The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-10-26 00:00:00

PQRTANT SVGA TI-RE FINE RS.

A SUGAR REFINERY DECLARED A NUISANCE.
Yesterday -a- case of conSiderable importance to sugar-
refinerS • came on for hearing, at the Salford Town ,Hall,
before Messrs. Trafford and Langwortlay, in which the pro-
secutor was the Town Clerk, (Mr. George Gibson,) who
appeired on behalf of the joint Sanitary Committee of the
Borough, and the defendants were
-the highly-respectable
firm of Sharp and, Scott; groeers, Market-street, Manchester,
and sugar refiners, Middleton-court, Chapel-street,. Salford.
Messrs. Sharp and Scott were represented by Mr. Tidswell,
Solicitor.

The TowN CLERK said this was a prosecution raised
under the last act bearing upon: the subject-matter of com-
plaint, the 7th of Victoria, ch. 33rd, section 132nd. Then
the latter part of the 116th section of the Salford Improve-
ment Act of 1830 bore upon the same questions, those acts
had to be read together;' but he preferred to proceed with
this case, and he would endeavour to prove that it was a
commou nuisance. He also referred the court to one act
mentioned in Burns's Justice, vol. 3rd. The trade carried
on by the defendants, in Salford, was that of sugar-refiners,
and he (the town clerk) begged leave to state, on the part
of the gentlemen who instructed him, in the onset
that it was with extreme reluctance they found themselves
compelled to take proceedings against a firm so highly res-
pectable, and carrying on a trade 'so highly beneficial as that
in which they were engaged. But however respectable the
firm, and however much esteemed the . members of the firm
might be who carried- on the business where the nuisance
complained of existed, the Joint Sanitary Committe felt
themselves bound to undertake 'the present prosecution.

And that prosecution was entered upon under eficumstances
which rendered it impossible not to undertake it. The com-
mittee had had presented to them three memorials against
the nuisance from the sugar-refinery in question, one, signed
by sixteen gentlemen living in Victoria-street; the second
by eleven gentlemen living in the neighbourhood ; and the
third by forty-two persons who are residents of Manchester,
living on the other side of the river, and extending as far
down as the Palatine Buildings. And he was told that the
vapour complained of as coming from the preinises of the
defendants extended down past Albert Bridge. The vapour,
as he understood the matter, fell on the river, and followed

