544. By a visit to Apothecaries’ Hall, or to any of the great manufacturing chemists, the stranger will be astonished at the number and utility of the applications of steam to the processes of Pharmacy.M. Dupin, when speaking of the immense mechanical force set in action by the steam-engines of England, gives the following illustration of its amount:—The great pyramid of Egypt required for its erection the labour of above 100,000 men for twenty years; the action of the steam-engines in England, which are, at most, all managed by 36,000 men, would be sufficient to produce the same quantity of work, in 18 hours!!!
544. By a visit to Apothecaries’ Hall, or to any of the great manufacturing chemists, the stranger will be astonished at the number and utility of the applications of steam to the processes of Pharmacy.
M. Dupin, when speaking of the immense mechanical force set in action by the steam-engines of England, gives the following illustration of its amount:—The great pyramid of Egypt required for its erection the labour of above 100,000 men for twenty years; the action of the steam-engines in England, which are, at most, all managed by 36,000 men, would be sufficient to produce the same quantity of work, in 18 hours!!!
545. It is supposed that the lime-trees in St. James’s Park owe their existence to the suggestion of Evelyn.
545. It is supposed that the lime-trees in St. James’s Park owe their existence to the suggestion of Evelyn.
546. There are certain districts so devoted to manufactories that, in the general assemblage, it would be extremely difficult to identify the noisome effects of any particular one. A curious illustration of this fact lately occurred in two indictments; the one preferred against Apple, the proprietor of a prussian blue manufactory; the other against Moore, black-ash manufacturer; both of whose works were situated in Seward-street, Goswell-street. The counsel for the defendant, in his cross-examination of the witnesses for the former prosecution, artfully drew from them an account of the noisome vapours of the black-ash maker; while in the latter trial, the same barrister made the witnesses declare the extreme stench of the prussian blue manufactory; so that in both cases the defendants obtained a verdict—because in neither case could the evidence for the crown unequivocally prove from which of the manufactories the nuisance complained of arose.
546. There are certain districts so devoted to manufactories that, in the general assemblage, it would be extremely difficult to identify the noisome effects of any particular one. A curious illustration of this fact lately occurred in two indictments; the one preferred against Apple, the proprietor of a prussian blue manufactory; the other against Moore, black-ash manufacturer; both of whose works were situated in Seward-street, Goswell-street. The counsel for the defendant, in his cross-examination of the witnesses for the former prosecution, artfully drew from them an account of the noisome vapours of the black-ash maker; while in the latter trial, the same barrister made the witnesses declare the extreme stench of the prussian blue manufactory; so that in both cases the defendants obtained a verdict—because in neither case could the evidence for the crown unequivocally prove from which of the manufactories the nuisance complained of arose.
547. But query, whether the ancient existence of an inconsiderable brewery, which from the small quantity of fuel consumed, was not a nuisance, should have warranted the augmentation of those immense factories which now obscure and suffocate some of the most populous districts in London.
547. But query, whether the ancient existence of an inconsiderable brewery, which from the small quantity of fuel consumed, was not a nuisance, should have warranted the augmentation of those immense factories which now obscure and suffocate some of the most populous districts in London.
548. It is impossible to question the justice and policy of this maxim as a general principle of legislation; “Salus Populi Suprema Lex,”—but there are circumstances which ought to exempt certain establishments from the operation of the common law of nuisances; we allude to those grand national works for smelting ores, which could not be closed without fatally affecting our national prosperity, and compromising the fate of the Arts themselves. No consideration, however, ought to admit them within the range of a great city, or a populous district; but where they have acquired a kind of right to toleration by time and necessity, in a remote place, they ought to continue in the enjoyment of their advantages without disturbance; but in return for such an immunity, the public has a right to expect every exertion on the part of the proprietors, in order to obviate, as far as in them lies, the diffusion of the fumes, throughout the neighbourhood, by improving the construction of the furnaces, and by the adoption of such chemical and mechanical expedients as may be capable of diminishing the evil. We are led to these observations in consequence of learning with regret that attempts have been frequently made to compel the proprietors of the Hafod copper works, before alluded to, to abandon them; and while the present sheet was in the press, we learnt that the Grand Jury had found a true bill against one of these establishments. We shall in consequence offer a few remarks, with a view of shewing the necessity that exists of introducing a protecting clause into the law of nuisances, in favour of certain established mining and smelting districts; and we must here observe, that the inhabitants which congregate in the vicinity of great manufactories of this description, are always, in the first instance, allured to the spot, by the prospect of gain; and it was not to be expected that persons who have been thus aggrandised, should, as soon as their riches confer independence and fastidiousness upon them, turn round and revile as insufferable and dangerous, that very power to which alone they owe any personal consequence to which they may now be entitled. But the strongest arguments will be found in the great importance of these works in a national and commercial point of view; and on this account we shall present the reader with some statistical arguments of considerable weight, viz: The quantity of coals consumed in the copper works in South Wales, and exported in the vessels which convey the ore from Cornwall to them, is calculated at 200,000 chaldrons annually; and the amount paid for it to the collieries at from £100,000 to £110,000. The number of persons employed in raising and delivering it is not less than 1,500. The number of persons employed in the smelting works is about 1,500, and the yearly amount of wages paid to them is not less than £50,000. The value of the materials consumed annually in these works may be taken at £20,000. The amount paid for the freight of ore and materials may be stated at £25,000. The number of vessels employed in the conveyance of the same may be about 150, and supposing them to be manned by five seamen on the average, they give occupation to 750 mariners. Thus a sum of not less than two hundred thousand pounds sterling is annually circulated in Glamorganshire and the adjoining county, and employment given to 3750 individuals.If the families and dependants of these persons are taken into the amount, a population of 12,000 souls at least derive their support from the smelting establishments. The consequences which would result from depriving so great a number of persons of the means of subsistence may be more easily conceived than described. These estimates refer only to the mere direct expenditure of the smelting works and their immediate dependants—the consequences of the stoppage of these works to the immense number of persons employed in the mines in Cornwall—between 50 and 60,000 souls—would be completely ruinous.These considerations it might be supposed are sufficiently apalling to deter those who are engaged in the present measures carrying on against one of the principal smelting companies by prosecution: an object which is likely to be productive of consequences so destructive of the welfare of thousands, in the annihilation of a trade of the utmost general importance to the country, whether as relating to its internal or external affairs, to its manufactories, its colonies, or its ships: a trade in which upwards of two millions of pounds sterling are embarked. That it ever should enter into the mind of any human being to prosecute measures which could by any possibility lead to consequences so disastrous, is almost inconceivable, and the only excuse that can possibly be offered for them (if excuse it can be called) is, that they are so entirely occupied by the consideration of their personal convenience and fancied interest, as to be incapable of forming a just conception of the momentous business they have undertaken.
