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67
Demerara sugar. Of this total number of samples, 37 were
taken in course of, and at the place of, delivery, by an Officer of this
Council directly, and all these samples were genuine; one was
taken otherwise by an Officer of this Council directly, and was
found to be adulterated ; the remaining 272 samples were taken
by agents employed by the Officers of this Council.
One case of somewhat particular interest occurred during the
year. A sample of milk had been purchased and was certified to
be adulterated; the vendor thereupon desired that a sample
should be taken in course of, and at the point of, delivery of the
milk to him by the wholesale firm. He at this time stated that he
had no warranty with his milk supply. The sample taken in the
course of delivery was found to be genuine. At the hearing of the
case, in June, the vendor produced a warranty dated in the April
previous, and covering the supply from which the sample was taken
and found to be adulterated. On cross examination, it turned out
that his previous statement had been quite correct, that he had no
warranty, but that on a subsequent date, in fact, after the service of
the summons, he obtained from the wholesale firm a warranty,
which, in the ordinary course of events, would have ensured his
acquittal from the offence. In this case, however, he was fined
£10 and 22s. costs. The point of interest in the matter being,
the readiness with which these warranties are apparently given by
the wholesale firm, which seems to show that these firms are fully
aware of the legal difficulties which present themselves before anyone
endeavouring to take proceedings against the warrantor, and
it further makes one wonder whether there have not been other
occasions when the warranty is produced which has exempted the
actual vendor from a penalty, and yet this warranty has been
obtained subsequent to the purchase of the sample.