31 AUGUST 1867, Page 3

It is quite right to punish tradesmen who use dishonest

scales, And quite expedient to pay informers for telling of them ; but it is possible, at the same time, to make justice seem a little oppres- sive. No less than 106 parsons were fined in Islington by the last petty sessions, but of them 26 were guilty of using scales which favoured the purchaser. It is very stupid to have such scales, but surely it is a little hard to fine men for being too honest. They have given their customers more than their right, yet are liable, for the rest of their lives, to be taunted with dishonest weights. If the State sold the scales, and they used others, it -would be reasonable ; but they had to choose them themselves, and chose only too honestly.