548. It is impossible to question the justice and policy of this maxim as a general principle of legislation; “Salus Populi Suprema Lex,”—but there are circumstances which ought to exempt certain establishments from the operation of the common law of nuisances; we allude to those grand national works for smelting ores, which could not be closed without fatally affecting our national prosperity, and compromising the fate of the Arts themselves. No consideration, however, ought to admit them within the range of a great city, or a populous district; but where they have acquired a kind of right to toleration by time and necessity, in a remote place, they ought to continue in the enjoyment of their advantages without disturbance; but in return for such an immunity, the public has a right to expect every exertion on the part of the proprietors, in order to obviate, as far as in them lies, the diffusion of the fumes, throughout the neighbourhood, by improving the construction of the furnaces, and by the adoption of such chemical and mechanical expedients as may be capable of diminishing the evil. We are led to these observations in consequence of learning with regret that attempts have been frequently made to compel the proprietors of the Hafod copper works, before alluded to, to abandon them; and while the present sheet was in the press, we learnt that the Grand Jury had found a true bill against one of these establishments. We shall in consequence offer a few remarks, with a view of shewing the necessity that exists of introducing a protecting clause into the law of nuisances, in favour of certain established mining and smelting districts; and we must here observe, that the inhabitants which congregate in the vicinity of great manufactories of this description, are always, in the first instance, allured to the spot, by the prospect of gain; and it was not to be expected that persons who have been thus aggrandised, should, as soon as their riches confer independence and fastidiousness upon them, turn round and revile as insufferable and dangerous, that very power to which alone they owe any personal consequence to which they may now be entitled. But the strongest arguments will be found in the great importance of these works in a national and commercial point of view; and on this account we shall present the reader with some statistical arguments of considerable weight, viz: The quantity of coals consumed in the copper works in South Wales, and exported in the vessels which convey the ore from Cornwall to them, is calculated at 200,000 chaldrons annually; and the amount paid for it to the collieries at from £100,000 to £110,000. The number of persons employed in raising and delivering it is not less than 1,500. The number of persons employed in the smelting works is about 1,500, and the yearly amount of wages paid to them is not less than £50,000. The value of the materials consumed annually in these works may be taken at £20,000. The amount paid for the freight of ore and materials may be stated at £25,000. The number of vessels employed in the conveyance of the same may be about 150, and supposing them to be manned by five seamen on the average, they give occupation to 750 mariners. Thus a sum of not less than two hundred thousand pounds sterling is annually circulated in Glamorganshire and the adjoining county, and employment given to 3750 individuals.
If the families and dependants of these persons are taken into the amount, a population of 12,000 souls at least derive their support from the smelting establishments. The consequences which would result from depriving so great a number of persons of the means of subsistence may be more easily conceived than described. These estimates refer only to the mere direct expenditure of the smelting works and their immediate dependants—the consequences of the stoppage of these works to the immense number of persons employed in the mines in Cornwall—between 50 and 60,000 souls—would be completely ruinous.
These considerations it might be supposed are sufficiently apalling to deter those who are engaged in the present measures carrying on against one of the principal smelting companies by prosecution: an object which is likely to be productive of consequences so destructive of the welfare of thousands, in the annihilation of a trade of the utmost general importance to the country, whether as relating to its internal or external affairs, to its manufactories, its colonies, or its ships: a trade in which upwards of two millions of pounds sterling are embarked. That it ever should enter into the mind of any human being to prosecute measures which could by any possibility lead to consequences so disastrous, is almost inconceivable, and the only excuse that can possibly be offered for them (if excuse it can be called) is, that they are so entirely occupied by the consideration of their personal convenience and fancied interest, as to be incapable of forming a just conception of the momentous business they have undertaken.
549.Si homme faitCandellsdeins un vill, per que il cause un noysom sent al inhabitants, uncore ceo nest ascun nusans, car leneedfulnessde eux dispensera ove le noisomness delsmell.2Rolle Abr.139.
549.Si homme faitCandellsdeins un vill, per que il cause un noysom sent al inhabitants, uncore ceo nest ascun nusans, car leneedfulnessde eux dispensera ove le noisomness delsmell.2Rolle Abr.139.
550. A fine for every beast slaughtered within the walls of Exeter was held good under a bye-law.Cowp. R.269.
550. A fine for every beast slaughtered within the walls of Exeter was held good under a bye-law.Cowp. R.269.
551. By this act, 57Geo.3,c.22, §. 64, it is enacted that if any person shall throw, or suffer to be thrown or remain, any ashes, dust, dirt, rubbish, offal, dung, soil, blood, or other filth, or shall kill, slaughter, scald, dress, or cut up any beast, &c. in or near any street, (within the act) as that any blood or filth shall run or flow over the pavements, such person, on conviction before any justice of the peace, shall forfeit and pay not less than forty shillings, or more than five pounds for each offence.
551. By this act, 57Geo.3,c.22, §. 64, it is enacted that if any person shall throw, or suffer to be thrown or remain, any ashes, dust, dirt, rubbish, offal, dung, soil, blood, or other filth, or shall kill, slaughter, scald, dress, or cut up any beast, &c. in or near any street, (within the act) as that any blood or filth shall run or flow over the pavements, such person, on conviction before any justice of the peace, shall forfeit and pay not less than forty shillings, or more than five pounds for each offence.
552. We are very sorry to instance the state of Covent Garden Market as an exception to the rule of neatness and cleanliness, for which the English have been celebrated; the quantity of putrescent vegetables allowed to accumulate there is as disgraceful to the persons who have the control of the market as it is disgusting to those who have occasion to resort to, or even pass by it.Dr. Rogersrelates that a very malignant fever having appeared at Wadham college in Oxford, and carried off a considerable number of people, and that the physicians ascribed it to the putrefaction of a considerable heap of cabbages, which had been thrown from the neighbouring gardens, on a spot of ground contiguous to the college.
