The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-22 00:00:00

ADULTERATIOIV OF FOOD.

There is something very fascinating to the ima-
gination in the system of justice as administered
in the East by °adjs. How speedily detection
follows upon guilt, and punishment on detection !
Scarcely has the baker mixed up abnormal ingre-
dieiats with his adulterate eater when the Eastern
magistrate, attended by four stout acolytes, with
goodly staves in their hands, stops, obedient to his
matchless instinct, before the offender's shop. The
cakes and loaves are handed out, and in far less
time than it has taken us to write it the unprin-
cipled tradesman is lying prostrate on the ground.
There lie remains, bellowing with Main, while the
stern ministers of justice are pounding away with
their sticks upon the soles of his feet, as cheerfully
as though they were employed in the process of
beating-carpets. The remedy is vet always by
way of bastinado. Occasionally the ears of a
butcher who is found tripping are nailed to his
counter ; occasionally the erring retail dealer is
mounted upon a jackass, with his face tower& the
tail,land paraded through the markets as an object
for the missiles of the faithful. These forms of
proceeding appear at first sight to the Western
student as somewhat summary; not to say severe.
They have, however, received the sanction of a
majority of the human race. We include, of course,
the empire of China in our estimate. The European
nations, and especially the inhabitants of the British
isles, have, until quite recently, fallen into the
opposite extreme. There is not a single article
_ _

representing the animal, vegetable, or mineral king-
dom, and used for the nutriment of man, for his
apparel, for his necessities, his caprices, or his de-
light, which has not teen publicly vended among
us in au adulterate, damaged, or noxious state.
Our meat has been diseased, we are told, and has
induced carbuncles ; our white fish has been green,
and our green vegetables white; our sugar has been
sand or lime ; our wheaten bread potatoes and
alum ; our mustard has been flour ; our beer has
been drugged, and our drugs poisoned. The very air
which we breathe and the water which we drink
have partaken of the universal pollution. The rich,
who are enabled by their position and their wealth
to deal only with tradesmen of the highest class,
hive That little idea of the extent to which this
adulteration has prevailed. Fine ladies and gen-
tlemen do not amuse themselves by strolling about
on Saturday nights in the remoter markets,
thronged as they are then by crowds of anxious
purchasers, who are endeavouring to lay in the
Sunday's dinner and the week's provisions at the
smallest possible expense. We must not, how-
ever, for the moment, enter upon the general ques-
tion of the food which is supplied to the poorer
classes. Enough is done by the more roguish
tradesmen in the way of adulterating our food to

call for the vigilancO of all. The reports in the
Lancet first drew attention to the subject, and since

then the minds of the most careless readers have

been held in continued attention by the disclosures
which have been made before the Parliamentary
Committee. Let us confine ourselves for the

moment to the one subject of bread.

A few

- years back we heart of nothing but the "big
loaf" and "little loaf." It was, no doubt, desir-

able to procure as large a loaf as possible for our
money; but surely the case of the "sound loaf," as
against the " unsound loaf," merits as attentive a
consideration. •

It appears to be as well established as any fact
well can -be that the loaf which is ordinarily pur-

chased by the London consumer is mixed up- with
ingredients which should not of right enter into its
composition. in some cases lime and ground bones
have been detected in the composition, which is by
courtesy called bread. More usually the articles
which are employed to depreciate the quality of
the loaf are potatoes and alum. The potatoes
give weight—the alum colour. With respect to
the mixture of potatoes with the flour little need
be said. Potato-flour is not injurious to health ;
the only hardship is that we are called upon to
pay the higher price for the inferior article.
With respect to alum there appears to exist a
diversity of opinion among the witnesses who
have given evidence before the committee. We
will leave it to our chemists and physicians to
determine how far it is beneficial to health
that the human frame should be well satu-
ra'ed with alum. Speaking as laymen upon the
point, we must confess a strong objection to the use
of alum as an ingredient in our daily food. It
would seem that the evil has attained such a pitch

