The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-03-29 00:00:00

FOOD ADULTERATION IN AMERICA.

The New York Correspondent of the Standard
writes: A Committee of the New York Senate has
reported the results of an inquiryinto the adulteration
of dairy products. The details are disgusting and
alarming. Of thirty samples of butter two-thirds
were only remotely traceable to milk. The
refuse fat of pigs and bullocks was the chief
and most savoury ingredient, but often spoiled
greases were used which had been deodo-
rised by nitric and sulphuric acids of a
strength sufficient to rot a workman's cow-
hide boots, to cause the finger nails to fall off, and
induce various lingerinc, diseases. The material was
also found to contain ingredients which are fatal tc
infants. The doctors, upon oath, declared that the
consumption of this compound has a distinct bearing
upon the death-rate. The committee advises the
total prohibition of the manufacture of oleomargarine
The interest in this subject is not merely local, as the
exports in February included nearly one million pound,
of butter. and over three millions of cheese

.P.M.,
.Nammmimmß

THE INTERNATIONAL IifitiIEIDM-
EXHIBITION
A meeting of the general committee of this exhibi-
tion, for the purpose of winding up its affairs. was
held on Saturday afternoon at South Kensington, his
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in the chair.
Mr. Edward Birkbeck, M.P., chairman of the Exe-
cutive Committee, read the report drawn up by that
body, and said that he wished to point out that their
policy had been a most liberal one, and they had en-
deavoured to make the exhibition not only.a-financial
success, but also a lasting benefit for those who were
specially interested and engaged in the great fishing
industries of this country. It had undoubtedly been
of vast importance and given a direct encouragement
to the fishing interest, and had brought the fishery
questions of the world before the public in a manner
never before contemplated. They had placed before
fishermen, smackowners, and others engaged in the
fisheries all the best modes of fishing and appliances
carried on in the world, and had given them every
means of acquiring as much knowledge on these sub-
jects as possible, and it now rested with them to utilise
the knowledge for their own benefit, and also for the
community at large, by increasing the supply of fish.
The Legislature must now follow up these results by
taking the necessary steps to obtain a reduction in the
prohibitive railway rates, and enable both catcher
and consumer to receive the benefits to which they are
entitled.

Lord Abinger then moved that the report be re-
ceived and confirmed, which was seconded by Sir
Arthur Blyth, and carried unanimously.
His Royal Highness then said: You have all
listened, I am sure, with greet interest to the report
that has been read to you by the chairman of the
Executive Committee. From what we have heard, I
think it is patent to all that the late Fisheries Exhi-
bition has, in every point of view, been a success. It
has been a financial success, and it has also been a
success as regards the enormous quantity of people
who have visited it, not only our own countrymen,
and those from our colonies, but from every part of
the globe. It is unnecessary for me, on an occasion
of this kind, to enumerate the objects of this exhi-
bition, but I maintain that Its two salient objects—
viz., the scientific and practical ones have
fully justified its existence; its scientific
object by exhibits being shown of every possible
kind of modern appliance that could be invented, thus
showing the great improvements that have been made
in the fishing industry of the world; the practical,
because it not only shows to our own countrymen, but
to those of all the world, what a valuable means of
subsistence fish is, many of whom, I believe, had no
idea how valuable it was, whilst the existence of a
variety of fish was made known which had not even
been heard of by the great majority. Well, gentle-
men, you have all heard that there is a surplus
amounting to £15,243, and the question is naturally
how to employ that sum. lathe address I read to you
at the closing of the Exhibition I held out some hope
that this might be applied in a useful and practical
manner, and I would therefore now suggest to the
general committee that one of the best objects to per-
Petuate this successful exhibition would be to appro-
priate, say about £lO,OOO, to alleviate the distress of
widows and orphans of sea fishermen. I use the words
"alleviate the distress" because I do not wish to bind
any of you to our erecting an orphanage. That would
cost a great deal of money, and I think would possibly
be a mistake. If we were to embark in any great
building enterprise of that kind, and in future find
ourselves in debt, we might find we had frustrated the
very objects we had in view—viz., supporting tlie
widows and orphans of those brave men who peril
their lives at sea. I would also suggest that £3OOO
should be given as an endowment to a society which
might be called the Royal Fisheries Society. What
shape that might take will be for future consideration,
but possibly some society might be founded under
such a name of a similar character to the Royal
Agricultural Society. We shall then have a surplus
of about IWO° left, which I think you will all
agree will be a good thing to keep in reserve. It
would be for the general public in future, I hope,
to show their interest in this scheme by supporting it
to the best of their ability. I beg, therefore, to move
the following resolution: "That a sum of £lO,OOO
be invested with a view to applying the proceeds to
the assistance of families who have suffered the loss
of a father or husband in the prosecution of his
calling as a sea fisherman; and that a further sum of
£3OOO be applied to the formation of a Fisheries
Society such as suggested by his Royal Highness the
president in his reply to the report of the Executive
Committee on the 31st of October, 1883." _

Earl Dude seconded the resolution, saying that the
proceeds of such a sum of .RlO,OOO would enable the
committee at once to proceed to the alleviation of
the distress of certain families, whereas if any
attempt to found an orphanage were made, it would
be necessary to go about collecting subscriptions. An
enormous sum would be spent in bricks and mortar,
and they would be weighted with the maintenance of
the cost of the institution.
The resulution was put and carried unanimously,
and after some further business, the proceedings then
terminated.