CHARGES OF PROFITEERING.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2127, 13 May 1920, Page 3

CHARGES OF PROFITEERING.

Christchurch, Last. Night. Six cases of alleged profileering, the first information laid in Christchurch under the Board of Trade Act, were called at the Magistrates Court this morning, before Mr McCarthy, S.M. "The informant in each case was Mr Christie, soeretary of the Prices Investigation Tribunal, and the defendants were local hardware merchants. The date of the

alleged offences was May 12ta in each ease, and the informations ‘were laid in respect of sales of “Big Ben” alarm clocks to the informant at a price of 255, which wis considered unreasonably high. The defendants were as follow:. The Drapery and Importing Company (D.I. C.); Hastie, Bull and Pickering, Ltd.; A. J. 'White, Ltd.; E. Reece, Ltd.; Mason, St rut hers' and Co., Ltd., and G. W. Drayton, Ltd. When the first ease was called, that against the D.1.C., Mr Donnelly, who appeared for the Board of Trade, said that five other cases against local ironmongers had been set down for hearing. These were being de- . fended by Sir John Findlay, K.C., and Mr P. C. Skerrett, K.C. An ' adjournment had been arranged in these cases for about a fortnight, to which counsel assented, but it was desired that the adjournments should be treated as sine die ones, to enable a suitable date to be fixed for hearing, and enable an information ♦ to be laid against another firm. TheMagistrate agreed to Mr Donnelly’s suggestion,' and the cases accordingly were adjourned sine die.