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9
But Sub-Section 6 of Section 20 provides that every person
who, in respect of an article of food or drug sold by him as
principal or agent, gives to the purchaser a false warranty in
writing, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £20, etc., unless he
proves to the satisfaction of the Court that when he gave the warranty
he had reason to believe that the statements or descriptions therein
contained were true.
Probably all the trouble has arisen from the last few lines of
this Section, which I have italicised. No official experience is
needed to be able to see at a glance that properly managed the
manufacture of warranty defences is a very easy matter. A far
easier matter than the payment of even a small fine would be.
The method of procedure is that, on any retailer of milk, who
"knows the ropes," heing summoned, he at once gives notice of
this warranty defence. The warranty is of course produced in
Court, and the summons is dismissed.
Proceedings can then be taken against the person giving the
warranty, and all he has to do to defeat the prosecution is to go
into the witness box and say that when the warranty was given he
had reason to believe that the statements or descriptions therein
contained were true. No one is in a position to contradict it.
Under these circumstances it is easily understood that since this
so-called amending Act of 1899 came into force the proper
administration of the Acts has been rendered more difficult by the
possibilities afforded to offenders by these warranty sections for
evading the law. The extent to which this defence is being taken
advantage of may be gathered from the fact that, whilst in any
previous year only about 2 per cent. of our milk summonses have
been dismissed on this ground, the percentage of such dismissed
cases in the present year has increased to over 13 per cent. of the
prosecutions taken in respect of the sale of milk.
The whole question has been so admirably dealt with by Dr.
Louis C. Parkes, the Medical Officer of Health to the Borough of
Chelsea, that 1 have ventured to quote from Dr. Parkes' report.
Inter alia he says:—