552. We are very sorry to instance the state of Covent Garden Market as an exception to the rule of neatness and cleanliness, for which the English have been celebrated; the quantity of putrescent vegetables allowed to accumulate there is as disgraceful to the persons who have the control of the market as it is disgusting to those who have occasion to resort to, or even pass by it.Dr. Rogersrelates that a very malignant fever having appeared at Wadham college in Oxford, and carried off a considerable number of people, and that the physicians ascribed it to the putrefaction of a considerable heap of cabbages, which had been thrown from the neighbouring gardens, on a spot of ground contiguous to the college.
553. Dr. Garthshore has observed that women, during the period of utero-gestation, on account of the increased irritability of the system at that period, are frequently affected by odours, that at any other time would not have produced the slightest impression; and this experienced practitioner was of opinion that the dangerous convulsions which sometimes seize the patient towards the end of a tedious and difficult labour, may arise from the long continued inspiration of the air of a close and unventilated chamber crowded with attendants and friends.This observation suggests to us another circumstance which, though it has never, we believe, been legally treated as a nuisance, well deserves to be so considered; we allude to the public exposure of disgusting objects for the purpose of exciting charity. The vagrant laws are evidently ineffective for the purpose of removing them, nor has the Society for the Suppression of Mendicity been much more successful; those who have observed the pertinacity with which some sturdy vagrants persecute pregnant females, obtruding on their view some ulcerous sore, stump, or deformity, will agree in the necessity of some more vigorous measures than have been yet employed for the abatement of this species of nuisance.
553. Dr. Garthshore has observed that women, during the period of utero-gestation, on account of the increased irritability of the system at that period, are frequently affected by odours, that at any other time would not have produced the slightest impression; and this experienced practitioner was of opinion that the dangerous convulsions which sometimes seize the patient towards the end of a tedious and difficult labour, may arise from the long continued inspiration of the air of a close and unventilated chamber crowded with attendants and friends.
This observation suggests to us another circumstance which, though it has never, we believe, been legally treated as a nuisance, well deserves to be so considered; we allude to the public exposure of disgusting objects for the purpose of exciting charity. The vagrant laws are evidently ineffective for the purpose of removing them, nor has the Society for the Suppression of Mendicity been much more successful; those who have observed the pertinacity with which some sturdy vagrants persecute pregnant females, obtruding on their view some ulcerous sore, stump, or deformity, will agree in the necessity of some more vigorous measures than have been yet employed for the abatement of this species of nuisance.
554. The Author well remembers being sent for on a professional visit to the great copper works at Hayle, in Cornwall, and being told by a man, who had been a smelter for more than half a century, that the occupation was remarkably healthy, and that those who were engaged in it escaped the ordinary maladies of the season and country; “The smoke,” said he, “kills all disorders, especially Fevers.” This anecdote is at least sufficient to shew the force of their prejudice.
554. The Author well remembers being sent for on a professional visit to the great copper works at Hayle, in Cornwall, and being told by a man, who had been a smelter for more than half a century, that the occupation was remarkably healthy, and that those who were engaged in it escaped the ordinary maladies of the season and country; “The smoke,” said he, “kills all disorders, especially Fevers.” This anecdote is at least sufficient to shew the force of their prejudice.
555. The increase of the metropolis may be deemed a medical, though it cannot be restrained as a legal nuisance; this has been long felt but is still without remedy. In 1580 QueenElizabeth, by proclamation, prohibited new buildings within three miles of the city of London, and commanded the Lord Mayor and officers to regulate the number of inmates in each house, which had become excessive. 2Stowe’sLondon, 436. About this time it was made matter of complaint that “Moorfields, which formerly the citizens used for their health and pleasure to walk in and take the air, began now to be enclosed, to the hinderance of these healthful and useful walkings.” The limits of a Sabbath-days journey will not afford the modern citizen a breathing place; what effect this privation may have on the moral as well as physical state of the poorer inhabitants of this overgrown capital we will not attempt to discuss, and as the existing evil is without remedy, we will content ourselves with a hope that some means may be found to prevent its increase. An act of parliament limits the distance from the new road within which no buildings may be erected; an extension of this principle to all other roads five miles round London (exceptis excipiendis) and the imposition of double taxes on all houses to be erected after a certain date, within a limited circuit, (with a decreasing ratio as the radius increases) might possibly obviate the evil without very materially interfering with the value of property. The capital is metaphorically called the heart of the empire; we wish to provide it with sufficient lungs that it may circulate more florid and healthy blood to the extremities.Since this note was written we have seen, in a collection of the statutes passed in the time of the commonwealth, an act for the preventing of the multiplicity of buildings in and about the suburbs of London and within ten miles thereof,An. Dom.1656, the preamble of which says, “Whereas the great and excessive number of houses, edifices, outhouses, and cottages, erected and new built in and about the suburbs of the city ofLondonand the part thereunto adjoining, is found to be very mischievous and inconvenient, and a great annoyance and nuisance to the commonwealth; and whereas, notwithstanding divers prohibitions heretofore had and made to the contrary, yet the said growing evil is of late so much multiplied and increased that there is a necessity of taking some further and speedy course for the redress thereof;” certain fines and penalties are therefore directed to be levied on all new houses which have notfour acresof land continually used with them, and commissioners are appointed to carry the act into execution. The exceptions in this statute may serve to elucidate the subject, Clare market, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Covent Garden, Shoe lane, and other places now in the centre of the town are exempted from the penalties, on account of the charges or covenants to which the owners had been or might be liable.
