The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-06 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-HOUSE.—Robert Ware, a butcher, re•
siding at Greenhithe, was summoned before Sir R. W.
Carden, charged with having unlawfully sent to Newgate
Market a quantity of meat for the purpose of being sold
as human food, the same meat being in a putrid state.
The proceedings caused a great deal of interest.
Mr. Pocklington, the inspector of meat in Newgate-
market, said on the 2d of October I went to Mr. Webb's
glop, 21, Newgate-market, and I found there, between
six and seven o'clock in the morning, four quarters of
beef inside the shop. They were carried in there by John
Ludlow, the carrier, and his man, in my presence. I
examined them and found them stinking, and green and
bruised. From my experience I should say that the
beast had been smothered. From what I ascertained
upon inquiry, I went down to Greenhithe, in Kent,
where I got further information, and I made inquiries
for the defendant there and saw him ; but as I was about
to speak to hire he ran away.
Cross-examined—l did not see the blood of the
bullock.
Mr. C. Fisher, Inspector of Meat of the city of Lon-
don, confirmed in the most complete manner the evi•
dente of Mr. Pocklington.
John Ludlow, carman in the employment of the South
Eastern Railway Company, Bricklayers' Arms Station,
said—On Monday last I delivered 4 quarters of beef at
Mr. Webb's. I saw Mr. Pocklington there and he exa-
mined them whilst I was there. I brought them from
the station. Two of the quarters had cloths upon them.
The others had no cloths upon them. When I de-
livered them Mr. Webb's man would not sign my book.
George Renton, foreman to Mr. Webb, of Newgate-
market, salesman, said—On Monday morning, at half-
past 4 o'clock, as I came to the door to my work, the
defendant stood at the door, and he told me that he had
come up by the train on Monday morning, and that he
stopped at the Bull. He said he wanted to see Mr.
Webb and asked me if I was he. I said no, I was his
foreman. He told me ho had a body of beef for Mr.
Webb to sell that would coma by the South-Eastern
Railway. The bullock, he said, had jumped overboard,
and a waterman had towed it ashore. He also said
that he had stuck it, that it had bled freely, and
that he had taken 15 stone of fat from it, and that
it made 3s. sd. a stone. I asked him what sort
of meat it was, to which he replied that it was
quite sweet when he packed it, which was between
half-past four and five o'clock in the afternoon of
Saturday, and it was perfectly sweet when he
left. He stated that before it was sold he wished
the inspector to see whether it was fit for human food,
or whether it was fit to go to the boilers (for the fat).
He waited about for the waggon coming in, and after-
wards Mr. Pocklington came in, and I told him I had
got a body of beef coming in, and the young man
wished, before it was sold for him, to see it, and he said
" Very well, he would," and he came several times to
..4se it, and he saw the waggon come in, and I said,
"Here is the beef come in," and he followed it into the
shop and stuck a skewer into it, and said it was not fit
foe human food and he must take it. It was not
offered for sale. The fore quarters were in a good state,
bat the hind quarters were stinking.
James Fulljames, of Greenhithe, Kent, said—On Sa-
turday last, between four and five o'clock, I saw the
defendant and his brother dressing a bullock on the
shore of the river Thames. The defendant's master was
filsperintending the dressing of the bullock, and I saw
the defendant chop the bones from the bead and matter
Pall out from the nose. I supposed it was for the dogs,
but from information I received, I said to a Mr. Mar-
tin, who was present, in the defendant's presence,
" What are you going to do with that beef ? They tell me
you are going to dress it and send it to London ' • and
if yen do that I shall write to the Lord Mayor." They
laughed and jeered at me. I afterwards saw the cloths
!Ached for the beef to be packed up, and I saw the
same body of beef taken in a cart to the railway sta-
tion, where it was left, and one of the men said, " We
have taken the beef down and you can do as you
tike." The defendant was there at the time, but I
can't say who it was that spoke. The first I saw
of it was a horse drawing the body of the animal
out of the water on to the ground. The animal was
then dead. I afterwards saw them dressing and
skinning it, and Mr. Martin told the men to take parti-
enlar care in the dressing of it, as he had sold worse meat
in his shop. The defendant was one of the men. I
went to the station and saw the beef there, and I re-
ceived information how it was directed.
Sir R. W. Carden said the case was a very serious one
indeed, deeply affecting the public. He felt that it must
be fully investigated. It appeared from the evidence
that two other parties living at Greenhithe were impli-
cated in the transaction, and in order that the ends of
justice might not be defeated in a manner which so ma-
terially involved the health of the inhabitants of the
metropolis, he should direct the City Solicitor to conduct
the prosecution. Ile would consider whether the other
parties alluded to in the course of the investigation
should net also be prosecuted.
The Alderman then remanded the case till Wednesday
next, and required the defendant to be bound over in
his own recognisances in the sum of 401., and to procure
a surety in 201., for his appearance at that time.
The following letter, which was received by the Lord
Mayor, and which describes the practice of some of the
people who send supplies to the London markets, was
read in the court :

" Birmingham.

