The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 5, 1858.

Queenstown on Sunday night last _on _botFd. her
Majesty's iteamship-Hawke :
" A court of inq_uiry is. at—present investigating
Wants, and all statements relative to the occurrence
must be received with great caution. Since our
last publication, however, we have received from a
respectable arid reliable source the following ac-
count of wb at occurred on board the Hawke on
Sunday night, which we are inclined to believe in
the main correct. It seems that on Sunday night
the ship was left in charge of the third lieutenant,
the "captain being; in Bantry, and the first and
second lieutenant dining- with the admiral of the
port. The officer on board the ship had invited a
gentleman to dine with him. About 10 o'clock both
appeared on deck, and the officer directed the gustier
to call up the men and fire a volley in honour of the
night. The gunner expostulated and stated it was
against the regulations of the navy, but his superior
having indignantly desired him to obey his orders
or abide by the consequences of a refusal, he was
bound to-comply: The drum beat to quarters, and
the men got up from their hammocks and appeared
on deck. The officer in question then directed the
gunners to fire seven guns on the starboard side. His
instructions were obeyed, and the guns pounded
away, shaking the windowsof the houses in Queens-
town. and alarming the peaceful inhabitants. 'Now
tre off four guns from the port side,' said the
officer, and it was done. ' Fire off again .11 guns
from the starboard,' again the order was obeyed.
At this- period all, Queenstown was up and out,
the great greatest consternation prevailing. The
officer on board the flagship Nile thought that a
mutiny had broken out among the men belonging
to her, and sent two midshipmen, each in .command
of a boat's crew, to ascertain the cause of the firing ;
but when they came alongside the Hawke the
officer in charge told them that if they did not
move off immediately he would give orders
to have them fired upon. They accordingly re-
turned to their ships. Again the guns blazed away
—one, two, or three at time, and it is probable
this exercise *mild have continued for a consider-
I able length of time, but that the officer at whose
instance they had been fired received a severe fall
on deck, and- wax unable to give an further direc-
tions. He was removed to his ivarters by his
friend. The following morning, whhen the admiral
came on board, he found the deck in great confu-
sion, a large quantity of powder being strewn about
it. The officer was directly placed under arrest.
We understand that he is the son of an admiral
who rendered good services to the country, that
he himself, though. a young man, has also been
distinguished for bravery, and that it was only
recently he returned from China •in an invalided
state. From this last circumstance it has been
inferred that his intellect was a little weakened
and that it was during a temporary aberration the
freak took place. We understand that he applied
lately for leave of absence, but was refused by the
Admiralty." , .
, ,

THE POISONINGS AT. BRADFORD.

BRADFORD; WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

The excitement and consternation in the town
and neighbourhood arising from the wholesale poi-
soning of the population by the sale of lozenges in
which 121 b. of arsenic had been accidentally mixed,
instead of an adulterating comßound called terra
alba, or Derbyshire spar, extensuyely used in the,
manufacture of cheap confeetionmy,' have been in-
creased rather than abated by the further investiga-
. tion into the circumstances and by the additions
that are-almost hoUrly 'reported to the list of suf-
ferers.

Yesterday Morning - the prisoner Wm. Goddard,
Mr. Hodgson's assistant, who made the mistake in
supplying the arsenic, -was 'again- brought before
the magistrates. -•• • - •
Inspector Burniston, of the-police force,. detailed
the circumstances= under which he discovered on
Sunday night: that the accident .had- occurred.
After tracing the lotenges from the seller, William
Hardaker, to Joseph .Neal, the ma-nufacturer, he
called, on the latter; and with him proceeded to
Shipley, where Goddard told them that his master,
who was bed-When Neal's Man called 'for the
" daff," or terra alba, had informed him it was in a
cask. in the cellar, from which he weighed 121 b.
He then took them to the 'eellir and showed them
the cask, but When:Mr. Neal-lOoked at it he said at
once it was not-44 As• they were conjecturing
what it might be Mr. Hodgson came in and told
them at once-it was arsenic. - Witness -stated that
there was no label on the cask, or anything to in-
dicate that it containedpoison. The lid was broken
in three:places, end it was asas= unprotected as any
other article in the cellar. •• • . ,

