The daily gazette., 1879-05-14
FIFTH EDITION.
The County Courts.
THIS MORNINGS SESSION.

THIS MORNINGS SESSION.
AN ODERIFERoUs CAsE-THE TALLow
FACTORY CASE IN COURT-A BAD
SMELL THAT PEOPLE DISLIKE.
Especially Reported for the Gazette.1
NEW CASTLE, May ID, 1879.
Court opened at the usual hour this
morning, Judges Comegys, Wootten and
Houston on the bench.
Deputy Attorney General Robinson
took his seat and laid small revolver
and box Of cartridges on the desk be-
fore him. For while there was some
speculation as to whether he intended to
"bull-doze the juries, but 1t soon be-
came known that they we're only the
weapons used by James Boyer, cold, in
his assault and battery upon David Wal
ker, cold, and were to be used in the
trial. The weapon was not loaded.
The grand jury were called and re.
tired to their chamber.
The first case tried was the somewhat
celebrated one of State VS.. August Bick
ia and George Abele, for maintaining I
nuisance at their tallow rendering es
tablishment, on Tatnall street, above
Second, in Wilmington. Fl. r. Pen
nington, Esq, and A. P. Robinson, Esq.
for the State, and Anthony Higgins, Esq.
for the defense. The following jury wa
empanelled.
Richard T. Lockwood, foreman; Mer
ritt H. Paxson, Stephen Cunningham
Joseph Pierce, Lewis c. Springer, Jane
r. Foote, Lewis Bennett, Joseph Va
Pelt, Patrick Hughes, James CulbertsoI
Samuel Porter, Frank II. Diehl.
| In opening for the State, Mr.. Pennine
ton stated that the defendants were in
dicted for maintaining a nuisance. !
nuisance, he said, was that "wOrket
hurt, annoyance or inconvenience to AZ
other" There were two kinds of nu
sances, public and private, and the nu
sance alleged in the indictment was
public nuisance. He claimed that th
defendants maintained nuisance, in
house on public highway in Whining
ton, by pressing hides and rendering fa
which business caused noisome, fol
and unwholesome smells to arise, to til
annoyance of persons living in the neigl
borhood. Mr.. Pennington claimed tn,
it was not necessary for the State to s.
cure a conviction to prove that the VI
pors and air thus corrupted were .
much so as to injure the health of Il
neighborhood, but only that they we
rendered offensive to the senses. Z
#, claimed, however, that the State wou
be able to prove that the nuisance alleg'
I was both injurious to health and offe
sive to the senses.
Chief of Police VIM, ]. Maxwell, Il
, first witness for the State, testified tn
} he lived at 2i9 Tatnall street, nearly o
posite the tallow factory. He said t
odor from the factory was SO offensive
}. times that during the summer weath
he was frequently obliged to close up
: house all day. Sometimes il was imp
sible to eat his meals without having
windows closed. Sometimes the SIN
was like that of pure fat boiling, and
others like that of fat in very impl
!. state. Witness had frequently seen
n in green state taken into the facto
Witness visited the factory the day it '
. inspected by the Board of Health. tt
- it was very clean, as the men had b'
ty engaged in cleaning it, since five o'cl
in the morning.
In cross-examining the witness,
Higgins asked him if he knew of simi
smells arising from morocco manufaC
ries in the neighborhood, but the st
O objected to the question. The Court 8
tained the objection, stating that the n
H. rocco factories were not in the questi'
Witness, however, stated that the
fensive smells he complained of did ar
from the factories in the neighborhOot
Witness was further asked ifhe did
: say TO Mr.. VIM. Kyne, in March last, Il
the smells were not SO bad, and adv
. him to move in the neighborhood. "
ness replied to the best of his knowlet
- and belief he did not.
Recorder Holcomb was called to prt
- by his records the legal title Of Geo
Abele, one of the defendants, to the
,, tory property.
5 MRS. Hannah Turner, Of No. 225 7
nall street, where she testified she
lived for nine years and ten months, s
81. that smells came from the factory wh
she could compare to nothing else Il
the boiling or stewing Of spoiled
These smells were very offensive AMI
frs quent occurrence. Witness said tt
: had been more sickness In her fan
during the past five years than e
before, but could not say pOsitiy
that it was caused by these sme
The smells, said the witness, were
"bad as she wanted them to
. and were much annoyance particuli
when she had company.
Mr.. Higgins asked witness If she
ted the house, and she replied in the
firmative. He then asked her II
could not nave moved away at any {
without loss OF orinconvenience. Witt
replied she could not, as the landl
. had put down the rent very low. bees
or be woul | not get any body else to I
the house, on account of the smell.
rent had been lowered during the
five years, from $14 to $40 per mo
The house is a three-story brick, =,
ass seven rooms.
Samuel Darlington, of No. 205 Tai
street, testified that he had lived In
sts, house for five years, and in the neigl
hood for eight years. Had noticed
'ou offensive smells coming from the fac
ing aJ various times. Witness SAID he
not annoyed, while at homo, by 81
from any other establishment In
y neighborhood.
An Expensive Accident