555. The increase of the metropolis may be deemed a medical, though it cannot be restrained as a legal nuisance; this has been long felt but is still without remedy. In 1580 QueenElizabeth, by proclamation, prohibited new buildings within three miles of the city of London, and commanded the Lord Mayor and officers to regulate the number of inmates in each house, which had become excessive. 2Stowe’sLondon, 436. About this time it was made matter of complaint that “Moorfields, which formerly the citizens used for their health and pleasure to walk in and take the air, began now to be enclosed, to the hinderance of these healthful and useful walkings.” The limits of a Sabbath-days journey will not afford the modern citizen a breathing place; what effect this privation may have on the moral as well as physical state of the poorer inhabitants of this overgrown capital we will not attempt to discuss, and as the existing evil is without remedy, we will content ourselves with a hope that some means may be found to prevent its increase. An act of parliament limits the distance from the new road within which no buildings may be erected; an extension of this principle to all other roads five miles round London (exceptis excipiendis) and the imposition of double taxes on all houses to be erected after a certain date, within a limited circuit, (with a decreasing ratio as the radius increases) might possibly obviate the evil without very materially interfering with the value of property. The capital is metaphorically called the heart of the empire; we wish to provide it with sufficient lungs that it may circulate more florid and healthy blood to the extremities.
Since this note was written we have seen, in a collection of the statutes passed in the time of the commonwealth, an act for the preventing of the multiplicity of buildings in and about the suburbs of London and within ten miles thereof,An. Dom.1656, the preamble of which says, “Whereas the great and excessive number of houses, edifices, outhouses, and cottages, erected and new built in and about the suburbs of the city ofLondonand the part thereunto adjoining, is found to be very mischievous and inconvenient, and a great annoyance and nuisance to the commonwealth; and whereas, notwithstanding divers prohibitions heretofore had and made to the contrary, yet the said growing evil is of late so much multiplied and increased that there is a necessity of taking some further and speedy course for the redress thereof;” certain fines and penalties are therefore directed to be levied on all new houses which have notfour acresof land continually used with them, and commissioners are appointed to carry the act into execution. The exceptions in this statute may serve to elucidate the subject, Clare market, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Covent Garden, Shoe lane, and other places now in the centre of the town are exempted from the penalties, on account of the charges or covenants to which the owners had been or might be liable.
556. The Severn lately having overflown its banks into a lime-pit, a very considerable number of salmon and other fish were killed by it.
556. The Severn lately having overflown its banks into a lime-pit, a very considerable number of salmon and other fish were killed by it.
557. Old Book of Entries, fol. 406, edit. 1595, action upon the case brought for annoying a piscary with a gutter that came from a dye-house.Hutt.136.
557. Old Book of Entries, fol. 406, edit. 1595, action upon the case brought for annoying a piscary with a gutter that came from a dye-house.Hutt.136.
558. The smelts and flounders have been thus destroyed in the immediate vicinity of London.
558. The smelts and flounders have been thus destroyed in the immediate vicinity of London.
559. By stat. 12,Gec.3,c.61, not more than 50lbs. may be kept in any one place within London and Westminster, or three miles circuit, nor within one mile of any city, borough, or market town, or within two miles of any of the King’s palaces or magazines, or one half mile of any parish church.
559. By stat. 12,Gec.3,c.61, not more than 50lbs. may be kept in any one place within London and Westminster, or three miles circuit, nor within one mile of any city, borough, or market town, or within two miles of any of the King’s palaces or magazines, or one half mile of any parish church.
560. Principles of Military Surgery, byJ. Hennen, M. D.edit. 2d, Edinburgh, 1820. See also Transactions of the College of Physicians in Dublin, vol. ii, p. 337.
560. Principles of Military Surgery, byJ. Hennen, M. D.edit. 2d, Edinburgh, 1820. See also Transactions of the College of Physicians in Dublin, vol. ii, p. 337.
561. Med. Leg. 1, 360.
561. Med. Leg. 1, 360.
562. Op. citat. p. 458.
562. Op. citat. p. 458.
563. SeeParry’sElements of Physiology.
563. SeeParry’sElements of Physiology.
564. See the evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, on the subject of Mendicity.
564. See the evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, on the subject of Mendicity.
565.Male’sElements of Juridical Medicine, edit. 2, p. 237.
565.Male’sElements of Juridical Medicine, edit. 2, p. 237.
566. Principles of Forensic Medicine, p. 470.
566. Principles of Forensic Medicine, p. 470.
567. See a paper in the 3d vol. of the Medical Trans. of the Coll. of Phy. p. 112, bySir George Baker, entitled “An account of a singular disease, which prevailed among some poor children maintained by the parish of St. James, in Westminster. A. D. 1784.”
567. See a paper in the 3d vol. of the Medical Trans. of the Coll. of Phy. p. 112, bySir George Baker, entitled “An account of a singular disease, which prevailed among some poor children maintained by the parish of St. James, in Westminster. A. D. 1784.”
568.Haygarthon the Imagination.
568.Haygarthon the Imagination.
569. The influence of sympathy in propagating a spasmodic paroxysm was illustrated, in a very extraordinary manner, some years ago in the county of Cornwall, when the methodists assembled in great numbers in their meeting-houses, and continued for many hours, and even days, in the agony of supplication, waiting for an assurance of divine mercy; during which period many persons who attended as visitors became convulsed. The author was at that time resident in the county, and lost no opportunity of investigating a phenomenon so anomalous and extraordinary. The visitation was called theRevival, and the meetings appear to have been very similar to the “Camp Meetings” in America. It was the author’s intention to have selected from the notes which he had taken upon the occasion, some account of thisRevival, but he has declined the task from the same feeling that induced the painter to throw a veil over the face of Agamemnon, because he despaired of giving it the expression which it required.
569. The influence of sympathy in propagating a spasmodic paroxysm was illustrated, in a very extraordinary manner, some years ago in the county of Cornwall, when the methodists assembled in great numbers in their meeting-houses, and continued for many hours, and even days, in the agony of supplication, waiting for an assurance of divine mercy; during which period many persons who attended as visitors became convulsed. The author was at that time resident in the county, and lost no opportunity of investigating a phenomenon so anomalous and extraordinary. The visitation was called theRevival, and the meetings appear to have been very similar to the “Camp Meetings” in America. It was the author’s intention to have selected from the notes which he had taken upon the occasion, some account of thisRevival, but he has declined the task from the same feeling that induced the painter to throw a veil over the face of Agamemnon, because he despaired of giving it the expression which it required.