James Archer, the man who brought the arsenic
from Shipley, proved having received it from God-
dard, and its delivery, at Mr. Neal's premises, but
in cross-examination ho admitted that Goddard
told him Mr. Hodgson said it would be better for
him to let it alone till he could comedown himself,
and it was only when he asked him to.oblige him
with 121 b. weight that he gave it.
Mr. Bell, surgeon, who attended' some of the per-
sons who died from eating the lozenges, stated that
their deaths_ were caused by poison, -and that he
had analysed one of the lozenges and found that-it
contained pois'on. -
Mr. F. M. Rimmington, an analytical chemist in
Bradford, was next called, and deposed that he had
analysed some .of the lozenges he had received from
the previous witness. Each of them contained
arsenic in large bulk, but he 'did not ascertain the
exact, quantity in each. Taking the quantities of
sugar, " daff," and gum-which had been stated by
ithe chief constable and Mr. Neal to have been
used in the composition of 'the lozenges to be
orrect, each .lozenge would contain 9; grains; half
of which was amply sufficient to destroy life. He
had examined, a sample 'of the " daft' It was
;imply plaster of Paris, or sulphate of lime, and was
dot injurious to health in the small quantity in
which it was given in the lozenges. -
James Appleton, a working confectioner, who
made the poisoned lozenges, said; that after work-
ing at them from 6 in the morning till 1.1 or 12,
he was taken so ill with vomiting and pains in the
face and arms that he had to go home, and was ill
for some days, but he had no suspicion it arose from
the lozenges.
Joseph Neal was examined at some length,
and spoke to the extensive use made of daff" in
the adulteration of cheap spices, He stated that,
after supplying Hardaker with the 401 b. of lozenges,
all that was left, including the " scraps," :were put
into Scotch mixtures in his own shop : but his wife
and himself had beeii -efigaged—since in picking
them out. In this way lie had recovered four or
.five
pounds' weight- of poisoned lozenges, and burnt
them. He stated that he had a considerable quan-
tity of the mixture in his shop yet ; upon which
The magistrates directed the police to take pos-
session of the whole of it, which was done, Mr. Neal
delivering up the key of his shop for the purpose.
After hearing some other evidence, the magis-
trates directed Mr. Hodgson, chemist, of Shipley,
to be taken into custody, and he was. immediately
apprehended and placed in the dock.
The ease was then remanded -till to-day.
This morning the prisoners Goddard and Hodg-
son were again brought up, when some of ,the for-
mer evidence was-recapitulated. -
_ _

Mr: Leveratt, chief constable, stated that the link
.
wanting the chain of evidence to connect the pri-
soners with the poison,in the lozenges could now be
supplied, a death • having occurred that morning,
and they would be able to prove that the 'lozenges
that caused it were -purchased at Hardaker'S
He also stated that' in accordance with instructions
from the bench, detective efficel-'Shnttleworth ac-
companied Neal on the preVious evening to-his shop
in the market, where he found 211 b. of Scotch mix-
titres. They were brought to the police office and
emptied on to a table, where he (Mr LeVeratt) com-
menced to pick - out lozenges and scraps • similar to
these containing poison. While so engaged, he was
seized with illness, felt an oppressive sensation on
the chest, and acute pain-in-the nostrils and eyes.
Mr. Shuttleworth-stated that 'after he had seized
the mixtures at Neal's shop- on the previous after;
non Neal -ran .away from him in the direction of
his workshop. The officer folloWed,
_and when he
gotinto the house Neal was sitting by the fire.- The
officer went up sstairs,rs, , and found on the. tables,
'
boards, and ,slabS. many pieces of the poisoned
14zenges. ... •
The Mayor, after consulting with the magistrates
directed Neal to be taken-iota custody, which was
done, and he was placed in the dock-with the other
two prisoners. "
The evidence of Mr. Leveratt and Mr. Shuttle-
worth having
.been again gone through, with the
view of allowing Neal's attorney to cross-examine
them, the magistrates retired, and after an absence
of half-an-hour the Mayor said they *had agreed to
remand all the three prisoners on the charge of man-
slaughteritill Friday.
Mr. Lees, on behalf of Mr. Hodgson, applied that
he might be admitted to bail, but it:was refusesl.by
the Magistrates, ;
Mr. Watson made a similar application on behalf
of Neal,' which' *as granted, -himself in' 100 and
two sureties of £5O each. _ _ _

