The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-18 00:00:00

almost unabated force, he felt it his duty to adopt the
present course to insure its abolition.
Mr. John Dichman, an inspector under the sani
tary Board, proved the existence of the nuisance on
the 7th of March last, when he visited the place, and
that it consisted of a most noxious effluvium, arising
from the refuse matter deposited in the distillation of
the naphtha being discharged from the defendants'
distillery into two contiguous drains extending along
a densely populated court closely adjoining their
premises, and that upon again visiting the place a
few days since' he found the cause of complaint still
existing.
Holland, the warrant officer, gave similar evidence,
and stated that a great number of the inhabitants had
complained to hint of the deleterious effects produced
by the vapour in question, and that several of them
were then in attendance to give evidence of its con-
sequences to themselves.
Mr. Richard Pares, a master turner in Horseshoe-
alley, stated that one of the defendants' drains passed
under his workshop, and threw off such an over-
powering vapour, resembling the fumes of burnt
shell-lack, that he and all his family were affected by
the most strange sensations, pains in the head, and
giddiness, and that some of his workmen occasionally
suffered so severely from its effects that they were
seized with a sort of stupor, and compelled to suspend
their occupation. They were obliged to keep all
their windows constantly closed to exclude
the effluvium, but having been induced a few
days since to open one of them for the
admission of air for the benefit of his daughter-
in-law, who was then in the last stage of consump-
tion, and now lay dead in the house, she was almost
instantly seized with a violent retching, produced by
the vapour, and complained that everything she
either ate or drank afterwards was impregnated with
the taste of naphtha. Upon that occasion, notwith-
standing the essential necessity of the patient having
fresh air, her medical attendant, Dr. Herring, who
visited her at the moment, ordered the window to be
immediately closed, and expressed his decided opinion,
subsequent to her death, that such an atmosphere was
calculated to greatly aggravate her disorder and pre-
clude her recovery.
George John Pares, son of the last witness, de-
scribed the sensations he had repeatedly experienced
whilst at work from the exhalations referred to, which
caused such a sensation of giddiness, contraction of
the chest, and general prostration of strength, that
his tools dropped from his hands, and he was com-
pelled to abandon his work and to seek purer air
before he felt at all restored. Upon one occasion he
suffered so severely, that the injurious effects con-
tinued for four or five days afterwards, and his wife,
who was in apartments some distance from the work-
shop, complained of suffering the same symptoms,
although neither was subject to such attacks, and
both were in excellent health previous to the distilla-
tion being carried on there.
A married woman, named Jane Martin, also de-
posed to the pernicious effects produced upon her and
her family by the vapour proceeding from the defen-
dants' laboratory, which was so intolerable that,
whenever she had occasion to open one of her closets
contiguous to the party-wall, she was forced back by
the stench, and was obliged to retreat from the room
to allow it to escape. _ _

Mr. F. Ingoldby, a surgeon in Finsbury-square,
stated that upon visiting the court in question the
atmosphere was so impregnated by the fumes of
naphtha that he was seized with a violent attack of
coughing, which lasted a considerable time, and the
usual effects it produced were nausea, loss of appe-
tite, rejection of food, irritability of the mucous
membrane, spasmodic action, and a general failure of
health. The witness handed in a certificate describ-
ing its injurious effects upon two of his patients,
named Archer and Cressall, residing in that locality,
and similar certificates were produced from three
other surgeons to the like effect, and stating the nui•
sance to be such as to call for immediate suppression.
Mr. Travers, who attended for the defence, assured
the Magistrate that his clients had used every effort
they could to mitigate the evil complained of as soon
as they were made acquainted with its existence; and
to prove that its effects were not of the destructive
nature alleged, he had then in court one of the de-
fendants' workmen to establish that although he was
exclusively engaged in this distillation he enjoyed the
most perfect health.
Mr. Bullock said that there could not be a mora
conclusive proof of the deadly effects of this vapour
than the fact a man who bad been employed to cleanse
an adjoining sewer since the notice had been served
on the defendants had been taken out in a state of
insensibility ; and, besides its pernicious effect upon
the health of the poor inhabitants, it was so seriously
detrimental to the value of the neighbouring property
that one gentleman, who was rated at no less than
2271. for poor-rates alone, had complained that he
was losing all his tenants in consequence, and that he
would be unable to retain one of them unless the
nuisance were supprossed. He proposed to call a
number of other witnesses to speak to facts similar
to those before stated, but

Mr. HammiLr. said that, after the convincing evi-
dence just detailed, there could be no question that
the nuisance was one of a most dangerous character,
and he should therefore make an imperative order fur
its entire abolition within 98 hours, and, further, re•
quire the defendants to pay all the costs attending the
prosecution.