FAIR JUDGING.

Patea Mail, 9 November 1880, Page 4

FAIR JUDGING.

Sir, —As a rule every body cannot bo a prize winner at our shows ; but still you will find some that have good reasons for finding fault with the decision of the judges. I will state my grievances as briefly as possible for the purpo-o of letting I lie public judge my case. In the first place, Mr Currie was kind enough to offer a prize for the best sample of cordials, which I competed tor by showing some seven different kinds, including ging(r wine, lime juice, orange bitters &c, also a variety of aerated waters, eleven in all ; whilst my opponent only exhibited syrups and the same number of waters, wbicb I consider was very far short of the class of exhibits required to take the prize. But thinking the judges would go by the catalogue, and not by the great display of articles that were not mentioned, I thought po-sibly (hero would he a chance for me, but seeing that the judges, Messrs Colitis and Foreman, had been tasting bacon, cheese, butter &c for about two hours, 1 naturally came to the conclusion that their taste would be out of sor’s, and that some other judges would decide the merits of cordials, but to my astonishment tlu.y soon pul the finish on our class by awarding first prize to my opponent.

I would like to know if it was the patent bottle and the white and frold stand

that tO'«k their fancy in place of the contents, as I did n »t go in for outside appearance. As far as the judges are concerned they said they T were there to judge every thing that came before them ; so that if I had exhibited the best of English goods, I should have come off the same on account of the displa)”. Furthermore the committee allowed the pub'io to help themselves to my wares, so that when the time came for me to remove them, I discovered that not a single bottle was to bo seen besides breaking and losing some two dozen lemonade bottles. I would re. commend for future that some D.Q.M.P. should ho appointed to judge our line of goods, as they are more comp'-tant to deal with chemicals than the above named judges. By inserting this you will oblige James Lett. Patea, November sth.