The Globe. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1875.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 224, 26 February 1875, Page 2

The Globe. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1875.

At the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday afternoon, the Chairman brought before the notice of the members the fact that a number of spurious labels were being imported into the colony, and he also stated that the Provincial Government of Wellington were going to take action in the matter. .We shall be very glad if it turns out to be correct that the authorities in "Wellington can, by the aid of the law, visit the importer of these counterfeits with any punishment ; but we are afraid that such a result is too good to be true. It is well known to almost every one that there is an enormous quantity of inferior spirit foisted on the public of New Zealand, as an article turned out by firat-class and well-known distillers or brewers. This inferior production is bottled, and labelled, to imitate the genuine article, in a manner which almost invariably deceives the eye of a customer. When, however, he comes to open a bottle, and partake of its contents, he very soon finds out that the liquor in question never was sent out from the firm whose label it bears. This kind of fraud is made easy, from the fact that dishonest people can obtain in a few days in Melbourne, any quantity of labels which cannot be distinguished from those issued by well-known Eoglish firms. Sundry prosecutions have taken place, instituted by the parties whose good name has been jeopardised in one of the principal markets for their goods, by this unscrupulous imitation of their label or trade mark. These prosecutions have sometimes been successful, but the imitating trade is too profitable to be given up without very severe penalties are inflicted on the forgers. A severe sentence or two on those who send forth goods bearing fictitious and imitation brands, might have a good effect, but such a desirable event is very difficult to compass. It is extremely hard to obtain convictions in these cases, and as a rule the punishment inflicted is as nothing when compared with the profits which have arisen, perhaps through a series a years, from the practice of fraudulent imitation. We do not believe that the business of producing imitation labels is carried on in New Zealand itself; but that there are customers in this country who can procure what they want in this line from Melbourne is, of course, undeniable. These merchants, or whoever they may be, are without doubt even more culpable than those who merely produce the labels required. If it is only practicable to secure a conviction against one of these traders, and if the conviction is followed by a term of imprisonment, a check may be put on the dishonest practice we have been speaking of, for some years ; but we are afraid that it will never be possible to put an entire stop to the evil.