the stream of the river. It was a source of satisfaction to
him (the Town-clerk) to be able to say that if he made out
his case, the Court might make a conviction which would
not necessarily put a stop to the ,trade of the defendants,
who might, under proper regulations and alterations,. be en-
abled to carry on their trade. without causing any injury to
the public.
Mr. Pickering was the first witness examinined, and he
stated that he was the inspector of nuisances for the borough
of Salford. He had visited the premises of the defendants,
which were situated in Middleton Court, Chapel-street, a
short distance from Victoria Bridge. They carried on the
business of sugar-refiners. Had examined the premises three
)r four times, the last time on Friday, found nothing cal-
culated to give rise to the effluvia complained of by the
inhabitants, except from the kilns for burning charcoal, used
for filtering sugar, and afterwards resused again. He
Was informed .that' it was animal charcoal which was
burned. Mr. Scott, one of the defendants, informed
him that he had a large amount of animal charcoal
on the premises. The smell complained of was produced by the
process of re .burning, throwing out a steam or -vapour. He
thought that there were a, number of apertures or narrow
tubes from each kiln. There were six tubes through which
the charcoal flowed down, and in its .course passed through
the fire and was re-burned.. The charcoal flowed through
the fire- on its way, down to, the bottom of the works on
somewhat of the same principle as a gas-retort. The tube
red hot. Vapour comes, and it was not carried up by any
chimney. Witness's attention was first called to this =-
same on the 23d of last month. He then went over the
works with Mr. Scott, but the smell upon Victoria Bridge
was much stronger than that in the • works. Bat the smell
on Victoria Bridge was, he had no doubt, precisely the same
as that at the works, though the former was stronger. The
smell was of a sickly kind.
WILLIAM HIGGEgBOTTOM. stated that he was an inspector
of nuisances. He had smelt a disagreeable effluvia in Vic-
toria Bridge, which, he was sure, came from the sugar works
of. the defendants. The smell at the works and on Victoria
Bridge was of the same descriptian.
Mr. PICKERING, being recalled, stated that he took-a
portion of the charcoal from the works of the defendants,
with the consent of their foreman, which he handed to Dr.
Smith, the chemist.
Dr. Robert Angus Smith was the next witness. He
stated that he was a chemist, and that he was sent up by
the Manchester committee, as part of their deputation on
chemical matters to the Royal Exhibition. He had been
extensively employed in reference to sanitary purposes in
connection with the Board of Health, both before and
since it was established. Mr. Pickering handed him a
sample of charcoal on Friday evening, which he analyzed.
The substance which was brought to him by Mr. Pickerin,g
was animal charcoal, or, in other words, bones that had
been burnt without access of air. It is used for taking
the colour from various iiquias.
substance brought to him by Mr. Pickering, he found it
was very wet, and contained besides water very little more
than sugar itself. It contained 25 per cent of water, when
the dried substenco was burnt, without air it lost 5.777
(or sa) per cent of organic matter, which goes off partly in
the form of gases, and partly in the form of vapours. Ever
1200 grains gave 100 cubic inches of gases. Carburetted
hydrogen carbonic acid, and the slightest amount of sulphu-
rated hydrogen, not perceived by the senses, were the chief
producte of this class. The :iquids were, water, acetic acid,
and that mixture of substances called empyreumatic oil.
These last were the chief substances to be complained of.
and although they might be considered as disinfectants,
and therefore, in some conditions, preservatives of disease
they were unquestionably nuisances when diffused even to
a small extent in the atmosphere. When vapours
produced violent coughing, and irritated the eyes, nose, and
month, and even when diluted to an enormous extent pro-
duced coughing, especially in persons somewhat disposed to
it, he knew from experience that they might produce irri-
