The Sun.
London, England, 1823-09-18 00:00:00

_ IMPORTANT TO -BAKERS,

EET.—Yesleklay several bakers, re-
siding in the parish of St. Paul, Covent-ga;den, were brought
belbre the Sitting Magistrates;-Sir IL-iishattr and Mr. 31w.
SH [mt., upon an information filed by the well known Johnson,
for selling bread—in the fiat place, denominating a lc,f as a
quartern, or inilf-quattem loaf; and, in the second place, for
selling a /oaf or loaves under the right denomination, bur' ne:.
glecting -to weigh it iccordingto the provisions of the Act for tho.
•
Regulation of Bakers.
The first baker who appeared-was a man of the name of
Goodman ; and Byers, the regular witness for Johnson, swore,
that on Saturday night, the 13tIvitr4. he went into the defen-
.
4111414:ft4)4114,--,1#10:.:*Ir a quartirn'-.ldift -there was some
litaitatiost-on •the`Pitrt of the person (very like the defendant)
who sold me the loaf, and 1 halloa'sl out--" I want a quartern
loaf." A half quartern loaf was givenme, and I paid'for it
44d. in copper. The loaf was produted, and only weighed
lib. 1440 z.; the regular weight of a half.quartern loaf should .
be ?lb. 2toz.
The defendant said, that men like the witness took every ad.
vantage ; he, gave strict directions not to sell hall-quartern
loaves ; indeed, how could he sell such loaves when none were
made ?

Sir R. BIRNIE—You seek Acts of Parliament, and you
must'abide by them.
A baker who attended (being one of the Committee who
framed the Act), observed, that a notice was generally posted
up in the bakers' shop, statingneither quartern nor half.quai tern
loaves were made -or Add.

31r. HALLS—The Act of Parliament says, that a loaf must
be Offered for sale as a half.quartern or quartern, as the case
may be, before the penalty can be inflicted. Here there was
no offer of the loaf as a halfittartern ; it was 'merely sold as
a loaf; there was no intention to'itell it as a half quartern loaf,
and it could not be, because it is many ounces short of the
weight
The Informer—Yes, your Worship ; but that's the way the
public are taken in. 'K hen they were sold as lu:weans-and
half quartems they generally wanted sufficient weight ; aye,
often to the amount of six, seven, and eight ounces.
Sir R. BuntrE—The 'object and meaning of the Act was,
that bread should be sold by the pound weight.
The Informer—Yes, your Worship ; but the Act says the
baker must weigh it whether the customer ask him or not.
Sir R. Smut —For my own part I think, and so do many
others, that the old assize was the best regulation.
The (Committee) Baker—The object of the Act was to pro.
tect the public, but when people for a series of years have been
used to call for quarterns and half.quarterns, it is impossible to
prevent them, although we take every pains to say that-we sell
loaves of two pounds or four pounds.
Mr, HALLS-.lllr. Jolinson,, certainly not sanction any
tricks being played ; if. the bread be of sufficient weight I shall
not consider its denomination of quartern or half-quartern as
calling for a penalty.
Sir R. Blnxtx—Why is a man, informer, or otherwise, top
into the shop of an unsuspectingly honest man, and aak him for
that whiclit is forbidden by an Act of Parliament, merely to
take advantage of hint ?
The Witness—Your Worship, if I asked fora two.pound
loaf they. would look suspicious at me, and besides there is no
penalty in the Act for under weight; it only provides that it
must be Weighed in the presence Of, the buyer.
Sir R. ; because you can have your
weight; if one loaf don't weigh two pounds, they'must add
a portion of another to make it weight.
Mr. HALLs—This information is founded upon' he sixth
section of the Act, which merely affects the denotninatimi un-
der which the breed is sold.

The Informer—Bat your• 'Worship sees it is under weight.
Mr. HALL!—Then the information should have gone upon
the seventh clause,, which provides for that. I must dismiss
this case for want of evidence.

Mary Taylor, of Monmouth-street, St. Gibes's, was next
called, but she being very unwell; her son appeared for her.
Biers swore that on Saturday, the 13th of September, he
went into her shop, and asked a young womanbehind the coun-
ter for altalf-quartern lost ; she said they sold none, but that
they. had two-pound loaves, and she handed him one without
weighing it.
Sir R. BIRNIE—Aye, she would not bite that way, and
therefore you thot,yht you'd have her the other way.
Mr. HALLS is cave does not deserve any penalty; let
her pay, the costs.
Sir K. liiyang-:-An informer is sometimes a useful person,
and should be supported on fair and equitable terms. But here
an illegal thing is asked for—it is not given, however; and
why inflict a penalty for a mere omission which doesnoinjtuy ?
Informers, I say again, are stinietithes"uieful, but they should
proceed on as nearly fair grounds as possible. If they do not,
they should not have the countenance of any fair or honest man
in the community. •
The, Informer—The matter 'stand, soi your Worship, In this
case c but not in any of the hundreds which I have had, and
still have to 'bring.-
Sir R., BinstiE,--Do they come on to-morrow?--Irmo, your.
Worship; ••. ' . - •
Then you are afraid of me ?—No, your Worship, I. should
feel Prowl if 'ou wonld• be here.
I think I should do justice to an- informer as well as to a
baker ?—I• am otherwise engaged, your Worship, as I have
business at .Hatton :garden.
The Witness—lf I asked for a two-pound loaf, your Wor-
ship they'd be sure to weigh it.
dr. HALLs—To be•sure, that serves the public, though it
does not serve the informer. Ilenceit is that we'd° not inflict
the penalty.
George Charlton, of St. Martin's-huie, was the third in the

