316 ANNUAL RKGISTKR, 1S14. 



tered into voth that institution, 

 did unlawfully, fraudulently, and 

 deceitfully, for his own wicked 

 lucre, on the 27th of November, 

 18I:J, deliver to the institution 

 297 quartern loaves, as and for 

 good and wholesome bread, where- 

 as, on the contrary, they were not 

 such, but contained divers noxious 

 and unwholesome ingredients not 

 fit for the food of man. 



The attorney-general stated the 

 case on behalf of the prosecutors, 

 by which it appeared that the 

 Asylum then maintained and edu- 

 cated 1,200 children, male and fe- 

 male, of non-commissioned officers 

 and private soldiers, of which in- 

 stitution the Duke of York is pre- 

 sident. The defendant contracted 

 to suppl}' them with good house- 

 hold bread at three 9-32 per cent, 

 under the assize price, from the 

 25th of December, 1812, for one 

 year; with a provisio, that if any 

 of the bread should be found of 

 inferior quality, the quantity so 

 found might be returned, other 

 bread purchased at the market 

 price elsewhere, and the contrac- 

 tor would pay for the sam^. It 

 appeared from the evidence of the 

 quarter-master of the institution, 

 of the commandant (Lieutenant- 

 Colonel Williamson), and of se- 

 ven of the children, (one of whom 

 was a female), that the bread de- 

 livered by the defendant on Sa- 

 turday, the day in question, was 

 served out to the children on Sun- 

 day, Monday, and Tuesday fol- 

 lowing, every child having the 

 20th part of a quartern loaf for 

 its breakfast, broken into a mess of 

 milk-porridge. The children found 

 their bread so rough and dry to 

 the taste, that the majority of 

 them rejected their breakfast, and 

 complained to the commandant of 



the badness of the bread, showing ^ 

 him lumps of alum of the size of 

 a horse-bean, which they found 

 sticking therein. The command- 

 ant caused have a dozen more of 

 the loaves to be cut, and found 

 them taste very sour ; 8.3 which 

 remained were ordered to be re- 

 turned to the defendant, who did 

 not continue to supply the Asylum 

 longer than the expiration of his 

 year. They had been obliged to 

 purchase elsewhere several times 

 before. The commandant took 

 the piece of bread, with a lump of 

 alum in it, which was produced 

 in court, to the lord mayor, for 

 whom the defendant said he did 

 not care. His lordship attended 

 in court to identify it. The cook 

 of the institution proved that the 

 milk-porridge, on the morning in 

 question, was perfectly sweet and 

 good. Mr. M'Gregor, surgeon to 

 the Asylum, testitied as to the un- 

 wholesomeness of alum in bread, 

 particularly to children, some of 

 whom were of the age of only five 

 years. Its tendency w;is to pro- 

 duce nausea in the stomach, and 

 constipation in the bowels. 



Mr. Scarlett, for the defendant, 

 contended, that the indictment 

 charged him with knowing that 

 this ingredient was in the bread, 

 and with knowing that it was 

 noxious, neither of which facts had 

 been proved. The fact was, that 

 the baking was intrusted to u 

 foreman, and although the defen- 

 dant might be civilly answerable 

 for the acls of his servant, he was 

 not criminally. He also contend- 

 ed, that alum was not noxious in 

 the very small quantity in which 

 it was used by the trade, and en- 

 deavoured to repel the prejudices 

 under which they laboured. He 

 had never known more than one 



