The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-11-01 00:00:00

THE GROCERS AND THE "ADULTER.

ATION ACT."

The foltowlpfr leader from The rirltel, will be of Interest to
all our readers

Mr. Bright's mum:Mon of his public duties has
naturally brought hie future iervicee Into immediate
requisition, and among other clients anxious for hie
support, he has already relived a deputation from the
Grocer.' Mutual Protection Association of liinnieg.
ham. Th. LoLdon Grocers have been even more truer
getic, and breve combined in • formidable league for
their own protection against certain effecta of the Act.
We are not, to say the truth much surprised at the stir
made in varicus traded on the euhject ui the Ahut-
teration Act ; but the question., arming are not quite
no clear ea they are thought to be, and the case will
gain by a little discussion. The case of • substance
like mustard, which bag aroused, and is atoll arousing,
as our columns show, no much controversy, is com-
paratively simple. Whether mustard is more palat-
able tn a mixed or an unmixed state may be fairly
a matter of (Impute • but the retail vendors can, at any
rate, protect theme:lves by describing the composition.
It is not no mew with tea, where the connexion between
they: tail vendor and the producer in far from being no
direct. Grocers .reliable to be tined for selling adul-
terated ten, and there in certainly no doubt that in
instances of plain default the penalty In juetitireble.
But the grocers allege that the adulteration may Lot
be, and, as a matter of fact, commonly is not, any
work of theirs. They bay the tea of wholesale dealers,
who either Loport it or buy it from importer., and they
then offer it to the puhlic in the condition in which
it wan r,•c,ive,d. Consequently, they argue, the fault
in not theirs, The article, whether genuine or
spurious, is the Identical article sold to them, and
probably is the article wffich wan brought to this coun-
try as tea, wffich peal duty se tea, and which was
pawed an tea by the CUSCOUI H use officers. Why,
then, under such crcurustancea, should the &clutters-
tion, it adieteration there be, be charged to the szore
of the retailers only? Better goat once to the fountain-
head, and stop the noxious imports by enjoining the
efficers ef Customs to se:ze and destroy all tea unfit
for coneumption or sale. Such a course, indeed, is all
the more incumbent on the Government, inaamuch as
the State derives a very large revenue from tea, and it
c innut, ther-fore, be too much for the pubic to ask in
return that the gem:limners of the commodity should
be tested and warranted as it passes in necessary course
through r fficial hands.

••
There is momething, verbena, in this argument which,
if not sound, is plerisible ; but we must take the reader
a lttle further, and observe first that there is no kind
of doubt about the fact placed by the grocers in the
front of their remonstrance. Whether there are any
tricks played in the home trade we need n d itqaire, but
It is certainly true that she adulteration of tea is carried
on to a very large extent in the country from which it
is exported. In July last the bonded warehouses con.
Wiled ten million pounds of tea absolutely unfit for
human food. Last month the arrival of 370 chests
of " putrid " tea was reported, 90 of which had
found their way into the trade. This foul etuff con.
elated of decay ed and rotten tea leaves, but substances
of the most noxious kied find their way also into the
contents of the cheats. Sand, iron filings, and colouring
matters are used for the purposes of adulteration, and
It is actually stated that in once case the "tea" was so
charged with metallic ingredients as to obey the
attraction of a magnet. So far, therefore, the repro-
sentat one of the retail grocers are justified, but then
It is obvious to ask how such wares end admission iuto
their shop.. The tea described above could not,
we should think, have imposed upon at. ybody, and
it seoms only natural to conclude that retailers dealing
with responsible houses on legitimate terms might be
protected against any such fraudulent supplies. Of
course, it is very conceivable that adulteration may be
so practised as to require an expert analyst to detect
the cheat; but in the majority of such cases as are
spoken of the mischief must be clear. We shall be
taking, however, another step in the argument by ad-
vertieg to • memorial or petition recently addre wed to
the Common Council by the wholesale and retail
dealers of this metropolis.
It has been proposed that the' Custom House offi-
cers should be empowered to destroy at once acid on
the spot all tea discovered to be spudous when chaired
for sdnissien, but to this some of the petitioners obr
jected r hat's proceeding so summary matelot cause loss
and irdastice ti the merchant or consignee, who ought
rather to have the opportunity of re-exporting or re-
turning the condemned goods to those who sent
them. We think this will tiring us to the very pith of
the whole question. On what terms and nude
what circumstance, are these carves of foul or
counterfeit tea deepatched to this country? Are
they sent in answer to orders for good and wholesome
tea at a fair and reasonable price? If PO, then no
doubt the exporting Chinamen are responsible for the
fraud, and should be visited with the discredit and the
loss eusuieg. But another remarkable representation
was made by the peti, loners. It was urged that,
whereas "tote" of this description had notoriously
I been imported and pagred for many years, it would be
unjust to the exporter to condemn and destroy them
without due notice, and it was suggested, accordingly,
I that notification should be made in Chinese ports to
I the effect thet after a crania date all tea coming to
this country w.uli te inspected, and if found spurious
condemned. It appears to us that this proposed pre-
suo es a certain justification for the exporter. If
Chinese merchants, professing to 'tell good tea at the
price of good tea, deliver, instead, a falee and worth-
loser article, we cannot pee hew they deserve any such
warning or respite as it was proposed to give them. They
onght, o the contrary, to be summarily punished for
their diehonesiy, nor could they pretend to complain
of the penaltieis ntlicteri. It would be otherwise, how-
ever, if the bargain were such as to is ply of necessity
some Amount of illegitimete dealing, isupposing, for
example, the price paid for the tea to he notoriously
insufficient for the purchase of the genuine article--
then the fault would not Ile exclusively with the
Chinaman. The trade sine in such goods would beau
Illhd trade, but the blame would not attach to one
side only.
In short, the true qeeetion comes to this who
originates the dealings complained of? If the prices
paid in 1111C0P561011 by the wholesale importer, the read
dealer, and we must, in justice, add the consumer
himself, are clearly inadequate to secure the beat or
even a genuine article of the kind drecribed, it ap-
pears to us that the fault is distributed through the
whole chain oi parties concerned. If a grocer's cus-
tomers expect to tele good tea for the half of what
would be • retuunerati charge, they have in
a great measure, theteselvg. to thank for the
entire eeriest of deceptions. XV retail dealer
offers impracticable terms to the whinwale dealer,
the wholesale dealer follows suit with 0,, Im.
porter, and the importer with the exporter, t...q
a: last the Chinese merchant makes up for
she British market—not tea, for that he could riot.
affix(' at the price, but something th it may poeeibly
pass muster and will allow him • profit on the transac-
tion. 'lb -1, it. Fevers to 119, is the light in which the
;oriole should be invited to look at the matter, and we
could like to know, by way of elueidating the mystery,
what priers were put upon the teas coudeumed.
People cannot be too ',dowdy reminded that even Free
Trade will tot give them ha fra-nrosen's worth for a
shill n. It in perfeetly certain that the sale of food
noximiely adulterated should be forbid, so by Jew, but
It is equally true that genuine wares must be paid for.
Consumers must not look to get what they want at
lea than cat price and then find the lenity of the

