POLICE COURT.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 3 April 1912, Page 3

POLICE COURT.

BUTTER-MAKER FINED

A WARNING TO EXPORTERS

Auckland, Friday

Henry Havelock Meredith, icanager of the Helensville Dairy Eactory, was prosecuted m the Police Court, before Mr F. V. Frazer, S,M., on a chargo oi having forwarded for export on 23rd February, 1G cases of butter contained more than the statutory amount of moisture. Mr Selwyn Mays for the Department, stated that on the date in question, sixteen cases of butter had been sent from Heleusvillo to the Grey Lynn branch, where, on inspection, it was found to contain 17.7 per cent of moisture, whereas the limit allowed by the Act was 10 pei cent.

The defendant admitted the charge, but said that the butter maker had made a mistake in taking the temperature of the cream in churning, a thing it was very easy to do.

His Worship stated that he could not accept that sort of carelessness as sufficient excuse. Defendant Knew what a struggle it was for New Zealand r,o hold its place in the Home market. There wero big competitions, and it was essential that those competicois should not have any advaniage by being able to eay it was not up to the standard froaa excessive moisture. Under the circumstances ho would inflict a fine that would act as a deterrent to other careless buttor-rcakers Defendant would be convicted, and fined £5 and 28s costs,

A similar prosecution was heard against John C. Rimmer, secretary of the Kaipara Co-operative Dairy CK, Ltd., who admitted that one lot of butter iutended for export had shown more thun the limit allowed of moisture, the reason bein^ that this was a lot which had escaped testing by the factory manager. He was similarly fined Jbo and costs,

OEUELTY TO ANIMALS. David Sands, cattle dealer, of Epsom, was charged at Auckland, on the information of Mr 11. Alder, inspector for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with having, on the 20th inst., conveyed from Helensvilla seven horses, six cows and a calf, in an "H " truck, which measured loft by <ft Sin, with the result that on the arrival of the consignment at Otahuhu, it was found that thiee of the horses were dead, whilst another had to be destroyed. Mr Matthews appeared for the society, and Me Mor peth for the defendant. Mr Cutten said it would, of cpuvse, be absurd to suggest that xhe defendant in this .case intended any cruelty, because, as a matter of fairt, he had sustained considerable Igsa through the occurrence ; but His Worship said that the defendant should have known that nutting- so many animals into one truck was likely to produce such results, and that was cruelty. It would be wrong for the defendant to escape conviction, and Ije would be fined £2, with £'2 (js costs.