Zealand Government brought against tho iirm of Messrs. James Jtiall aiid Son, of Liverpool, liavo (reports a London correspondent) itll l>ee»; uisifiissed tor lues of n prima lacie case. ' Tho, allegations were, that this firm, which .tolas large 'contracts for the supply' of meat to tho vessels ot tho. Allan Jjini.', lias been in the habit of supplying Australian. mutton witii New ZiciuaiKi labels, and that tho labels woro those of the New .Zealand Refrigerating' Company, which has been dciunct ior some years.' . 'i'ho defendants-alleged thnt they had been . granted special permission by the Kow' Zealand. liel'rigcrating Company to ■use their name and brand, and they had never received-any-complaint'as to tho quality of tho mutton. A storago clerk deposed to the quantities of mutton which passed, through the stores for Messrs. Hall aiid-Kon,. biit stated.that hp could not say irbat-. the mutton was—there was no re- . cord of the origii-.. ' . A store foreman said no permanent rej cord of the stocks was k'.-pt. About the i middle of Jlarch'there were 89 New Zea- . land carcasses in tho store belonging to . ITall'?, and fifty more were added by tho tend of the'month. -During that time ho delivered 211 New. Zealand sheep, but lie : could not say. whc'.'e-tho difference came from. ■ . George. Field, a cold, store labourer, I said he assisted to take' tho tags off G2 or G3 sheep received by Hall's carter. They 1 -were, really Australian sheep, but when re-tagged they could not be distinguished J from New: Zealand. The magistrate dismissed the summons : on the ground that thero was no,prima facio case. No costs . ivero allowed. The : defendants were, however, given costs (.'£3 Hs.) on the ■ dismissal of the information for applying.a false trade mark.