OUE SEA FISHERIES. 239 



legalized size and good quality, elsewhere ; and, 

 although he paid a high price, he obtained what he 

 wished in Holland and other countries, and these 

 countries are ready to supply any quantity if Scbt- 

 land should be unable to do so.' 



"The practice of affixing the Government brand 

 is one about which there has been an enormous 

 amount of controversy. The opponents of the prac- 

 tice maintain that it prevents the free exercise of 

 the law of competition by reducing the manufac- 

 tured article to a dead-level of value, and that, as 

 the Government brand is affixed to all cixred fish 

 which can be shown to have reached a certain level 

 of excellence, there is no room left for the introduc- 

 tion of improved processes of preparation. On the 

 other hand, the supporters of the brand allege that 

 its imposition secures that uniform quality and price 

 which render the article marketable all over the 

 world ; that the maxim ' Caveat emptor ' may be a 

 very sound one to apply in aU branches of commerce 

 where the purchaser has an opportunity of using his 

 judgment as to the quality of the goods ; but cannot 

 apply in the case of preserved provisions, where 

 bulk cannot be broken, and the dishonest curer has 

 such immense opportunities of practising his rogue- 

 ries for a long time undetected and with such fatal 



