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54
vinegar, and one milk. Of the six summonses, three of the
defendants were convicted and three dismissed. The defendants
in these cases were with one exception, local dealers.
Battersea prosecuted 34 persons for false Warranties during the
5 years, of which 16 were dismissed; 1 was withdrawn by the
Council and 1 adjourned sine die; 7 were withdrawn by the Council
on the defendants paying costs only, and 9 were convicted.
Thus, during the 5 years in question, only 10 Local Authorities
out of 29 in London, ventured to prosecute for false Warranty ;
and the results obtained by these only serve to show how difficult
it is to get convictions in this class of offence, especially if the
Warrantor is not a local firm, as is generally the case where the
article warranted is milk.
Effect on the Administration of the Sale of Food
and Drugs Acts.
From a consideration of the foregoing facts, it will be readily
seen that:—
1. The Warranty defence is seriously and adversely affecting
the administration of the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts.
It has been shown that nearly 12 per cent. of the summonses
applied for under the above Acts have been dismissed, owing to
the production of a Warranty by the defendant. It is true the
Local Authority have power to prosecute Warrantors for giving
false Warranties ; but the difficulty in most of these cases in
bringing home the guilt to the Warrantor is very great. How
difficult may be seen by considering the results set out in the
table. A few Local Authorities have ventured to prosecute
Warrantors, but the amount of success has not been encouraging.
In several cases the Warrantor has produced a second Warranty
and so thrown the responsibility back a step further.