The inquest on several of the bodies of the de-
ceased in -Bradford was-opened before Mr. Jcwisonr
coroner, at the Pack Horse Inn, Westgate, yester-
day afternoon, and after hearing the witnesses who
had been examined before -the magistrates the in-
quiry, was adjourned till next Tuesday, to allow a
post mortem examination of one of the. bodies to be
,made and the evidence completed..
Inquests at Heaton and Low Moor were opened
yesterday by Mr. Dyson, coroner, arid were ad-
, pi:trued to an early day.
"rile f°ll:iwua. S is an accurate curate list of the sufferers

who had, been reported up to Son Wednesday night.
it may be stated, however, that this-list does' not
nearly contain the whole, as there are many of
whom the police have received -no information
whatever

Dead—Orlando Barrans, 5 years ; John Henry
Barrens, 2 years ' • Elijah Wright, 9 years ; Joseph
Scott, 14 years ; Joseph Crabtree, 16 y ears • Ann
Shutt, 38 years; Herbert.Holdsworth, child; 'Sarah
Midgley, child ; John M'Carmack, 4 years ; Adele
Lee, 2 years ; Mark Green, 2 months ; Mrs. Shackle-
ton, 30 years ; John Lupton Constantine, 69 years ;
Briggs Ramsden, 24 years; Robinson Wood, 3
years.
Dangerously Ill—Wm. Hardaere, adult; Betty
Northrop, 63 years ; Zelpha Child, 50 years ; Elijah
Ramsden, 21 years ; Ann Murgatroyd, 20 years ;
Samuel Child, 22 years ; Grace Hardisty, 63 years ;
Esther Hardisty, 23 years; John Golding, 22 years ;
Mary Golding, 52 years ; Jacob Boston, 10 years ;
Margaret Wood, 25 years; and Mrs. Wright.
In addition to the above, 150 have been reported
as ill, but out of danger—namely, 90 adults and 60
children.
--It has been noticed that the market on Saturday
night was much thinner than usual, owing to the
vast numbers who had gone to Leeds by the cheap
trains, otherwise the occurrence would have been
much more disastrous.

THE ARMY STORE AND CON-TRACT
COMMISSION.

THE WOOLWICH ESTABLISHMENT.

Yesterday the Royal Commission appointed to in-
quire into the army contract and store system re-
assembled at Woolwich Arsenal, pursuant to ad-
journment from Thursday last. Mr, Selfe presided
as chairman. _ _

Mr. Howell, head of the contract department at.
the War-office, who had been examined on a previ-
ous day, was now recalled, and put in a written list
of all purchases of timber Made for Woolwich
Arsenal from Jan. 1854, to Sept, 1858. These piir-
chases were made by brokers. Witness also put
in a letter from Capt. Farmer, head of the royal
carriage department, setting forth that he had. con=
sulted the heads of various departments and several
merchants, relative to the system of buying through
brokers, and they were all of a decided opinion that
the timber could he had at a much cheaper rate by
Government buying it direct from the importers ;
besides, he considered the heads of departments at
Woolwich to be much better judges of the timber
required than brokers could be. The witness also
read a list of queries addressed- by him to Messrs.
Churchill and Sim, brokers, as to their system of
purchasing timber and their replies. Prior to Col.
Tulloch's letter of Sept.,- 1856, -it- Was not usual to
get the names of the sellers from the brokers. The
names of the sellers is an additional perfection in
the system. The timber was formerly inspected at
Woolwich. In 1855 Mr. Thiwson, -of -Prince's-
wharf, Lambeth, offered. a reduction:of 2 per cent.
on the price of deals if the selection was made at
the docks instead of at Woolwich. They depended
on the judgment of the brokers as to price, and on
that of their own officers as to the quality of the
timber: They sometimes- beught timber without
the intervention of the broker.
Mr. Turner—lf the broker acted bona fide ought
not his judgment to be worth 1 per cent on all
occasions ?- ' - •