570. ThatCumminpossesses this property is a very ancient opinion; thusPers. Sat.v.“Rugosum Piper, etpallentisgrana Cumini.”Dioscoridesmaintained that it had made those persons pale who drank it, or washed themselves with it; andPlinysays that it was reported, that the disciples of Porcius Latro, a famous master of the art of speaking, used it to imitate that paleness which he had contracted by his studies; thus tooHorace“——Proh! siPallerem casu, biberent exsangue Cuminum,”Epist.19,Lib.1,c.12.
570. ThatCumminpossesses this property is a very ancient opinion; thusPers. Sat.v.
“Rugosum Piper, etpallentisgrana Cumini.”
“Rugosum Piper, etpallentisgrana Cumini.”
“Rugosum Piper, etpallentisgrana Cumini.”
“Rugosum Piper, etpallentisgrana Cumini.”
Dioscoridesmaintained that it had made those persons pale who drank it, or washed themselves with it; andPlinysays that it was reported, that the disciples of Porcius Latro, a famous master of the art of speaking, used it to imitate that paleness which he had contracted by his studies; thus tooHorace
“——Proh! siPallerem casu, biberent exsangue Cuminum,”
“——Proh! siPallerem casu, biberent exsangue Cuminum,”
“——Proh! siPallerem casu, biberent exsangue Cuminum,”
“——Proh! si
Pallerem casu, biberent exsangue Cuminum,”
Epist.19,Lib.1,c.12.
571. Lectures on the Structure and Physiology of the Urinary and Genital Organs, p. 184.
571. Lectures on the Structure and Physiology of the Urinary and Genital Organs, p. 184.
572. The details and progress of the imposture may be seen in successive volumes of the Medical and Physical Journal, viz. vol. xx, p. 402, 527; xxi, p. 60; xxiv, p. 309; xxix, p. 109, 409, 469; xxx, p. 21 103, 187.
572. The details and progress of the imposture may be seen in successive volumes of the Medical and Physical Journal, viz. vol. xx, p. 402, 527; xxi, p. 60; xxiv, p. 309; xxix, p. 109, 409, 469; xxx, p. 21 103, 187.
573. She also swore that during the whole period she had no evacuations except by urine.
573. She also swore that during the whole period she had no evacuations except by urine.
574.Jussieuhas given an account of a Portuguese girl, of fifteen years of age, who had been born without a tongue, and he refers to a similar case recorded eight years before by a surgeon of Saumur, where the subject was a boy, who had lost his tongue by gangrene, and yet to a certain degree, was able to perform the functions of it. A case of a similar nature, together with a reference to several other instances, stands recorded in the annals of our own country, and may be found in the Philosophical Transactions.
574.Jussieuhas given an account of a Portuguese girl, of fifteen years of age, who had been born without a tongue, and he refers to a similar case recorded eight years before by a surgeon of Saumur, where the subject was a boy, who had lost his tongue by gangrene, and yet to a certain degree, was able to perform the functions of it. A case of a similar nature, together with a reference to several other instances, stands recorded in the annals of our own country, and may be found in the Philosophical Transactions.
575.Op. Citat.See also a paper by Dr.Vetch, in theEdinburgh Med. & Surg. Journ.Vol. iv. p. 157.
575.Op. Citat.See also a paper by Dr.Vetch, in theEdinburgh Med. & Surg. Journ.Vol. iv. p. 157.
576. “A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons, byFrederick Accum.” A work which is perhaps better known by the title ofDeath in the Pot.
576. “A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons, byFrederick Accum.” A work which is perhaps better known by the title ofDeath in the Pot.
577. In this country, bread is chiefly divided intowhite,wheaten, andhousehold, differing only in degree of purity; in the first, all the bran is separated; in the second, only the coarser; in the third, none at all; so thatfine breadis made only of flour;wheaten breadof flour with a mixture of the finer bran; andhousehold, of the whole substance of the grain, without taking out either the coarse bran, or fine flour.Stat.8Ann, c.18. In the statute of assize of bread and ale, to be hereafter noticed, (51Hen.3,) mention is made ofwastel-bread,cocket-bread, andbread of treet; which answer to the three sorts of bread above mentioned, viz.white,wheaten, andhousehold-bread.The bread of the London bakers maybe certainly considered as forming a very distinct species, although by no means a definite one; there are no less than six different kinds of flour brought into the London market, which are designated by the following terms, viz. 1,fine flour; 2,seconds; 3,middlings; 4,fine middlings; 5,coarse middlings; 6,twenty-penny flour; besides which the London bread-flour is not unfrequently deteriorated by having beans and peas ground up with it: now it is a fact generally admitted that the very best wheaten flour can alone produce beautifully white bread, unless some bleaching substance be employed, in which case however inferior flour may be made into bread equally specious to the eye; for such a purposealumis universally employed by the London bakers, and it has become a medical question whether the health of the community is likely to be affected by the practice. We should say that, generally, so small a proportion as ten or fifteen grains of alum in a quartern loaf could hardly produce any mischief, although we are inclined to think that certain constitutions may be sensible to its influence, and that infants may occasionally suffer from it; these effects are of course more likely to occur to persons who only visit London occasionally, although upon this subject some important fallacies may exist; and it is by no means satisfactorily established that the costiveness, which is sometimes experienced by country residents on their first coming to London, arises from the alum present in the bread; for admitting even that it depends upon the bread, it may be connected with the change in the relative coarseness of the flour alone, for we have shewn in another work (Pharmacologia, edit. 5, page 160) that bran renders wheaten flour laxative from its mechanical action upon the inner coats of the intestines. But a much more iniquitous practice than that of adding alum to bread has been detected: bakers have been convicted of usinggypsum,pipe-clay, andchalk, and not long since a very extensive fraud was carried on in Cornwall, where a very considerable portion of thePorcelain clay(decomposed felspar) from Saint Annes, was introduced into the bread; and the author of this note was lately informed by Mr. Hume, of Long Acre, that on examining some biscuits prepared for the use of the navy, he found as much as eight per cent ofgypsum.Dr. Reinesobserves that this adulteration is very common in Germany, where the same mills are employed to grind corn for the inhabitants, and gypsum for the purpose of a mineral manure to the lands. It may be necessary to remark, before quitting the subject of the adulteration of bread, that we possess no summary and unexceptionable chemical test for the detection ofalum, since common salt, which necessarily enters into the composition of the loaf, often contains saline impurities which may occasion precipitates like those we might attribute toalum.
