The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-25 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRI.3IIN.AL COU.RT—.Oct.24

OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron Martin.)
Samuel Cave was charged with misdemeanour in
having sent a quantity of diseased meat to be sold
for human food in Tyler's market.
Mr. Poland conducted the prosecution, which
was instituted by direction of the Corporation of
London.

It appeared that the prisoner was a jobbing but-
cher at Salisbury, and that on the day named in the
indictment he sent the carcase of a cow to Mr.
Greatorex, a salesman in Newgate Market, for sale.
There appeared to be no doubt that the cow was in
a very diseased condition, but it was proved at the
same time that the defendant sent a note in the

hamper containing the carcase, addressed to Mr.
Greatorex, in which he stated that, if he found the
meat not to be good enough for the market, he was
to do whatever he liked with it.

Baron Martin said it appeared to him that the
charge against the defendant could not be supported
upon the facts before the court. The defendant ap-
peared to have called the attention of the salesman,
who was a man of experience, to the condition of
the animal, and left it entirely upou his responsi-
bility what was to be done with it ; and under such
circumstances he could not see how the jury could
convict the defendant of sending the meat for sale.
The jury accordingly returned a verdict of Not
Guilty.
The learned judge said he should be very sorry to
make any remark that might be supposed to have a
tendency to discourage the prosecution of persons
who were guilty of sending diseased meat to a pub.
lie market to be sold for human food, but care
should be taken to select proper cases, and that a
man should not be put upon his trial without suffi-
cient grounds for such a proceeding.
William Burwood Baldray, 38, mariner, was in-
dicted for the manslaughter of John Riley upon the
high seas and within the jurisdiction of the Admi-
ralty of England. _ _

Mr. Beasley and Mr. Orridge conducted the pro-
secution on behalf of the Treasury ; Sergeant Bal-
lantine was specially retained with Mr. Metcalfe
on behalf of the prisoner.
The charge originally made in this case was one
of wilful murder, but the grand jury ignored the
bill preferred for that offence, and retained one for
manslaughter only. It appeared that the prisoner
was the captain of a British ship called the Shan-
tung, and the deceased at the time of his death was
a seaman on board the vessel. He shipped at Ba-
tavia, and at that time he was in a bad state of
health, and the crew complained of his dirty habits
and turned him out of the forecastle on that ac-
count, and compelled him to sleep on the deck.
The immediate cause of death there was, very little
doubt was dysentery; but it was alleged in support
of the prosecution, that the death was accelerated
by a punishment that was inflicted upon the
deceased about a fortnight or three weeks before
it happened.
Sergeant Ballantine made a most able address to
the jury on behalf of the prisoner, and said that
before they could find the prisoner guilty upon this
indictment they must be satisfied that the beating
—which for argument sake he would admit—that
was inflicted by him upon the occasion spoken to
by the witnesses, accelerated the death, which did
not appear to have taken place until three weeks
or a month afterwards. It was a very natural
thing that landsmen should feel indignant at cor-
poral punishment being inflicted on a person in the
position of the deceased, but he was sure that
they would see that it was a very different thing
at sea, where it was absolutely necessary that the
captain of a ship should prevent skulking or sham-
ming in order to avoid performing the necessary
work, and thus endangering the safety of the vessel
and all on board. The learned counsel then pro-
ceeded to argue thatithe evidence as to the character
of the beating inflicted upon the deceased had been
very much exaggerated, and that in any case there
was nothing to show that it was at all connected
with the death.
A man named Wedge, who was mate on board
the Shantung, on the voyage home, was called as a
witness, and he stated that the deceased was a dirty
lazy fellow, and that he had himself struck him for
having neglected his duty. He also stated that
the beating was not at all of a serious character,
and that he saw the deceased stripped shortly after-
wards, and there were very slight bruises on his
person.
A great many respectable witnesses, several of
whom were captains in the merchant service, were
examined, and they gave the prisoner an excellent
character for humanity and kindness, one of them
stating that he would not, in his opinion, " touch
a worm."

Baron Martin, in summing up the case to the jury,
explained the law relating to manslaughter, and
said he was clearly of opinion that the beating the
prisoner inflicted upon the deceased was illegal, and
that he had no right to inflict it.
The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a
verdict of guilty.
I The prison'', when the verdict Was returned, eat