THE Thames Guardian AND MINING RECORD. SATURDAY, MAY 25, 1872.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 196, 25 May 1872, Page 2

THE Thames Guardian AND MINING RECORD. SATURDAY, MAY 25, 1872.

If a few of our local bakers were branded as well as their loaves,it:would not be a bad thing for the community. It is a great defect in the Millers and Bakers Act that there is no penalty for short weight, and that the circumlocutory process of prosecutions for “no brand” and “no scales and weights” has to be resorted to. We have no doubt there are honest men in the trade here as elsewhere, who would scorn to sell a loaf under weight, at the same time we know that complaints are very general that much of the bread sold at the. Thames is under weight, and that it was jn consequence of these repeated complaints that the Sub-Inspector of Police laid the informations which were recently investigated at the Police Court. There ought not only to be penalties for shortness in weight, but also-for using an inferior quality of flour, and this is a subject amongst others which may very well occupy the attention of the General Assembly next session. The adulteration of food of every description is, we fear, very common amongst tradesmen who supply the necessaries of life in all countries. It is occupying, a very great share of public attention in England, and recent reports from Dr Letheby, and other high authorities, point to a very serious state of things. We hear a great outcry here from time to

time about the publicans selling poisonous liquors, and speakers on teetotal platforms will tell us that they are killing bodies and souls by hundreds, and to some extent there is, doubtless, some truth in these statements, though wo believe the evil is exaggerated. On the other hand, we believe that a great deal of bread is sold here deleterious in quality, as well as short in weight, of which much less has been said than might very well have been brought . before the public. If a system could •be adopted of inspecting the quality of all kinds of food, whether solid or liquid, by a duly qualified health officer, in this as well as other districts, we believe the money would be well laid out. In ;a pecuniary sense, as well as in a sanitary point of view, this is a question which concerns every man, woman, and child in the place. There

are few here who are rich enough to be robbed of an ounce or tyo out each loaf, as we believeoft§Sh are, to say nothing of having musty flour introduced into, tlieir stomachs, as we also believe is fipqticrtfTy the case. We know that we have often tasted bread here, which, in would subject the vendor thereof to be nailed to the shop door by the. ears. We don’t advocate such extreme penalties in a British Colony, in this enlightened nineteenth century, nevertheless, we think, an act might be introduced next session, in reference to shortweight bread and the adulteration of food generally, which would have a most salutary effect upon the vendors of eatables and drinkables, and conduce greatly to the health and comfort of the consumers. Until such a Bill is passed, we trust the police will do all they can to bring offenders against existing enactments to justice, whether it be in the facetious form of “ not branded with the Roman letter H,” or absence of weights and scales, or in whatever other technical shape is open to them. The hard-working man with £2 a week, and family to keep, has enough to do to keep the pot boiling; and there are others not so well off, to whom the matter is one of even more serious import. It is true that we have not here the grinding poverty and misery of many of the thickly populated towns in the old countries; but, at the same time, a very large number here are only living from hand to mouth, to whom the expenditure of every penny is, or ought to be a matter of consideration, and even if this were not the case, it would be no reason why they should be cheated by those who supply their daily wants. The extent to which the evil exists is, we believe, very considerable, and many statesmen and political economists in England, who regard the health of the people as the highest law of the State, have devoted their energies to this subject for years past. In the New Zealand Legislature, amidst the grand scramble for place and pay which is pretty sure to take place next session, we hope to see some attention paid to enactments framed with a view to the public health, and to the prevention of frauds by bakers, butchers, grocers, publicans, and every class of tradesmen dealing in human food. The respectable body of them will have nothing to fear, but everything to gain, by the exposure ot their less honest brethren, and for the latter nothing has to be said, except that they richly deserve all the pains and penalties of their several offences in case of conviction. Credit is due to the police for the maimer in which they have traced out the late batch of delinquents under the Millers’ and Bakers’ Act, and got them fined. The publicity alone is worth something, and is some guarantee that they will be more careful in future. They cannot very well plead ignorance of the law after what has been said, and their customers, as well as themselves, will have had their attention drawn to the facts, and will probably exercise more vigilance than they have hitherto done in looking after their own interest. After all, it is chiefly with the people themselves that the remedy exists. We know that few people like to act as informers—it is an unpleasant position to be placed in, but still we do say that every one who buys a loaf, purporting to be of a certain weight, should see that it is so, and, in the event of its falling short, should at once communicate with the police authorities, who will probably be able to enforce the “ letter H clause,” or the scale and weight clause, until an act is brought into force which will deal more easily with a class of offenders who, we believe, very often get off “scot-free” under the present system. Not only should bakers be placed under a stringent law, but those who supply the bakers with flour should be well looked after, and we trust next session will not pass by without the present Millers’ and Bakers’ Act being very considerably amended, in the interests of all consumers of the “ staff of life.”