(2) Nothing in this Ordinance contained shall entitle any person to refuse to make a complete discovery, or to answer any question or interrogatory, in any action or suit; but such discovery or answer shall not be admissible in evidence against such person in any prosecution for an offence against this Ordinance.

(3) Nothing in this Ordinance contained shall be construed so as to render liable to any prosecution or punishment any servant of a master resident in the Colony who bonâ fide acts in obedience to the instructions of such master and, on demand made by or on behalf of the prosecutor, has given full information as to his master.

21. Any person who falsely represents that any goods are made False repreby a person holding a Royal Warrant, or for the service of His sentations as Majesty, or any of the Royal Family, or any Government Depart- Warrant, &c. to Royal ment, shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.

c. 88.

22. From and after the commencement of this Ordinance the Repeal of Merchandise Marks Act, 1862, shall no longer be of any force in 25 & 26 Vict. the Colony, and, as regards any effect to be given to any of its provisions in the said Colony, the same shall be and is hereby repealed.

23. This Ordinance may be cited for all purposes as "The Short title. Merchandise Marks Ordinance."

CHAPTER XLIV.

ADULTERATION OF PRODUCE.

Definitions.

Offences against Ordinance:

1. In this Ordinance

"Produce" means and includes palm oil, palm-kernels, cotton, gum copal, resin, Guinea grain and every other product, whether raw or partly or wholly manufactured, of any kind commonly exported from the Colony.

To "adulterate produce" means to falsify, deteriorate, or increase the apparent bulk or weight or conceal the inferior quality of produce by the combination, admixture or addition therewith or thereto of some foreign, superfluous or inferior substance, matter or thing, whether deleterious or not, or by the use of artificial means; and it includes abstracting from produce part of it so as to injuriously affect its nature, substance or quality, and soaking or manipulating it so as to increase its bulk or weight.

"Colony" includes Protectorate.

To "clean produce" means to free produce from any foreign, superfluous or inferior matter by picking, boiling or other means. (1 of 1889, s 1, amended.)

PART I. (No. 1 of 1889.)

2. Every person who shall adulterate, or cause or order to be adulterated, any produce shall, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, unless he shall prove that he acted without intent to ing produce; defraud, be guilty of an offence against this Ordinance.

1. Adulterat

2. Selling adulterated produce.

3. Every person who shall sell, bargain or barter, or expose, or have in his possession for sale, bargain or barter, or for any purpose of trade or manufacture, or who shall give or tender in payment in satisfaction of any just debt, claim or demand, any adulterated produce shall be guilty of an offence against this Ordinance, unless he shall prove that, having taken all reasonable precautions against committing any such offence, he had at the time of the commission of the alleged offence no reason to suspect the genuineness or purity of the produce, and that, on demand made

by or on behalf of the prosecutor, he gave all the information in his power with respect to the person or persons from whom he obtained the produce, or otherwise that he acted innocently.

committed

4. Any person who, being within the Colony, procures, counsels, Accessories to aids, abets or is accessory to the commission without the Colony of certain acts any act which, if committed within the Colony, would be an without the offence against this Ordinance shall be guilty of that offence as a Colony. principal and be liable to be proceeded and informed against, and tried and convicted, in any part of, or place in, the Colony in which he may be, as if the offence had been there committed.

5. Every person guilty of an offence against this Ordinance Penalties: shall be liable:

(a) upon conviction, for a first offence, to imprisonment, with or 1. Fine and without hard labour, for any term not exceeding three imprisonmonths, or to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds; or

(b) upon conviction for a second or any subsequent offence, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding one year, or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both such imprisonment and such fine; and

ment;

&c.;

offender.

(c) in any case, to forfeit to His Majesty every chattel, article 2. Forfeiture or thing by means of or in relation to which the offence of produce, was committed. Moreover, in every case of a second or any subsequent offence 3. Publication against this Ordinance, it shall be lawful for the Court, besides in- of name of flicting upon the person guilty of such offence the punishment awarded under this Ordinance, to order the offender's name, occupation, place of abode and place of business, and particulars of his punishment under this Ordinance, to be published, at the expense of such offender, in such newspaper or newspapers, or in such other manner, as the Court shall think fit to prescribe. (Amended.)

5A. All proceedings under this Ordinance may be commenced Jurisdiction. before and heard and determined by a District Commissioner, or, where the person accused of an offence is a native, by a Native Court of competent jurisdiction.

Provided that where the proceedings are heard and determined by a Native Court, the penalty imposed for a first offence shall not exceed a fine of five pounds or a term of imprisonment of fourteen days with or without hard labour, or for a second offence a fine of Ten Pounds or a term of imprisonment of one month with or without hard labour. (P. 9 of 1995, s. 3, amended.)

