300 FRAUDULENT COMPETITION 



that Act in order that a proper distinction might be maintained 

 as regards excess of water between factory and farmhouse butter. 

 7. It will be remembered that during several years previously 

 to the passing of the Butter Act in 1907, many efforts were made 

 to pass legislation through Parliament fixing a limit for water 

 in all butter. All these attempts failed. This Bill now proposes 

 to give power to a Government Department to do by regulation 

 what Parliament refused to do by legislation. 



AN OFFICIAL INQUIBY. 



8. Your Committee consider that the time has arrived when 

 the general question of how best to prevent fraudulent sales 

 should be thoroughly investigated by the Government, with a 

 view to more general legislation than at present exists, and to 

 the consolidation of existing Acts. 



CHRIS. MIDDLETON, Chairman, 



21th November, 1913. 



Sale of Milk Regulations. 



Sec. 4 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1899, empowered 

 the Board of Agriculture to make regulations determining 

 what deficiency in any of the normal constituents of milk, 

 cream, butter or cheese, or what addition of extraneous 

 matter or water shall for the purposes of that Act raise a 

 presumption that the articles are not genuine or are injurious 

 to health. In January, 1900, therefore, Mr. Walter Long 

 appointed a Departmental Committee to report what regu- 

 lations, if any, should be made by the Board for determining 

 what should be the quality of milk or cream. It was a good 

 Committee, and Mr. R. H. Rew acted as its Secretary. Mr. 

 C. Middleton was sent by the Council to give evidence on 

 their behalf. They issued their report in Januaiy, 1901. 

 recommending that a presumptive limit should be set up r 

 viz., 12 per cent, of total milk solids, with 3-25 of butter fat, 

 and that if any milk fell below these limits it might be pre- 

 sumed to be adulterated. The Council considered this report 

 in April, 1901, and as they had so long recommended that a 

 standard of 3 per cent, fat, with 12 per cent, total solids 

 should be fixed, they, of course, approved this report of the 

 Departmental Committee. On 5th August, 1901, the Board 

 issued their Milk Regulations prescribing separate limits of 

 3 per cent, fat and 8.5 per cent, of solids other than fat ; 



