THE PUBLIC'S SWEET TOOTH

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2992, 1 February 1917, Page 3

THE PUBLIC'S SWEET TOOTH

BRITISH RESTRICTION 0N SWEETS

CONSUMPTION

CHOCOLATES DEARER

Time was in AVellington when there were only three or four shops devoted to the sale of sweets exclusively. Now nearly every other shop in the town specialises in tho sale of them. Some of the shops have their own sweets factory; and others depend on the imported article —English, Swiss, and American. All appear £o hold their own. It was onco considered tho thing to Iray sixpen'orth of sweets ~t° munch al the theatre. To-day, people of much the same class think little of spending Bs. or 4s. on a box of chocolates. Irj__the old days children were made happy with plain boiled lollies or barley sugar. "Conversations" and "bull's-eyes" were a treat, and chocolates a rarity. Now chocolates are the common sweet, with all the rest behind. Formerly chocolate was served up in the solid or-is "creams" —now the most delicate flavours are imported into them, all manner of nuts and nougat are coated over to make variety, and there are even to be had at a very great cost a 5 chocolate that contains half a spoonful of benedictine, cherry brandy, or oilier liqueurs. George Bernard Shaw, when he wrote "Arms and tho Man," which was familiarised to the world in musical form as "The Chocolate Soldier," did muchto direct attention to the sustaining nutriment of chocolate, and here', it is believed fs one reason for the action of the Pood Dictator. Chocolate, we Know, has been largely supplied to the troops on the Continent, and it may be that it is to conserve large quantities for the millions of troops to be employed on the extended British front m the inevitable big offensive in the spring, that the now, Controller of Food Supply in Britain recently decided that the manufacture of chocolate shall be made more costly, the price being now threopenco per ounce retail. Tho price of other sweets is twopence. Betailers are forbidden to sell or the public to purchase them after March 1. Tho order also restricted the quantity of sugar used in confectionery. The effect on the New Zealand trade cannot be gauged at present. The prohibition is a British one, but Mr. Krnnk Meadowcroft,, representative for Udburys in New Zealand, does not yet know whether the prohibition will nttect chocolates for export. He believes that England must keep up her export tr.de, for if she lets it go it may bo difficult to recover. He doesnot think that in this case the export trade will be seriously interfered with «lien asked his opinion about tho law he said he could hardly believe that it meant a total prohibition. His firm had big contracts with the British Government for plain chocolate and cocoa, but other than that'"lie- believed that the new law miglit mean restrictions on tho output of fancy chocolates, but he did not think- tho British Government would prohibit the sale of plain chocolate: which was a very valuable tood product as well as a sweet. Ho had not heard snecificallv from his principals about the prohibition referred to, but some time ago he had been advised to conserve his stocks.