The Sun.
London, England, 1865-11-30 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THipIiSD.AN EVENING, NOVEMBER 30, 1865.

proposed by the Imperial Government, and that
they will have to modify their schemes if they do
not altogether change them. Unless some compro-
mise or other be made, it is difficult to see how
affairs are to be carrried on with any degree of suc-
cess. This is not a time when Austria can afford to
trifle with the wishes and offend the prejudices of
the several States under her dominion, and with one
thing and another it must be admitted that at pre-
sent affairs are very unpropitious. Surely there was
quite enough on hand with the dispute concerning
the Duchies, and other matters at home, without
the Imperial Government recklessly plunging into
fresh difficulties, and entering upon a struggle
of which no one can see the end.

It is difficult to calculate all the evils that arise
from the late cattle plague, but foremost among them
must certainly be ranked the sale of diseased meat.
Yesterday this matter was brought under notice at
a meeting of the City Commissioners of Sewers,
and Dr. LETHEBY, the medical officer of health for
the City, called the attention of the Court to the
nefarious habit which now rapidly increases, of
sending the " carcases of bullocks affected with the
prevailing cattle disease to the markets for sale as
human food." A more scandalous practice could
not be resorted to, and no language is too strong
to denounce such a course, which, at the
present time especially, is most criminal. It is
dreadful to contemplate the injuries that arise from
habit, and those who are not informed in Bush mat-
ters will be shocked to find, from Dr. LETHEBY'S
account, to what an extent it is practised. Last
week there were 128 quarters of beef, which weighed
nearly 8,5001 b., condemned in the Citymarkets, and
most of it was from animals affected with the cattle
plague. It stands to sense that such a system must
be most pernicious in every respect, and, as Dr.
LETHEBY truly remarked, the evil is not con-
fined to the sale of this meat as human
food, but we must take into account the harm
occasioned by the propagation of the disease
in all the places through which it passes on
its way to the market. Some of the carcases con-
demned last week were brought from Scotland, and,
of course the risk of contagion is greatly increased
in such instances.

Care has been taken to find out who are the
guilty parties, and it is stated that many of the
carcases which came from Scotland have been traced
to one person, who " consigned them to different
salesmen, and in different names." This shows the
devices to which people resort in order to gain
their point, and too much care cannot be taken to
guard against their despicable tricks and ex-
traordinary manoeuvres. Dr. LETHEBY very
wisely advised that investigation should be
made, with a view to legal proceedings, in a case
where information was sent to the LORD MAYOR in
a letter, stating that a person from Spalding, in
Lincolnshire, had sent eight quarters of diseased beef.
The Court passed a resolution directing that the
necessary legal proceedings be instituted in two
cases referred to, and also it was determined that a
copy of the report of Dr. LETHEBY should be for-
warded to the Lords of the Privy Council. This
is very satisfactory so far as it goes, because in the
present state of things too much cannot possibly be
done to guard against the evils which menace us.
It must be borne in mind that this sale of diseased
meat here referred to is over and above the ordinary
traffic that takes place in meat that is unfit for food
without being infected, so that all the vigilance
that can possibly be exercised will not prove
too much to meet the emergency. It
is to be hoped that with active exertions the
iniquitous practice may be diminished, but it is not
likely that it will be entirely checked, for there are
some people who are so avaricious and unprincipled
that they trade on calamity, or care nothing for
the mischief and misery that they thus inflict upon
others.