Cotton Cloth Act, 1918

Dating from 1918, this old Act gave the government wartime-style powers to ensure cheap cotton cloth for poorer communities, and it has since been amended (for example, references to the 'Governor General in Council' were later replaced with 'Provincial Government'). Section 3 lets the Provincial Government appoint 'Controllers' for specified areas. Section 4 gives a Controller broad powers to regulate the manufacture, transport, distribution and sale of cotton cloth, including declaring which cloth counts as 'standard cloth', requiring distinctive markings on it, directing manufacturers to produce set quantities of standard cloth by a set date, and fixing the price paid to manufacturers, based on production cost and a reasonable profit rather than market price.

Section 5 requires the Provincial Government to appoint an Advisory Committee of people familiar with the cotton trade, whom the Controller must consult before declaring standard cloth classes or fixing manufacturer prices. Section 6 obliges a manufacturer, once directed and paid a fixed price, to deliver the standard cloth as the Controller specifies. Section 8 makes disobeying a Controller's order under Section 4, or counterfeiting a required cloth marking, punishable with imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine, or both.

Section 9 lets the Provincial Government fix the retail price at which standard cloth may be sold to the public, and Section 10 bars selling standard cloth above that fixed price or without a licence, with the same penalty as Section 8 (imprisonment up to six months, or fine, or both) for contravention. Section 11 requires such licences to follow rules made by the Provincial Government, and Section 13 protects good-faith acts under the Act from legal action.