Mr. Howell—Certainly.
Mr. Turner—l do not understand the system of
sometimes having a broker and sometimes not.
I should pay the broker his commission whether
he purchased or not, because I should then con-
sider that his judgment was 'at my command.
Mr. Howell said that, in the case of the cargo of
the Princess Royal, about twelve months ago, Mr.,
Leary, a broker, told them. that there was but one'
cargo of such timber as they wanted in the docks,
and that they could buY it themselires and save the
brokerage. • -
Mr. Turner—That was a
_most disinterested
broker. (Laughter.)
Mr. Howell—We have not invited tenders' since
the change of sy.stem. We never received any-
thing that the timbermaster said was bad, though
the broker should say it was good.
At this stage of the examination a letter was
read from Col. Tulloch, superintendent of the car-
riage department, in. which he advocated the sys-
tem of open competition as against the system of
purchasing through a broker, and instanced cases
in which the 'adoption of the latter system resulted
in loss to the public.
• Mr. Selfe—Colonel Tulloch is quite at issue with
you on that point.
-.Mr. Howell—We ought to have the cargo cost,
the date of delivery, and the difference of price at
the docks and in the department, in order to see
the advantage or disadvantage of the two systems.
The advantage of the brokerage system, if honestly
carried out, was, in his opinion, palpable an ma-
r terial.

-Mr. Turner—lf you have a broker who has a
separate interest from that of the persons who em-
ploy him, you had better resort to the principle of
competition ; but if you can get a man who will
act thoroughly and diligently for your interest, I
think he is worth his hire.

Mr. Howell—l agree in that view of the general
principle.,
Mr. Turner—You must conform.to the custom of
the market. Dealers cannot follow any system
but that which the trade adopts, except at a dis-
advantage, and for that they make you pay.
Mr. Howell said he recommended purchases for
the War DepartmnenttoenxLtilimaitnd_Hd his verye principle.
resent
Captain Farmer, inspector of timber and harness
at Woolwich, was ex
office since luly, 1856. His attention had been
Called to this subject in consequence of complaints
respecting the inferior quality of the timber de-
livered into the department. Formerly they had
the power of rejection. They have not under the
present system. The timber was sent in through
brokers. They bought a large quantity of Arch-
angel deals-30,000—in 1856, for £l7 12s. 6d. the
load. Was informed that they could buy the picked
Onega deals in June, 1856, for £l6 10s. Some of
the deals then bought were in the yard, and..were
unfit for use. The witness 'was then examined with
respect to the statement in his report, that in many
cases the timber passed through several hands be-
tween the date of import and its coming into the
hands of the Governnient, the broker receiving a
commission on each separate transaction, and said
that his authority for that statement was Mr. Ga-
briel. The witness mentioned a. case of this kind
which occurred in June this year on the purchase
of some sabica. Mr. Leary bought the timber from
Mr. Rolt, who bought it from Mr. Hoare, and on
each occasion there was a gain of a pound.
Mr. Selfe—That transaction appears to have taken
place in the June of this year, but in your report
you are speaking of the result of your inquiry in
October, 1856. Do you know from your inquiries
whether Government have been " sweated" by
brokers' commission being charged two or three
times over ?
Captain Farmer said Mr. Gabriel stated that it
was the case, and it was not denied. It was as-
sumed to be a usual thing. Spoke to a good many
merchants, whp told him that they could supply
the Government at a cheaper rate than they were
paying. Mr. DoWson, Mr. Gabriel, Mr. Rolt, Mr.
and Mr. Grissell said so ; preferred to select
the timber at the docks than at Woolwich. The
department depended on dock measurement—itwas
found to be generally accurate.. In August, 1857,
40 loads of mahogany ....ivere-boughtfor £l9 ss, a
load. It' appeared that the price current at that
time was Xl6. That would not be subject to rejection
or selection at the docks. Would not expect a large
per cottage to be charged for that condition. Could
get equally good timber in his, opinion for Xl6.
Last year went to the docks to Select from a cargo
a certain quantity of timber ; saw a beautiful pile
of timber om that ship in the docks, and insisted
o nhaving it for the Government; as the parties were
under contract ; Messrs. Churchill and Sim, the
brokers, were unwilling to let him have it, but he
carried his point after a good deal of difficulty ; in
that case the Government brokers had been cer-
tainly acting for the sellers, and not for the buyers.
Had he not been particular the Government would
have lost the best pile in the ship.
Mr. Selfe—ln that instance you think thebroker
allowed the. interest of the seller to override the
interest of the buier ?
Witness--Prectsely so. Some timber had been
bought by the Government as Porto Rico mahogany,
but on inspection it was found not to be' Porto
Rico. The firm who sold that timber . had shown
most satisfactorily that they themselves had pur-
chased it at Porto. Rico. They were, therefore,
exonerated from blame.

