The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-08-24 00:00:00

ADULTERATION OF SUGAR.

Yesterday, in consequence of a report which appeared in some
of the newspapers respecting' the adulteration of moist-sugar by
mixing salt with it, in order to increase its weight, a grocer, who
belongs to a very respectable house in the City, waited upon the
Lord Mayor, for the purpose of showing to what the mixture was
attributable, and of course of proving that the charge brought
against the trade by 111 r. Clarke was without foundation. It ap•
pears from the terror with which the vendors of moat of the neces-
series as well as of the luxuries of life look at that part of the
newspapers in which the analyser's complaints and cautions are
i generally contained, that he is an object of no inconsiderable inte-
rest with the public. It is rather remarkable, that neither baker,
nor flour-merchant nor confectioner made any attempt to refute or
contradict what appeared in the newspapers under this head from
the same authority some time ago, although it is well known that
the Chief 3lsgistrate considers the honour of many of his fellow-
citizens seriously coucerned : and it is certain that he expected,
long before this, to hear an indignant denial from the majority of
those trades.
The complainant, who is not chargeable with the like supine-
ness, and who, we believe, belongs to the firm of Stubbs, Absolon,
and Canning produced a sample of sugar, which was of an exceed-
ingly dark colour, and excessively salt and bitter to the taste. This
disagreeable mixture was, he said, a specimen of the sugar which
often came into the market from our Colonies, and men of science,

-....-_ _ .
who were not acquainted with the soil from which it sprung,
might conclude that it was adulterated, when, in fact, it was per-
fectly genuine. Now the cause of this apparent phenomenon was,
that the - from which the - - was extractea -on lands

canes . - sugar ~. _ grew t.
that had been lately reclaimed from the sea, and imbibed a consi.
derable portion of saline matter, of which the sugar could be di.
ekill of the refiner alone. It was highl,
stated -

vested try the._- _ ly probr.ble
that the sugar which had been analysed as was -- in the Alan-
gion House report was sugar of this description which had been
ignorantly sold. It - indeed, almost ridiculous to sup• that

o require.. - to put .. make good cloth, ought not to . . been spun into more
- —.nay sow. was, ... _, _...—.....em0us to suppose ,
,A laugh, and 4‘ yes, put it out of the question—Dever mind im- retail grocers would knowingly sell sugar adulterated with salt to
than two. A poor raw thread, int,apable of producing a
morality.") the extent that had been represented. In a recent sale several
" Immorality" was accordingly left out amine cooradieente. hogsheads of sugar of the kind described had been sold by mistake good stout fabric, is thereby sent among the weavers, to
The CHAIRMAN—Then the resolution stands " that all members to a country dealer, to whom a deduction was made in consequence. the great injury of the manufacture. But the evils of ;his
convicted of dishonesty be expelled the Society." As many as are The trade had already sustained quite enough of odium from the branch of the trait: do not end here. Almost all of the
of opinion that this resolution do pass will hold up their hands. malpractices which had been proved against some unworthy mem- spinning is carritsl on by poor people, who naturally look
All the honest men held up their hands accordingly, and the re- hers, without having en accidental circumstance adduced against .
solution passed. with anxiety to the time the market-day comes round, fur
them to raise a suspicion of a general want of integrity amongst
Somebody in the crowd—Yes, "We are all honourable men." the trade. which they seek to provide themselves with as much yarn
A Gentleman then got up behind the Chair, and spoke as fol- The sample was left at the Mansion House in evidence of the as they are able, gathering it up from every member of
lOW :—" I have been a linen-draper all my lite, and what's more inaccuracy of Mr. Clarke's judgment, but that Gentleman had in
my father was a linen-draper before me ! (a laugh); and though a former conversation with the Lord Mayor stated distinctly that
I bare quit the yard, and bid adieu to the counter for good and the sugar which came front parts of the island of Berbice, and of '
their own families, sometimes from those a their neigh-,
bunches, than desirous of sorting them ace°
all, I must ise allowed to pay linen-drapers' tosistants are neither other islands, imbibed particlee of saline matter, in consequence of
boors, and always more anxious about the brdulikn
thetm
more nor less titan common slaves, and I'd rather be a common the condition of the soil; that the flavour was of course vitiated, different grfists of the t. lifferent yarns that compose
porter !than one of them any longer. (Hear, and hisses.) I've and that the trade were apt to lay hold of that fact to cover their Thus the two things essentially nect2SIIK
denied to him
peen two or three and twenty years in tile employment, and know mal-practices, but he ridiculed the idea that a sugar cane weld weaver to make good linen ate too often ,
as much as most men of ' the trade,' and what is and what is not grow as much salt as sugar.yarns well assorted• towards
natnely good and even _..o,_
geftothtltier
ac-
close ' shaving.' (Hisses at the mention of ' shaving,' which The sample produced was as dark coloured as the sugar usti,.:ly
appeared to be a cant term known only to the innitiated. sold for mixing with or making what is called wine, with as much - -nit - g •
yarn vroews, to be kept by persons
The Meeting became positively barbarous.) I repeat, I know propriety as the stuff sold at many plats. As nearly as might be forward to the Introduction of the spinning by machinery,
all about that ere ;shaving, and that keeping open late at night, guessed from the tame, it seemed to contain not more than about and the establishment of ,,-
in nine cases out of ten, is just to get off damaged goods, 10 per cent. of salt.
what we call ' jobs,' and for no other earthly purpose in the The sugar which Mr. Clarke analysed, it will be recollected, wasthe weavers, so that
bleach and assort it, and prepare it for ,
eo nli loin there important objects,
heavens above. I approve of the conduct—the noble, manly, very tine and bright in appearance, and he observed that salt was
each man who came to buy from them might be able at-
conduct of Mr. Brooks, of Parliament-street, in opposing the calculated to brighten the appearance of sugar when mixed with it
once to provide himself with as much as he wanted of that
insertion of our advertisement in the Morning Jim-old, because it by the hand of the grower. who would buy up the yarn from the hand spinners, and •
represented us es a dissolute low class of men, who were neither Mr. Clarke is to be shortly engaged in analysing what is ustra y
more nor less than wolves, that would, if let loose, devour all before called port wine, and sold at what is said to be a cheap rate. suitable to the particular quality of linen he was preparing
n particular kind of Yarn, unmixed with any other, that was
them. lam glad to see so much unantity ((lucre unanimity) to weave. It appears from the evidence before your Corn-
among you, gentlemen, and I congratulate you thereupon. chargeable with the offence of adulterating sugar, thecomplaoinfaon,.
miters, that considerable improvements have been made in
The ItORD MAY OR was satisfied that however others might bet
1( A laugh and hear.) That is the way to get your cause founded was acquitted of all idea of permitting such a practice to g
: the last twenty years in Great Britain in the machinery f
on a firers tali (sic put base). I think the masters have also dis- ward in the concern to which he belonged. Y°lll. Cot'
tettneeablie