203 



PARLIAMENTARY PUBLICATIONS. 



[Sept. 1896. 



The following is a summary of their principal recommenda- 

 tions : — 



1. That in districts other than county boroughs, where the 

 local authorities fail to put the Acts in force, the county council 

 should, by their own officers, take samples for the purposes of 

 the Acts. 



2. That in connexion with the sale of mixed articles it should 

 be obligatory upon the vendor to supply the purchaser with a 

 label setting forth that the article is mixed. 



3. That the statement of admixture on labels should be 

 legibly and distinctly printed and so as not to be obscured by 

 other printed matter, and that existing labels should be subject 

 to the proviso mentioned in the concluding paragraph of the 

 section of the Keporb headed " Labelling and sale of mixed 

 articles." 



4. That, subject to the limitations indicated in the Report, 

 invoices and equivalent documents should have the force of 

 warranties in the cases of all articles to which the Sale of Food 

 and Drugs Acts apply. 



5. That the Commissioners of Customs be authorised to 

 examine and take samples of all food imports at the port of 

 entry with a view to subsequent action, as indicated in the body 

 of the Report. 



6. That dealers who obtain supplies of foods from abroad 

 should be required to submit to the Customs guarantees of 

 purity given by the foreign vendor, together with evidence that 

 they have taken measures to see that the goods are such as they 

 are guaranteed to be. 



7. That retailers should be empowered to refuse to sell an 

 article otherwise than in a manufacturer's unopened labelled tin 

 or packet. 



8. That the powers of section 3 of the Sale of Food and 

 Drugs Act Amendment Act, 1879, as to the taking of samples 

 of milk in transit, should be extended to other articles. 



9. That the maximum penalty for refusal to sell a sample to 

 the authorised officer be increased. 



10. That the division of the sample after purchase and 

 delivery of a portion to the vendor should be compulsory. 



11. That samples should be divided into four instead of three 

 parts, and that one of these parts should be at the disposal of 

 the wholesale dealer. 



12. That the provisions of section 5 of the Margarine Act, 

 1887, as to the exemption of an employer from penalty in 

 certain cases, and punishment of an assistant, should be 

 extended to offences under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts. 



13. That it should be obligatory upon the magistrates or 

 court to refer articles to the Government Laboratory for 

 analysis when such course is desired by either of the parties to 

 the case. 



14. That a defendant who proposes to rely upon the 

 warranty defence should be required to intimate this to 