Mr. G. Jones, timber master in the carriage de-
partment, was next examined. - He, said he had
been in the department since 1840. If he objected
to any timber it was rejected. Under the old sys-
tem there were a great many rejections at• times,
and complaints were made bythe contractors. Some
used to say they 'would never tender again, but
when the time -came round they used to tender as
usual. - (A laugh.) Never heard that any one was
favoured at the expense of another. About three
years ago a change took place by which we could
not inspect the timber. The only intimation re-
ceived was that they were to receive the timlier.
from certain brokers. The witness was examined
at length as to the mode of inspecting and, measur-
ing timber, and gave it as his opinion that the best
system of supplying the department with timber
was that of competition.
Mr. James Roberts, a timber merchant, was next
i3zemined. He read a lepgthy statewent of his
vies,.which were entirely opposed t►o the system

sl

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--J J_.- - -

of employing brokers as leading to favouritism, ex-
cluding the general public from the advantages
of competition, and as causing the market to be in-
differently supplied. The witness in his paper made
statements reflecting on other parties, but as they
were not within the knowledge of the witness him-
self, but founded on the information of others, Mr.
Selfe suggested that they had better not be taken
down.

Capt. Hilbury, to whom Mr. Roberts's statement
referred, said that a great deal of what it contained
as respected him was untrue.
Mr. Howell said he never gave orders to buy at
any particular price, as stated by Mr. Roberts.
Mr. Leary and Mr. Sim denied on their parts
the accuracy of his statements.
Capt. Hilbury was next examined—Had been for
many years an importer of African oak. Never told
any person what his cargoes realised. Was satisfied
with the price which Churchill and Sim obtained
for him.

It appeared from the evidence of this and other
witnesses that he sold through Messrs. Churchill
and Sim to Mr. Chapman a cargo of African oak,
at about £9 10s. the load for the whole. Messrs.
Churchill and Sim stipulated with Mr. Chapman
that the Woolwich department should have the
pick of the cargo. They accordingly bought 100
loads at £l5 10s. the load, the remaining portion
being sold at various prices to the navy depart-
ment according to the quality of the timber. Capt.
Hilbury said he was at first angry when he learned
that the Woolwich department gave so much as
£l5 10s. per load, but, on reflection, he saw that
this was not unreasonable, because the department
had the pick of the finest timber, and he would not
allow the cargo to be broken up. If he allowed the
finest timber to be selected he would find it diffi-
cult, and it would occupy too much of his time to
sell the remainder ; he therefore preferred to sell
the cargo without breaking bulk, and was satisfied
with what the sale realised.

Mr. Sim, the Government timber-broker, was
next examined—He also handed in a written state-
ment, extending over 44 pages, which the chairman
said could not be read at so late an hour. The wit-
ness said that he acted as broker to the Government
since 1856. Timber was invariably sold by brokers.
Had no doubt that the Government saved by the
system of purchasing through brokers. Had some
striking examples of that. In former times £45
had been frequently paid for Archangel deals, which
were now bought for £l6 12s. 6d. As a general
rule, the system of selection adopted by the depart-
ment obliged the broker to get an intermediate
buyer who was willing to put himself in the gap to
work off the surplus and inferior stock, after the
selection was made. The price paid for the African
oak was apparently large, but he believed the de-
partment would have to pay more under the system
of competition. Under the old system, all the prin-
cipal dealers refused to tender for the Government
contracts, and when they tendered at all it was at a
price based on the increased trouble and inconveni-
ence to which they knew they would be put.
Mr. Turner—Do you not think it would be a
better and cheaper system if a whole cargo, such,
for instance, as that of Captain Hilbury, were pur-
chased on behalf of the Government? The heads
of departments could then select the portions in
proportion to their various wants. The second
and third qualities could probably be used in the
navy yard or other departments, and what was
unfit for use in the public departments might be
sold for what it would fetch. Would not that be
cheaper than the system now pursued ?
Mr. Sim thought it would be impossible to carry
it out. Each department would desire to get the
best qualities for its own use.
Mr. Howell said he entirely concurred in the
view taken by Mr. Turner.
Mr. Selfe thought the unserviceable stores would
be greatly augmented by such a system.
Mr. Sim—lt was the universal practice of the
trade that the same mart should act as broker for
buyer and seller. Had never declined to deal with
any particular man. Did not wish to encourage
speculative contractors.
Mr. Sim's examination was not concluded when
the commission adjourned, namely, at a quarter to
six.