6. Provided that where a person who has not been previously convicted of an offence against this Ordinance, is charged with an offence against this Ordinance, and it appears to the Court that the adulteration of the produce, in respect of which such person is

Power of

Court to order accused to

clean produce, and to dismiss charge.

Search

warrant.

Forfeiture in

cases.

charged, is slight or due to some excusable cause, and that the produce is capable of being freed from adulteration by cleaning or drying, the Court may order the produce to be cleaned or dried by the accused at such place and under such supervision and subject to such other conditions (if any) as the Court may direct, and so cleaned or dried to be brought to the Court on a fixed day. And the Court may thereupon, if it finds that such produce has been properly cleaned or dried, dismiss the charge against the accused, and order the produce to be returned to him. (P. 3 of 1902, s. 10.)

6A. Where upon information of an offence against this Ordinance, a District Commissioner has issued, either a summons requiring the defendant charged by such information to appear to answer to the same, or a warrant for the arrest of such defendant, and, either the said District Commissioner, on or after issuing the summons or warrant, or any other District Commissioner, is satisfied by information on oath that there is reasonable cause to suspect that any goods or things by means of or in relation to which such offence has been committed are in any house or upon any premises of the defendant, or otherwise in his possession or under his control in any place, such District Commissioner may issue a warrant under his hand, by virtue of which it shall be lawful for any constable named or included in such warrant to enter such house, premises or place at any reasonable time by day and to search there for, and seize and take away, such goods and things; and any goods or things seized under any such warrant as last aforesaid shall be brought before the Court of the District Commissioner of the District in which such goods or things were found, for the purpose of its being determined whether the same are, or are not, liable to forfeiture under this Ordinance. (1 of 1889, s. 6.)

7. Where the owner of any goods or things which, if the owner certain special or possessor thereof had been convicted under this Ordinance, would be liable to forfeiture is unknown or cannot be found, an information or complaint may be laid for the purpose only of enforcing forfeiture of such goods or things, and the District Commissioner of the District in which such goods or things are found may cause notice to be advertised, stating that, unless cause be shown to the contrary at the time and place named in such notice, such goods or things will be forfeited; and at such time and place the District Commissioner, unless the owner, or some person on his behalf, or other person interested in the goods or things, shows cause to the contrary, may order such goods or things, or any of them, to be forfeited.

Disposition of forfeited

8. Any produce, goods or things forfeited under any of the produce, &c. provisions of this Ordinance may be destroyed, or otherwise disposed of or dealt with, in such manner as the Court by which the same are forfeited may direct; and the Court may, out of the

proceeds of any such sale or other disposition of such produce, goods or things, award to any innocent party compensation for any loss which he may have sustained in dealing with such produce, goods or things.

9. No prosecution for an offence against this Ordinance shall be Limitation of commenced after the expiration of three years next after the prosecutions. commission of such offence, or of one year next after the discovery

thereof by the prosecutor.

10. In every prosecution for an offence against this Ordinance Evidence. a defendant and his wife, or her husband, may, if the defendant shall think fit, be called as a witness, and, if so called, shall be sworn and examined, and may be cross-examined and re-examined, in like manner as any other witness.

11. Upon any prosecution under this Ordinance the Court may Costs. order costs to be paid to the defendant by the prosecutor or to the prosecutor by the defendant, having regard to the information given by, and the conduct of, the defendant and the prosecutor respectively.

12. Any informer prosecuting to conviction under this Ordinance Rewards to shall receive out of every penalty recovered in consequence of such informers. prosecution such sum, not exceeding one moiety of such penalty, as the Governor shall determine, and the remainder of such penalty shall be applied in aid of the general revenue of the Colony; provided that the Governor may at any time in his absolute discretion disallow any payment under this section to an informer.

13. And whereas it is expedient to make provision for prohibiting the exportation of chattels, goods and things which, if sold, would be liable to forfeiture under this Ordinance:

(1.) All such chattels, goods and things are hereby prohibited to be exported from the Colony or carried coastwise on the waters of the Colony; and if any such chattels, goods or things shall be exported beyond the limits of the jurisdiction or carried coastwise on the waters of the Colony, or be water-borne to be so exported or carried, they shall be forfeited.

(2.) The Governor in Council may from time to time make, vary or revoke regulations, either general or special, respecting the seizure, detention and forfeiture of chattels, goods or things the exportation of which is prohibited by this section and the conditions, if any, to be fulfilled before such seizure, detention and forfeiture, and may by any such regulations determine the information, notices and security to be given, and the evidence requisite, for any of the purposes of this section, and the mode of verification of such evidence.

Prohibition of exportation of produce liable to forfeiture under Ordinance.