PRICE AND COUNT OF FRUIT

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 290, 5 September 1942, Page 6

PRICE AND COUNT OF FRUIT

Retailers’ Difficulty

COUNSEL’S STATEMENT TO

COURT

Dominion Special Service.

.MASTERTON, September 4.

Stating that apparently the department concerned did not realize the position, Mr. Lnwry, S.M., adjourned charges relating to the display of price and count of oranges in the Masterton Magistrate’s Court yesterday. H. On Hing and L. Wong were charged by the Inspector of Factories with exposing oranges for sale on June 19 without u ticket giving particulars of the count. Charges relating to the retail price were preferred against J. W. Louis and J. K. LoMis. Mr. V. E. Burridge appeared for On Hing, and the other defendants were represented by Mr. J. Maefarlane Laing. Mr. Burridge said that should the prosecution succeed, it would amount to victimization of .retail fruiterers throughout New Zealand. No effort was made to grade NOW' Zealand oranges, said Mr. Burridge. He exhibited oranges of greatly differing sizes taken from the same case, and said that if the defendant displayed a card with the count mnrked on the case of either the smaller or the larger of these oranges, he was then misleading the public afid would be committing an offence against another part of the regulations. He had been informed by two fruiterers that the count • marked on the cases of New Zealand oranges was not accurate, as tlie contents might 'be more or less. The only remedy lay in the cafeftil grading of oranges. Air. Laing said that the same arguments applied to 'jrice. There was no official label on the cases, the count simply 'being marked on in blue pencil. The Marlfeting Department did net handle the fruit, and the position waa ludicrous. The magistrate granted an adjournmen of four weeks, and said that the matter should meanwhile be referred back to the department concerned, as apparently the 'position had not been realized by it.