Biers again swore; that on Saturday, the 13th of September,
he went into the defendant's shop and asked for a half-quartern
loaf, and was served by the defendant with one, using these
expressions—" Here's one.".
Mr. HALLS—What one —a loaf, or a quartern loaf?
Biers—Your Worship, he delivered it to me without weigh-
ing it. -
The defendant—We 481 no such' 10ave5....-we make none, and
it is impossible* to sell what we • don't- make. - These people
come into our shops when we are busy of a Saturday night,
only, 0-take advantage.. ' •
Sir R. Maxi r—That won't he denied rbelieve.

The Defendant:•—•And what are honest people to do ; how are
they to be protected ?
Mr.. Hat-Ls—By conforrnitik to the laws. 'VW were asked
fora quartern loaf, and you,said here's one. What and then,
was It but a quartern 164 which the law does not allow petit°
make.nor'sell under•such,e denOmination ? •
The Defendant—This loaf•is not a quartern loaf, for it weighs
21b:1 oz. - •
_ _

The Informer—Then it is not a 2,1 b. loaf; and besides you
did not weigh it. : ' '
Ilam.s—This case certainly; differs from the first, and
yet 'l'must say that I regret to tine you'401:; and that 'regret is
caused by my belief that, you were; nut aware of any .transgres-
Sion you might have committed.
The Informer--1 Nitre you; Warship will include-the costs
also. I have lost many. cases on appeal at the Sessions in con-
sequence of costs not being included. .I care not whether it be
a penny or five shillings, but some costs are required by the Act
of Pathament.
Four shillings costs were the 4 allowed him.
'enus Anderson, of St: Clements 's passage, stood fourth
On the, list. Biers was the witness,oand awoke to the same de-
mand and the same answer as in the former cases, and the de-
fendant was also fined-40s. and-costs.'
Ann Hood, of St. James's-street, Covent!garden, was fined
for not a loaf Which'sheuriintentionally sold Biers.
He asked for, a half-quartern lost', she, replied they sold none
but 21b. or-41b. loaves, dud tberebY'saved her pocket and acted
up to the regulation prescribed by the.Aet of Parlietnent.
Mr. HALLS—I hope the: publicity of these proceedings will
ba„ itdtiueetfeet upon the bakers, and will teach them td-be
cautious for the future. Let a notice be -posted up in every
shop' that neither quartern nor half-quartern loaves are sold
there ;,and the loales .they iell be weighed; however deno-
minated by the huyers, I shall not consider them as sold under
the dentnnitiatiOn of quartern loaves,• so as to then( With:
,in the provision of the sixt)t section of the Acti, brinel'he Act has
been alttigetber the seeking of the bakers, and they must abide
by it.

FOR 'THE SI;TINT..
Ma. Eurrpnr---The following extract frona au
excellent 'work, entitled lc Ilc t Espagne des
ConsOzieugs de l'Ati:rue4oit Armee,' 4y' moos.
A-
TFEABUVEB:IA6rI:::, ade Cworicli
am astonished never to traie 'seen noticed in an
English ,paper, considering the, effect and int.;
mense sale it had in Franca, and distinguished
as'the author is for the general correctness of his
views and his high political. reputation, is' pecu-
liarly applicable to the aettill state of affairs be-
tween the Madrid;: Regcnc+ on the ent.ilanlt,
supported, as it is riooo,4rti*Aptry ilte-Kuostart
Arnbitsintdor, 'a nd thlr Duee or A NGOiatiltriin the
other,' not supported,it would appear by the
French Cabinet.

I TRAiiSLATIox.I

" The party which France goes to assist,, or which offers to
assist France,. is in a divided state, and must be so because
it is without unity of po‘wer,' and is free alternately to recog-
nise or cast off the same directing influence without any othei'
motive on the part of those who dissent, than their own per-
sonal views and manner of considering the conduct ot their
Chiefs ; without any other effort than Merely that of separat-
ing from those they had joined ; without any fear on their part
from the separation, because, being volunteers, they might
turn their arms against whoever should try to controul them,
and kindle civil war in the party, as has already been done in
the country. I shill not offer these results as probable, but as
almest inevitable, unless the end of the armed intervention be
attained with the rapidity of lightning. We already know the
divisions which exist between the civil and militarY agents ;
they broke out with defeat, and success would only augment
them, since success would infallibly-give greater activity to
pretensions. Civil agents are terrible obstacles in the wars of
parties: I do not know a cause which they have not contri-
buted to lose. If the three* distinct view, joined under the
banner of armed intervention, be added to the account, and
the impossibility of their agreeing when victory forces them to
declare a result, we shall then know how many real divi-
sions may break' out before the struggle, while it lasts, or
after it is ended. The inevitable • effect of those divisions will
be to render the war in Spain national H.

* The three parties whose views he here alludes to, he has
already explained in a former part of the work to he—
ist, Those who think the armed intervention necessary for the
sake of the Roman Catholic faith ; 2dly, Those who are in
favour of it, in the interest of absolute power ; and 3dly, The
indefinite or conciliating party, without, he says, a fixed view
or plan.