article gnarnenteed by the State. Let tie hear, In abort.
on what terms those various cargoes of tea were in-
porn' and sold, and then we shall know how to ap-
portion the blame.

Noticing the above, " Sonchosi " writes to The
Tima :

-
Perha syon will allow me to write • few lines on anaemia
tea. being a tea broker, of course IL Is • matter in which I
aID intt-rested. After reading the v.-ry sensible article 013
teat subject which appeared In 2he Times of Saturd.Y.
fell theta few word. from one connected with the trade
neislit uot be out of place. It is well khowu to all who, like
mds self, have nin China, thatiand, Iron filings, and various
our log matters Me fleet In the 01•1111facture ,1 some sort. of
tea, which for year. have been considered per'ect4 good and
sound to drink ; lot that :here ii tuuthing lite the perm'',
meg, of .purons matter mentioned In the newspaper reports
of the reams meetings which have been held to inquire into
tlils sanject, I. simply ridiculous. I think that your article
took a very sensible view of the matter in saying that in a
great measure the molter was one In whi,h the public were
partly to blame to expecting to bay their tea at • price at
which it could not be produced in China.

I There Is no doubt that a peat deal of spurious tea dose
find its way into England every season, but it la cold at a
I price at wht :h the buyer knows that good sound tea could
, not be procured Possibly the public may be surprised to
hear that many thonoand chestu of tea have been sold by
0001,0 adodou from Id to 31. per pound, and when it Is
morn that the duty that must be paid In China before an
Ounce can be shipped la Yi. per pound, and freight and
other charges amount at least t St more, it will be seen
that if the tea is even given to the merchants it will cost
aLein 41. at the very lowest, so that it le quite evident that
this cannot be of very flne quality ; Int 11 the pnollo will
have their tea at • low price, there will always be found men
who will Ii thia low-priced trash with the better sorts to
enable them to make a profit on their sales and at the same
time undersell their nett/tabour.. Ido not mean to my that
all tea sold alto. as dl. per pound is spurt du, fax from it,
bulls is, most of it, very poor mud, and cannot be of mid.lh
benefit to the consumer ; and heel certain that lithe public
would he willing to pay. fair prim the remedy would he
forthcoming, and no adulteration would be necessary.
As to the best means of getting rid of the really spurious
tea now lying to the warehouses, and preventing Um import
of more of the same, there may be many opinions. That it
ought to be destroyed there Oot be no doubt ; but my opinion
1., it should be done before the Cuatoms have taken their ed.
per pound duty. For the Government to welt until the
grocer has taken it home to his shop before seising it, is in •
great number of CAW robbing an ißpogapt map tog only of
his money, but Iso of him reputation.