"My Lord,—The attention of the public has lately been
called to the state of meat sent to the London market from
Longworth, in Somerset. I fear it is only one of hun-
dreds of cases which are daily occurring in all parts of the
kingdom.
"The butchers in this neighbourhood make no secret as to
their custom of sending stale or diseased meat to town.
The other day I had a sheep and two calves taken nnddenly
ill, with violent inflammation. I sent for the butcher to
bleed them, but they were dead when he came, and ho very
quietly remarked to me that if they had been stuck an hour
sooner they would have done nicely for some of the London
folk. He then offered to buy the carcasses from me, which
I declined to poll Lim, as I thought the Loudon folk'
would be better without them, but he said that "it was
like throwing away money to bury them." On Saturday
last another butcher called on me to sell mo a sheep. Ho
wished to show me that he had a nice little business,'
and took out of his pocket a cheque for stale meat' from
a London butcher for 11. 2s. 6d. You see,' he said, he
will always buy from me anything which I cannot sell here,
or which is not good enough for my customers, be it a small
or large quantity; but if the quantity I send is not worth
a pound he waits till he receives a second supply before ho
sends me my money. There are now a great number of
rotten sheep which had lambs in the spring, and have now
been fed up as far as they can be, and will be killed off, as
the farmers here say, before the cold weather will kill
them, and their carcases sent to London ; that they make
very bad meat, but the Londoners never know tho differ-
(moo."'

PRESERVATION OF LIFE FROM SHIP.
WRECK'.

Yesterday a special general meeting of the friends
of the Royal National Institution for the Preservation
of Life from Shipwreck was held at its offiees, John-
street, Adelphi, to consider the recommendation of the
committee to alter the title of the society ; Mr. Thomas
Chapman, F.R.S., in the chair. . . .

The CHAIRMAN observed that it was not without
some reluctance the committee had recommended that
the title of the institution, which had now been in
extstence upwards of thirty years, should be changed ;
but they bad yielded to a sense of duty on this point,
as they had reason to believe that by doing so the im-
portant objects of the institution, which would not in
any way be altered by the change of title, would be
greatly advanced.
A resolution was then passed that the title of the in-
stitution be hereafter " Royal National Life-boat Insti-
tution, founded in 1824, for the Preservation of Life
from Shipwreck."
It appeared that the Board of Trade had transmitted
a communication to the institution which had for its
object the forwarding of saving life from shipwreck. The
conditions of receiving aid from the Mercantile Marine
Fund are to be-
1. That the institution provide a life-boat and boat-
house of a kind and in a situation satisfactory to the
board.
2. That the boat and boat-house be subject to the in-
spection of the board's officer.
The nature of the assistance contemplated by the
board is that of giving rewards for the manning of boats
in circumstances of danger, and for the preservation of
life. The average cost of a life-boat, with a boat-house,
and a carriage to transport the boat readily from place
to place, is about 3001., so that to meet the conditions
of the Board of Trade ample scope is left for the exercise
of benevolent exertions. From the Admiralty " Wreck
Register," as published in the Life-boat Journal of the
institution for the current month, it appeared that the
wrecks during the past year on the coasts and in
the seas of the United Ki❑gdom were 832. Of
these 253 occurred on the east coast of Great Bri-
tain, 76 on the south coast, and 130 on the west
coast ; 81 wrecks took place on the coasts of Ireland ;
6 were cast on shore at Scilly ; 11 at the Channel
Islands ; 3 at Orkney ; and 12 at the Isle of Man ; the
remaining 260 wrecks occurred in the surrounding seas.
The whole loss of lives during the year, as far as could
be ascertained, amounted to 989. Surely, with such
appalling facts as these before thorn, the British public
will pot withhold their assistance to provide life-boats on
the coat. On the contrary, we believe that a liberal
response will be made to the appeal of the committee for
additional contributions, and that the great national
Cause of " preservation of life from shipwreck" will not
be allowed to form an exception to the many other good
causes so benevolently and liberally supported in this
country. All now that is required is hearty and cordial
cooperation to see every suitable place provided with