tation even at a considerable distance from their source, and
as he had also observed the effects on others, he had no
hesitation in giving his opinion. He had less hesitation
also from this reason, that he had seen the remedy effectually
and easily applied in another work of the same description,
which was once complained of, so that he believed the manu-
facturers would not be injuried by the decision that the
vapours were a nuisance. He went for the purpose of
ascertaining whether the nuisance complained of could be
distinguished at the distance* mentioned in the evidence, and
he found that even at the distance of Victoria Bridge, the
nuisance was so great as to irritate the nose considerably'.
By the Bench—lt had not the same effect as snuff. It
produces violent coughing, and a very little of it
would do so. If the substance were burned with the access
Of air it would have no injurious effect whatever upon the
throat—By the Town Clerk.--It was a disagreeable smell
that .was emitted from the defendants' work ; it was calcu-
lated to make the residents of the neighbourhood, and
passers by, very uncomfortable.—By the Bench. The
animal charcoal, or the bones alone, would not give off this
offensive smell unless saturated with the repose of the sugar.
It was a little of both, the sugar and the bones, that gave
off the offensive effivia.--.-Cross examined.—The smell pro-
duced irritation of the throat, so as to cause coughing. He
last noticed it on-Saturday.
Mr. TIES-WELL said, his anxiety was to show that this
smell was not offensive or injurious to health (a laugh).
Dr. SMITH (in answer, to the bench) said he thought the
mere production Of coughino• by .the effluvia was enough to
constitute it a nuisance, and make it injurious to health.
Amos Burton stated that he lived in Victoria-street, and
was a broker there. He experienced a disagreable smell pro-
ceeding from the works of the defendants. Last Sunday he was
so sick in consequence of the suiell,•that he could not go to
chapel, and he was sick all Saturday from the same cause.
The smell was a nauseous and unpleasant one, like that which
proceeded feom an old corpse. Thomas Shelmerdine, - mer-
chant, Chapel street ; Mr. Borten, Junr., Victoria street; and
Thomas Food. residina^ at the ton of Virtnrin Pride,
Chester, corroborated the evidence of the previous witnesses.
Mrs. Burton of Blackfriars Hotel, Blackfriars street,stated
that the smell complained of, had produced injury to herself
and family. The smell was very offensive, so much so that
it made them sick, and they could not koep food on their
stomachs ; the nuisance complained of, had also infured her
very much in her business.
Mr. TrosWELL said he was instructed to say that his
clerks had not received any complaint from the neighbours
that the smell from the works was a nuisance.
The Towx CLERK, on the'
,other hand, contended that
complaints of the smell had been made again' and again.
Mr. TRAFFORD said, the case was really undefended. He
supposed the object of the committee was to put a stop to
the nuisance without insisting upon the infliction of a penalty.
Th?Towsi CLERK : That was all, and he was told that
Dr. Smith could devise means for putting a stop to the
nuisance without ilisconlinning the works.
Mr. TRAFFORD : I think I could devise a means too, and
that would be the burning of the charcoal elsewhere.
Mr. TIDSWELL said the nuisance might be obviated, and
the business be carried on where it was at present. There
were eleven sugar refineries in Greenock, and many in Glas-
gow, Liverpool, and Manchester.
The Towx CLERK said there were many nuisances exist-
ing in the places referred to, and Manchester was not so
particular as Salford in the removal of nuisances.. In Oxford-
road he knew there was a very bad smell, though he did not
know where it came from.
Mr. TRAFFORD said, the magistrates were clearly of opinion
that the nuisance complained of had been brought within
the act of parliament, as an offensive smell caused by the
burning of animal matter. The defendants must forthwith
remove the nuisance and pay all the costs and a nominal
penalty of £5, with the understanding that unless the nui-
sance was discontinued the penalty would not be inflicted.

THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH ACROSS THE. FRITHS
OF FORTH AND TAY.—The Edinburgh and Northern Com-
pany have concluded an agreement for carrying the telegraph
across the Forth and Tay.
A Vienna letter of the 20th states, that the Jews
of that city have drawn up a memorial praying for
the re-establishment of the rights which were
taken from them by the late decree. This memo-
rial is to' be presented to the Emperor on his
return, from, Munich.

Corrtoi.pontrentr.

MUNICIPAL ELECTION. PITT-ST. WART)

" What great events from trifling causes spring! 7

TO THE IMRGESSES OF PITT-STREET WARD.
" The Ides of. March" were big -with fate to
The approaching first day of November
nay prove eqUally so to you. On that day you
are called upon to fight the battle of principle.
What .may be trivial and unimportant, as a fact
viewed by itself, becomes dignified and pregnant
with interest when generalized into a principle:
The seduction of Helen led to the burning of
Troy. The infatuation of _Antony caused an
empire to change its master. The .blood of mar-
tyrs sprinkled in the sight of Heaven tended even
more to promote Christianity than the preaching
of Evangelisers.: The corruption of Tetzcl, the
monk, first roused the burning zeal of Luther.
The judicial murder of the unfortunate wife of
the victim of a press-gangconvicted and hanged
for the petty felony of a loaf of bread, stolen only
in the last extremity of hunger—first paved the
way to the adoption of the mild penal code of
England of. the present day—Sir Samuel Romilly
leading the van of mercy. The persecutions of
the members of the gallant Fourth-estate, despite
of royal and lordly:tyranny, first helped to demon
strate its rights and the rights of mankind. In
our own day, the monstrosities practised on the
bench by a County Court judge, proved the rot-
tenness of aristocratic favouritism and the elective "
judicial.rights of the people. The horrible details
of cruelty (rendering-the knout merciful, by com-
parison), practised under the supervision of the
local magistracy in the Birmingham jail—the ear-
piercing cry of which rings trumpet - tongued
through this and every land—l venture to predict
will give, cie lung,. a reforinea -bench, where
neither Cabinet ministers can place their syco-
phants, nor faction its tools.
Enough !- and more than enough. Arouse your-
selves, ye Burgesses ! and be not only men, but
,just men. Providence has endowed you with great
means—employ those means to noble purposes.
You have a choice, either to set an example .of
purity or to sink in the slough of party intrigue.
Freedom of thought, and constitutional principles
on the one hand—the tool of a partizan and petty
corruption on the other. John Smith, the tried
hero of a hundred popular'fights, or W. P. Jeffreys,
the nominee of—,You know who ?
The magnetic needle should not more sensitively
vibrate on its pivot, than the soul of the honest
man, where his honour or public duty is concerned.
Its wondrous properties should not more certainly
guide the mariner to his destined port, than the'
'Vote of the true citizen should hew down Alpine
barriers or hostile forces, in his progress to Consti-
tutional freedoM.
Onwards, onwards, onwards ! is the watchword.
There should be no hesitation. Is the man a slave
in principle ? then shall his vote be given to pro-
mote 'private interests ; to manure the hot-bed of
public jobbery ; or to enslave freedom of action
and liberty of opinion.
He,aic.2.s to forge the chains that fetter his own
political rights—rights that the great and noble of
mankind have laboured, and do labour, at the ex-
pense „of private friendships, at the cost of personal
health and ease, at the sacrifice of wealth, to con
fer upon him. . A boon; alas !. bestowed upon an
ungrateful and unworthy object:
Can he not see, does he not know, that this
boon-this magna charta of private opinion—has
been won for' him by the life-long struggles of
phtriots, not burgesses of Liverpool, but citizens
of the world ? And must they have struggled in
vain? No.' -Let him arouse --himself, and shako
off this shameful supineness. Let him perceive
that the distinction between the free citizen of
Liverpool, and the thralled serf of a Russian des-
pot, lies in the mind, and that it is possible so to
degrade the most glorious gift of heaven, till it be-
comes 'not &blessing, but a curse. Now is the time
to break the manacles of faction—now, when cor-
ruption, with the stealthy pace of a wolf, has been
so silently' lindPrminirto• thn cAortnrol Di4no;pl,‘• of
this town.. Let the voter act as if the fate of truth
and honesty depended upon his single vote.
Why should he suffer the affront of the pergonal
canvass.- of any " would-be member," sycophantic
though it be? Does he want music, gewgaws, or
beer, let him then work and pay for them. But
let him not sacrifice that independence of mind,
the choicest gift of God to man, for these idle trap-
pings or luxuries, which, albeit, useful in them-
selves, smell filthy, if dug out of the mephitic heap
of electoral corruption and intimidation.
Record, your votes, on Tuesday next, for the best
' man, backed by the most honest and most consti- •
tutional 'principle, ye burgesses of Pitt-street
ward, and it May happen, that your small, and at
present deSPisedward, shall speak that "still small
voice," appealing to the hearts and consciences of
men; .that small ripple of honesty which, swelling
as it proceeds, shall grow into a mighty river of
electoral and corporate purity.
A COSMOPOLITAN,
BUT NOT A BURGESS OF PITT-STREET WARD,
Liverpool, Oct; 25, 1853.

Caesar,

ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN DAILY TIMES,

Sin,—MY attention has been directed- to a state-
ment in your paper of the 24th instant, entitled
" Extraordinary Scene at St. Michael's Church, Pitt
Street." ln this statement., Mr. Morrall is said to
have engaged in place of Mr. Bardsley, "the Curate
of St. Mark's, who is supposed to be favourable to
Puseyism." I beg to observe that I have no con-
nexion with St. Michael's Church ; and further-
more, that I have no sympathy whatever with
those Puseyite sentiments with which your inform-
ant identifies me.

Hoping that you will be good enough to insert
contradiction in your next impression,
I remain, your obdt. servant,
THOMAS W. MOREAN,
Curate of St. Mark's.
Liverpool, October 25th, 1853.