A CORRECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 109, 7 June 1909, Page 4

A CORRECTION.

To the Editor. Sir.-In your report of the discussion on the c|iH'slion of excessive moisture in butter at the annual meeting of the Cliaiuber of Commerce, 1 am reported as having stilled that occasional .samples were "1101" taken or tested regularly; wherea.,, what I did say was ([..He the opposite. In reply (~ a query bv Mr. Johns. I slated that 1 believed 'all .butter was tested for moisture at (he Moturoa works by the (iovernment Analyst, Mr. barkin. At the same time, I could not say whether every, or only occasional .■.ample,, were tested, and that 1 understood that much of the excessive moisture this season was attributed to the recent introduction of the combin.Ml churn and butler-worker, lie inserting lhi s correction von will oblige—l am" etc., STANLEY W. SHAW. [We owe an apology to Mr. Shaw for making the error, 'which was apparent from the context of the para-graph.-Ed.]

A COURT CASE.

To the Editor. Sr.i—ln a recent newspaper report regarding the Magistrate's Court held at Opunake oil 27th May these words ajipiar: ■'The Magistrate said that no doubt the affair was a trivial one." Now, I certainly fail to see where the triviality comes in. Three Europeans are charged with stealing ten watermelon,: from a .Maori's garden. The crime is admitted. Here 1 must call attention to the number of these melons, the selling value of which would be from one shilling to eighteenpence each. Thce woubl be worth at least half a sovereign. Had this value been in the shape of coin of the realm, a pair of trousers, oi a watch, fowls, two calves, or a sheep lall these can be bought for the staled sunn, would the theft have been a trivial matter! Surely the .Maori has a right to the fruit for his own consumption or sale, and the privacy of his grounds respected. Me might'also rccuiirc them for a sick wife, who desired the fruit oil her deathbed—a cas: thai actually occurred, told me bv her husband a few weeks ago. when a'similar theft took idace. A trivial matter, don't die,- ! i ' n a minute manner the .Magistrate absolves himself by telling the culprits they-were technically guilty of theft (why only technically!), and that his opinion of tlrem is s'o poor that had not they .been caught in the act of taking the melons, nothing would have been said about them. A 'line of 5s each, about half the value of the articles stolen, is indicted as "a deterrent lo others"! —I am, etc., ' IIA! HA!