577. In this country, bread is chiefly divided intowhite,wheaten, andhousehold, differing only in degree of purity; in the first, all the bran is separated; in the second, only the coarser; in the third, none at all; so thatfine breadis made only of flour;wheaten breadof flour with a mixture of the finer bran; andhousehold, of the whole substance of the grain, without taking out either the coarse bran, or fine flour.Stat.8Ann, c.18. In the statute of assize of bread and ale, to be hereafter noticed, (51Hen.3,) mention is made ofwastel-bread,cocket-bread, andbread of treet; which answer to the three sorts of bread above mentioned, viz.white,wheaten, andhousehold-bread.
The bread of the London bakers maybe certainly considered as forming a very distinct species, although by no means a definite one; there are no less than six different kinds of flour brought into the London market, which are designated by the following terms, viz. 1,fine flour; 2,seconds; 3,middlings; 4,fine middlings; 5,coarse middlings; 6,twenty-penny flour; besides which the London bread-flour is not unfrequently deteriorated by having beans and peas ground up with it: now it is a fact generally admitted that the very best wheaten flour can alone produce beautifully white bread, unless some bleaching substance be employed, in which case however inferior flour may be made into bread equally specious to the eye; for such a purposealumis universally employed by the London bakers, and it has become a medical question whether the health of the community is likely to be affected by the practice. We should say that, generally, so small a proportion as ten or fifteen grains of alum in a quartern loaf could hardly produce any mischief, although we are inclined to think that certain constitutions may be sensible to its influence, and that infants may occasionally suffer from it; these effects are of course more likely to occur to persons who only visit London occasionally, although upon this subject some important fallacies may exist; and it is by no means satisfactorily established that the costiveness, which is sometimes experienced by country residents on their first coming to London, arises from the alum present in the bread; for admitting even that it depends upon the bread, it may be connected with the change in the relative coarseness of the flour alone, for we have shewn in another work (Pharmacologia, edit. 5, page 160) that bran renders wheaten flour laxative from its mechanical action upon the inner coats of the intestines. But a much more iniquitous practice than that of adding alum to bread has been detected: bakers have been convicted of usinggypsum,pipe-clay, andchalk, and not long since a very extensive fraud was carried on in Cornwall, where a very considerable portion of thePorcelain clay(decomposed felspar) from Saint Annes, was introduced into the bread; and the author of this note was lately informed by Mr. Hume, of Long Acre, that on examining some biscuits prepared for the use of the navy, he found as much as eight per cent ofgypsum.Dr. Reinesobserves that this adulteration is very common in Germany, where the same mills are employed to grind corn for the inhabitants, and gypsum for the purpose of a mineral manure to the lands. It may be necessary to remark, before quitting the subject of the adulteration of bread, that we possess no summary and unexceptionable chemical test for the detection ofalum, since common salt, which necessarily enters into the composition of the loaf, often contains saline impurities which may occasion precipitates like those we might attribute toalum.
578. This act of the 51stHen.3, stat. 6, (entitled a Statute of the Pillory and Tumbril) is worthy of notice, as it is we believe the first in which the adulteration of human food is specially noticed and prohibited. It is thereby enacted that six lawful men shall collect the measures and weights of the town, as well of taverns as other places, and one loaf of every sort of bread. Afterwards twelve lawful men shall swear to make true answer of the price of wheat, first, second, and third, of barley, and oats; and of the price of bread, and for what default a baker ought to be amerced or to be judged unto the pillory; also if any steward or bailiff for any bribe doth release punishment of the pillory and tumbril. Also if they have in the town a pillory of convenient strength; next of the price of wine, and if any corrupted wine be in the town, or such as is not wholesome for man’s body; also of the assize of ale, and what brewers have sold contrary to the assize, and ought to be judged to the tumbril; also if there be any that sell by one measure, and buy by another. Also if any butcher do sellcontagious flesh, or that died of the murrain. Also of cooks that seethe flesh or fish with bread or water, or any otherwise that is not wholesome for man’s body, or after that they have kept it so long that it loseth its natural wholesomeness, and then seethe it again and sell it. Also of forestallers and regrators. The statute concludes by enacting that when a quarter of barley is sold for two shillings, four quarts of ale shall be sold for a penny; when for two and sixpence, the seven quarts for twopence; when for three shillings, three quarts for a penny; when for three shillings and sixpence, five quarts for twopence; when for four shillings, two quarts for one penny, and so onward the prices shall increase and decrease after the rate of sixpence.
578. This act of the 51stHen.3, stat. 6, (entitled a Statute of the Pillory and Tumbril) is worthy of notice, as it is we believe the first in which the adulteration of human food is specially noticed and prohibited. It is thereby enacted that six lawful men shall collect the measures and weights of the town, as well of taverns as other places, and one loaf of every sort of bread. Afterwards twelve lawful men shall swear to make true answer of the price of wheat, first, second, and third, of barley, and oats; and of the price of bread, and for what default a baker ought to be amerced or to be judged unto the pillory; also if any steward or bailiff for any bribe doth release punishment of the pillory and tumbril. Also if they have in the town a pillory of convenient strength; next of the price of wine, and if any corrupted wine be in the town, or such as is not wholesome for man’s body; also of the assize of ale, and what brewers have sold contrary to the assize, and ought to be judged to the tumbril; also if there be any that sell by one measure, and buy by another. Also if any butcher do sellcontagious flesh, or that died of the murrain. Also of cooks that seethe flesh or fish with bread or water, or any otherwise that is not wholesome for man’s body, or after that they have kept it so long that it loseth its natural wholesomeness, and then seethe it again and sell it. Also of forestallers and regrators. The statute concludes by enacting that when a quarter of barley is sold for two shillings, four quarts of ale shall be sold for a penny; when for two and sixpence, the seven quarts for twopence; when for three shillings, three quarts for a penny; when for three shillings and sixpence, five quarts for twopence; when for four shillings, two quarts for one penny, and so onward the prices shall increase and decrease after the rate of sixpence.
