WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1820, 28 July 1906, Page 2

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

A LITTLE STIR AMONG TRADESPEOPLE. The activity displayed by the police during the past few days caused a large assemblage of tradespeople at the Police Court yesterday to answer charges brought against them in re* gard to having weights and measures without the official stamp thereon. Three bakers (Messrs Bimpson, Hailey and Richardson) were first taken to task, and all pleading guilty to not having stamped 2lb loaves with the figure 2 were each fined £1 and 7s costs. Then came the first of the other cases. A. Parnell was the first called on, and gave an emphatic plea of not guilty to having in his possession a weight not stamped in accordonce with the Weights and Measures Act of 1903. He was represented by Mr T. Alston Coleman, who stated that the case had been made a test one. Constable Irvin, the newlyappointed Inspector of Weights and Measures, gave evidence as to finding in Mr Parnell’s shop an unstamped weight. For the defence Mr Coleman said the Act of 1903 had remained a dead letter since it had been passed I and prior to that the Borough Council used to attend to the testing of weights and measures, the Inspector going round periodically. From the coming into operation of the Act no one had taken steps to see that it was carried out. No notice had been given, and during a portion of the time the weights and measures had been in Wellington. The Inspector then, without warning, pounced on a number of storekeepers and summonsed them. His Worship: People are supposed to know the law. Mr Coleman: Yes, but when the Act is allowed to bo dormant for years it is a hardship. Se asked why the larger firms had lot been visited. He submitted that le was entitled to have the case disnissed, and urged that the Inspector iad received no instruct ms as to the lace of deposit for the weights and leasures. His Worship said he '°uld give his decision this morning. I 'he other cases wore adjourned until I 10U.