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when the warranty is put forward as a defence. The Magistrate could then decide
whether the milk had been adulterated by the retailer, or when under the control of
the wholesale firm. The wholesale firm would take greater pains in ascertaining
whether their carmen were adulterating the milk, and on the other hand they would
not be so eager to give a warranty to tradesmen that they know are dishonest. If
the milk received at the stations is genuine, and is dispatched from the wholesale
firm's dep6ts in the same condition, and is then found to be adulterated when a
sample is taken by the Sanitary Inspector from the retailer, it is obvious that it
could only have been adulterated by one of two persons, viz.: the carman or the
retail tradesman.
The same care should be taken by the wholesale firms to deliver the milk to
the retailers as they receive it. This can only be done by taking samples more
frequently from the carmen during the course of delivery. The warranty clause
should not be made use of to evade the law by one party or the other.
The law should be amended in other directions. For instance, if the Inspector
personally tries to buy milk in the street, or in the shop, the vendor knows who he
is, and he knows that the milk is intended for analysis. The milkman immediately
declares that the article is milk and water, and he is not liable to any penalty, even
if the milk contains 50 per cent, of added water.
In cases of this kind the man is often watched to ascertain the houses where he
delivers the milk, and a sample is taken from the can that he has just delivered.
In order to obtain a conviction, it is necessary for the purchaser to give evidence,
that he thought and believed that genuine milk was being delivered to him.
Statements to this effect are often made to us, and signed by the purchaser; but
when his evidence is taken in the Court, he invariably swears that he knew that
the milk was not genuine, and that it contained added water. The Magistrate has
no alternative but to dismiss the summons, under the circumstances. If a section
was introduced into the Act, making it illegal to sell milk and water, this difficulty
would be got over.
At other times, if the milkman has been convicted on several occasions, he
refuses to sell to the Inspector. The maximum penalty which the Magistrate can
inflict is £10 for refusing to sell, and £20 for obstruction, whereas the previous fine
for adulteration may have been £50. He prefers, therefore, to refuse to sell, or to
pour the milk into the road, than run the risk of having a big fine inflicted for
selling adulterated milk.
Another defence which seems to be on the increase is the " appeal to the cow."
One dairyman in our district keeps twenty-six cows. The Inspector bought a sample
from his employee in the street. After the milk had been divided into three parts
and sealed, the Inspector demanded a sample from a second can, which he had
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