579. For subsequent statutes see Jac. L. Dict., and Burn’s Justice by Chetwynd: tit. bread.
579. For subsequent statutes see Jac. L. Dict., and Burn’s Justice by Chetwynd: tit. bread.
580. The following are the more usual additions made by the publican;beer-heading, which is intended to impart the “cauliflower head,” and consists of sulphate of iron, common salt, and alum, for which several convictions have taken place, (Minutes of the Committee, above cited); it is necessary to observe that the addition of this “heading” is made with a view to restore the property of frothing to the porter, which has been destroyed by dilution with table beer. The extract of the berries of theCoculus Indicus, possessing properties eminently narcotic, is added for a purpose too obvious to require explanation, and is regularly sold by the brewer’s druggists under the technical appellation of “BLACK EXTRACT.” There is also another preparation, for a similar object, sold under the name of “BITTERN,” and which is a compound ofblack extract,extract of quassia,Spanish liquorice, and calcinedsulphate of iron. “Multum,” used as a substitute for malt and hops, consists ofExtract of Quassia, andLiquorice. We must close this note by expressing our regret at the little assistance to be derived from chemistry in the detection of such frauds; mineral substances, assulphate of iron, or any of the mineralacids, can certainly be recognised in our laboratories; but when we attempt to identify vegetable principles, the resources of analysis completely fail.
580. The following are the more usual additions made by the publican;beer-heading, which is intended to impart the “cauliflower head,” and consists of sulphate of iron, common salt, and alum, for which several convictions have taken place, (Minutes of the Committee, above cited); it is necessary to observe that the addition of this “heading” is made with a view to restore the property of frothing to the porter, which has been destroyed by dilution with table beer. The extract of the berries of theCoculus Indicus, possessing properties eminently narcotic, is added for a purpose too obvious to require explanation, and is regularly sold by the brewer’s druggists under the technical appellation of “BLACK EXTRACT.” There is also another preparation, for a similar object, sold under the name of “BITTERN,” and which is a compound ofblack extract,extract of quassia,Spanish liquorice, and calcinedsulphate of iron. “Multum,” used as a substitute for malt and hops, consists ofExtract of Quassia, andLiquorice. We must close this note by expressing our regret at the little assistance to be derived from chemistry in the detection of such frauds; mineral substances, assulphate of iron, or any of the mineralacids, can certainly be recognised in our laboratories; but when we attempt to identify vegetable principles, the resources of analysis completely fail.
581.Hydrometeremployed by the excise, act 58,G.3,c.28 and 56G.3, 140.Acetometer58G.3,c.65,s.8.
581.Hydrometeremployed by the excise, act 58,G.3,c.28 and 56G.3, 140.Acetometer58G.3,c.65,s.8.
582. We cannot follow the foreign writers who speculate on the possibility of determining age from physiological criteria. Unfortunately the ordinary mode of proof from parish registers is often defective, as the act only requires the date of the baptism, and not of the birth; many clergymen refuse to insert the latter under the plea that birth and baptism should be nearly cotemporaneous. Every day’s experience shows the contrary; and as many nice points may arise as to the very day on which a person (for instance) attains the age of twenty-one, we hope this practice will be amended.
582. We cannot follow the foreign writers who speculate on the possibility of determining age from physiological criteria. Unfortunately the ordinary mode of proof from parish registers is often defective, as the act only requires the date of the baptism, and not of the birth; many clergymen refuse to insert the latter under the plea that birth and baptism should be nearly cotemporaneous. Every day’s experience shows the contrary; and as many nice points may arise as to the very day on which a person (for instance) attains the age of twenty-one, we hope this practice will be amended.
583. But to avoid these questions, it is the practice of the insurance offices specially to name gout and some other disorders in their enquiries of the usual medical attendant of the party insuring.
583. But to avoid these questions, it is the practice of the insurance offices specially to name gout and some other disorders in their enquiries of the usual medical attendant of the party insuring.
584. For the doctrine of day of date exclusive or inclusive, seeLord Mansfield, inPughv.Duke of Leeds. Cowp. Rep.714.
584. For the doctrine of day of date exclusive or inclusive, seeLord Mansfield, inPughv.Duke of Leeds. Cowp. Rep.714.
585. There is another case in which it is important to ascertain whether a person was in imminent danger, for if a contract for the purchase of a presentation be entered into while the incumbent is known by the parties to be in great danger, it is simoniacal. InFoxv.Bishop of Chester, Spring Assizes, 1821, after a long consultation the following issues were agreed to be put to the jury.1st. Whether Mr. T. and Mr. F. or either of them knew, that Mr. B. (the incumbent) was in great danger at the time of the execution of the deed?—Verdict. That they both knew of it.2d. Whether Mr. B. was afflicted with a mortal disease and in great danger?—Verdict. Yes.3d. Whether Mr. T. and Mr. F. or either of them believed that Mr. B.’s life was despaired of at the time of the execution of the deed?—Verdict. That his life wasdespaired of by both of them.4th. Whether the life of Mr. B. was actually despaired of at the time of the execution of the deed.—Verdict. That it was.
585. There is another case in which it is important to ascertain whether a person was in imminent danger, for if a contract for the purchase of a presentation be entered into while the incumbent is known by the parties to be in great danger, it is simoniacal. InFoxv.Bishop of Chester, Spring Assizes, 1821, after a long consultation the following issues were agreed to be put to the jury.
1st. Whether Mr. T. and Mr. F. or either of them knew, that Mr. B. (the incumbent) was in great danger at the time of the execution of the deed?—Verdict. That they both knew of it.
2d. Whether Mr. B. was afflicted with a mortal disease and in great danger?—Verdict. Yes.
3d. Whether Mr. T. and Mr. F. or either of them believed that Mr. B.’s life was despaired of at the time of the execution of the deed?—Verdict. That his life wasdespaired of by both of them.
4th. Whether the life of Mr. B. was actually despaired of at the time of the execution of the deed.—Verdict. That it was.
586. In a work lately published in Paris, entitled “Rapports et Consultations de Medicine legale, recueilles et publiées parJ. Ristelheuber, D. M.Médecin en chef à l’hospital Civil de Strasbourg”, 8vo. p. p.172, the subject of insurance on lives and annuities, is amply considered; and the following case is fully detailed, which excited so much interest, some years ago, at Strasburgh.M. Frierdsold, on the 11th of March, 1809, a large sum in the funds for the purchase of an annuity on his own life. He was at the time of the bargain, and had been for ten years, afflicted with Hemiplegia, in consequence of an apoplectic seizure; and he died on the second day after the signing of the document. The question therefore is, whether M. Frierd, on the day on which he signed the papers, was, or was not, already under the influence of the disease to which he fell a victim thirty hours afterwards. The question was debated with much talent and ingenuity on both sides; and the volume before us contains the various reports, opinions, and arguments, written on the occasion.
