The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-06 00:00:00

ADULTERATION OF FOOD.

On the motion for going into committee of supply,
Lord E. CECIL called attention to the state of the law
as regarded the use of false weights and measures and the
adulteration of food, and concluded by moving the follow-
ing resolution—that in the opinion of the house it
was expedient that her Majesty's Government should give
their earliest attention to the wide spread and most repre-
hensible practice of using false weights, and of adultoring
food, drink, and drugs, with a view of amending the law
as regarded the penalties now infrcted for tht.se offences,
and of providing more efficient means fur the discovery
and prevention of fraud.
Mr. URQUHART said the chief cause that 1,,d to adul-
teration was the dearness of food generally; and the
great object of all adulteration was the desire to
sell that which appeared as good au article at a
less price. He thought the best thing the house
could do was to reduce if they could not altogether
give up, the duty laid upon the importation of articles of
food. He Lelieved all police regulations and inspections
would fail, and therefore the best thing to
do was to remove all temptation to adulteration by cheap-
ening the cost of the genuine article. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. POIXHIN said it was much to be thankful for that
in all the articles of food analysed very few were
found to contain matter antagonistic to human
life. Those articles which contained the most
dangerous adulterations were pickles, sweetmeats, and
Cayenne pepper. (Laughter.) The others being so
adulterated as to make it more an attempt on tho pockets
than the bodily health of the public at large.
M BRIGHT stated that her Majesty's Government
were inquiring into the question of the standard of weights
and measures, but they could not promise a bill on that
subject this session. If tradesmen—men of business—were
to be dogged by Government inspectors every hour of the
day life would hardly be worth having. Such subjects as
these were the least advantageous that Parliament could
possibly entertain.

After a few words from Mr. BENTINCK and Mr. H. W.
PEEK, the motion of Lord Eustace Cecil was withdrawn.
Mr. SELWIN-IBBETSON inquired whether the at-
tention of the Board of Trade had been called to the in-
creased number of railway accidents during the past few
months.

Mr. BRIGLIT denied that railway accidents had in-
creased, and affirmed that there could be no greater secu-
rity offered to passengers than the damages so often
awarded by juries, and the acknowledged liability of rail-
way companies in courts of law.

In Committee of Supply the Post-office Packet Servico
Estimate (Excess), £6,989 Os. 6d. was voted, and also the
Civil Service Estimates (Excesses), and £400,894 12s. 4d
On the resumption of the house,

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL obtained leave tc bring
in a bill to consolidate and amend the Law of Bankruptcy,
shadowed forth at some length a somewhat complex
scheme. Its more prominent features were that no per-
son shculd become bankrupt on his own petition ; that aL
post-nuptial settlements made within two years of bank-
ruptcy should be void unless the bankrupt should prove
that he was solvent at the time of the settlement ; the
county court judges would exercise more extended
jurisdiction in bankruptcy ; a chief judge would be
appointed, not a fresh one, but a learned member of the
present staff of judges ; his functions would be to form
rules and regulations, to order the practice in his own and
local courts, and to exercise a supervision over the whole
of the officials of the court. There would also be power
to remove causes of great importance, and too heavy for
the county courts, to the superior judge, who would also
have the power of summoning a jury to try issues of facts.
A. new writ was issued for Drogheda.
The House then adjourned.