as at length to call down the notice of the authori-
ties. The process of adulteration does not only
take place in the bakees sanctum ; from recent re-
ports we are rather inclined to the belief that the
flour is more usually vitiated at the mill. A short
time ago a flour-dealer residing at Wakefield was
fined for having in his possession a quantity of flour
adulterated with alum. The Mayor had caused
printed notices to be posted all over the walls of the
town, cautioning dealers against the adulteration
of flour. The practice, however, was so usual, and
the habit so inveterate, tlat the notice was disre-
crartled, at least by a flour-dealer named Ginn. The
olice were directed to search his premises, and.
tlia—.o-s-Zilze.l 84 sacks of flour. In 57iiacks alum
was mixed with the flour, and in 17 sacks in most
injurious proportion. For this offence the defend-
ant was fined, and the 17 sacks were detained.
Forty bags of flour besides, belonging to the same
owner, were reserved for further analysis ; the re-
sult of the inquiry was, that the flour was found to
be so strongly adult,Tatod that they were deta'ned,
and the contents cast out to the pigs. A few days
afterwards a large quantity of flour was scizid on
the premises of Mr. G. Merritt, of the Steam Mill,
Pontefract, and, being found to be adulterated
w.th alum, was condemned and sold, after being
rendered unfit for human food. At Rotherham,
again, Mr. Joseph Oroasly was charged with adul-
terating flour with gypsum, which is composed of
lime and sulphuric acid. Samples were for Narded.
to Mr. Slater, an analytical chemist of Sheffield,
and the presence of gypsum in considerable quanti-
ties was detected. This proceeding also, as far as
the bench of magistrates was concerned, terminated
in a fine ; but from their decision the defendant has
appealed. These instances, which we take at ran-
dom from the provincial journals of the last few
weeks, will be sufficient to show that the attention
of the magistrates has at length beet' directed to the
suppression of this system of adulterating the staff
of life.—Times.

OFFER OF A SEAT IN PARLIAMENT, AND 6,0001. TO
MR. WESTERTON.—In reference to the statement made
by Mr. Beale, iv, the late rueetin; the friends and snp-
perteis of Mr. Westerton, of Knightsbridge, to tie
effect that he had received an off-r of 6,000/. and aa' at
in Parliament, provided he engaged to do certain things,
we are authorised to say, that im eediately after tie
election for churchwarden is over, Mr. Westerton will
publish a pamphlet, not only fully verifying the state-
ment, but giving a narrative of the circumstances coe-
nected with the case—which narrative, we are ae,nre,',
will be a very extraordinary one.—filetniny Advertiser.
EXTENSIVE BURGLARY.—CHATHAM, Friday--Early
this morning an exteesive robbery was discovered to
have been committed on the premises of Mr. Clitt,
pawnbroker, High-street, and property to a considerable
amount carried off. The burglary was discovered afoot
five o'clock this marline; by some men going to their
work, who, on passing the premises, found the shop
door open. They at once called the proprietor of the
shop, who, on examining his stock, found that the
thieves had carried off about a d, zen gold and silver
watches, a large number of rings, besides a quantity
of wedding rings laud keeper,' several Crimean and
other medals which had been deposited in pledge, as
well as other property. The burglars appear to have
effected an entrance into the premises by prising open
the cellar window in the street, which they closed down
again after them, to disarm suspicion. They then
forced the locks of the doors leading into the shop,
which they commenced ransacking, but were evidently
disturbed durleg the operation, as they left a large
quantity of watches and jewellery untouched, t ough
they were lying clots to the articles stolen. The: aso
left behind them some of their clothes, whice4tney
bad used to disguise themselves. TI e-e is every rea-
son to believe that the burglary was committed by a
man dressed as a sailor, and another dressed as a
woman, as two persons of that description were seen
near the premises about the time the robbery was
supposed to have been accomplished. The police are
actively engaged in endeavouring to discover those
parties. Nearly the whole of the articles stolen were
pledges.
TUE STANLEY LIBRARY, KING'S LYNN.—In January,
1855, Lord Stanley gave 1,0001. towards the establish-
ment of a library
at King's Lyn?i. The corporation gave
501. per annum towards the working
expenses,j wax
paid for the purchase of rooms in a building which
com-
prises museum, lecture rooms, class rooms, &c.,of which
001. was taken from Lord Stanley's gift, and 300/.
sZnis obtained 3 upon a charge of the corporation gift ;
the remainingo 700/. was expended in outfit and books.
The governing
t‘ vbody consists of a committee of eight, of
are
whom appointed by Lord Stanley, two by the
corporation, and four by the subscribers. The subscrip•
tion is ls. a quarter, commutable to 3s. per year, pay-
able in advance. The subscriber is entitled to take home
two or three volumes, as the case may be. A reading
room is provided,- well furnished with maps and periodi-
cals. The committee have just issued their first annual
report. The library, it appears, now numbers 4,106
vols., and the reading facilities thus offered have been so
widely appreciated that in a population of about 5,000
families there have been enrolled 782 members, and the
weekly average of books issued has been 1,021 volumes.
Rural branch libraries have also been established in con-
nexion with the central institution at Lynn. There are
already six of such branches in the Union. Assuming
that each volume is reissued from the branch club upon
an average twice in a month, there is an annual branch
issue of 4,320 volumes, which, added to the local ;mile,
gives a total issue of 57,412 volumes per annum. The
income for the year, from subscriptions, fines, sale of
catalogues, and from the corporation grant, bas been
262/, 9s, 7d., and the expenditure 20/. U. 24.