586. In a work lately published in Paris, entitled “Rapports et Consultations de Medicine legale, recueilles et publiées parJ. Ristelheuber, D. M.Médecin en chef à l’hospital Civil de Strasbourg”, 8vo. p. p.172, the subject of insurance on lives and annuities, is amply considered; and the following case is fully detailed, which excited so much interest, some years ago, at Strasburgh.M. Frierdsold, on the 11th of March, 1809, a large sum in the funds for the purchase of an annuity on his own life. He was at the time of the bargain, and had been for ten years, afflicted with Hemiplegia, in consequence of an apoplectic seizure; and he died on the second day after the signing of the document. The question therefore is, whether M. Frierd, on the day on which he signed the papers, was, or was not, already under the influence of the disease to which he fell a victim thirty hours afterwards. The question was debated with much talent and ingenuity on both sides; and the volume before us contains the various reports, opinions, and arguments, written on the occasion.
587. SeePriceon Annuities, andBailey’sDoctrine of Life Annuities and Assurances.
587. SeePriceon Annuities, andBailey’sDoctrine of Life Annuities and Assurances.
588. Residence in great cities is almost universally believed to be prejudicial to the duration of human life: and that it may generally be so in some slight degree we are not disposed to deny. The Life Insurance Offices however, offer a practical proof that the difference between residence in London and the country, is not so great as is generally supposed; since these bodies, whose interest and experience constitute them the best judges of the subject, do not make any difference in the premiums required, from this change of circumstance.
588. Residence in great cities is almost universally believed to be prejudicial to the duration of human life: and that it may generally be so in some slight degree we are not disposed to deny. The Life Insurance Offices however, offer a practical proof that the difference between residence in London and the country, is not so great as is generally supposed; since these bodies, whose interest and experience constitute them the best judges of the subject, do not make any difference in the premiums required, from this change of circumstance.
589. SeeParkon Dower.
589. SeeParkon Dower.
590. This was afterwards brought into B. R. by writ of error, as to the mode of returning the jury.Cro. Eliz.
590. This was afterwards brought into B. R. by writ of error, as to the mode of returning the jury.Cro. Eliz.
591. This case is variously reported, inCro. Eliz.502 the son is stated to have survived; inNoy.64, that the father moved his feet after the death of the son.
591. This case is variously reported, inCro. Eliz.502 the son is stated to have survived; inNoy.64, that the father moved his feet after the death of the son.
592. SeeMason and Mason, 1Meriv.308, and articles of theCode Napoleonthere cited. In this case it was referred to the master to enquire what children the testator (who with one of his sons had been lost at sea) had at the time of his death; the master reported that he was unable to state whether Francis, the son, survived his father or not. Sir W. Grant, M. R. directed an issue at the request of the plaintiff. See alsoTaylor v. Deplock, 2Phill.281.
592. SeeMason and Mason, 1Meriv.308, and articles of theCode Napoleonthere cited. In this case it was referred to the master to enquire what children the testator (who with one of his sons had been lost at sea) had at the time of his death; the master reported that he was unable to state whether Francis, the son, survived his father or not. Sir W. Grant, M. R. directed an issue at the request of the plaintiff. See alsoTaylor v. Deplock, 2Phill.281.
593.Cum bello pater cum filio perisset, materque filii quasi postea mortui bona vindicaret, agnati vero patris, quasi filius ante perisset, Divus Hadrianus credidit patrem prius mortuum.Dig. Lib.34,T.5, 5, 9,S.1,de rebus dubiis.
593.Cum bello pater cum filio perisset, materque filii quasi postea mortui bona vindicaret, agnati vero patris, quasi filius ante perisset, Divus Hadrianus credidit patrem prius mortuum.Dig. Lib.34,T.5, 5, 9,S.1,de rebus dubiis.
594.Cum pubere filio mater naufragio periit: cum explorari non possit, uter prior extinctus sit, humanius est credere filius diutius vixisse,l. c. lex22.
594.Cum pubere filio mater naufragio periit: cum explorari non possit, uter prior extinctus sit, humanius est credere filius diutius vixisse,l. c. lex22.
595.Contra Fearne, l. c. p.388.
595.Contra Fearne, l. c. p.388.
596. The law of England recognises the same distinction between natural and civil death, upon which the above case turns, as in cases of felons after judgment of death; the question, however, can seldom, if ever, arise, since the termnaturallife is almost universally introduced into assurances of property.
596. The law of England recognises the same distinction between natural and civil death, upon which the above case turns, as in cases of felons after judgment of death; the question, however, can seldom, if ever, arise, since the termnaturallife is almost universally introduced into assurances of property.
597.Recueil Periodique de la Société de Medecine de Paris.
597.Recueil Periodique de la Société de Medecine de Paris.
598.La Medecine Legale relative a l’art des Accouchemens.A. Paris, 1821, p. 135.
598.La Medecine Legale relative a l’art des Accouchemens.A. Paris, 1821, p. 135.
599.Medecine Legale.
599.Medecine Legale.
600.Journal de la Société de Medecine de Paris, tom. viii.
600.Journal de la Société de Medecine de Paris, tom. viii.
601. Smith’s Principles of Forensic Medicine, p. 881.
601. Smith’s Principles of Forensic Medicine, p. 881.
602. The crime of arson, at common law, is the malicious and voluntary burning of the house of another, by night or by day, whether in part or entirely. 3Inst.66. This felony was without benefit of clergy; but seePoulter’scase, 11Rep.29, 2Hawk. P. C.503, 1Hale, P. C.570. All doubts on this point are now taken away byStat.9,Geo.1, c. 22.Brittonsaith, “Soit inquise de ceux que feloniousment en temps de pace aient auters blees, au autres measons arses, et ceux que serr de ceo attaint, soient arses, issint que its soient punies per mesme le choz dont ilz pecherent.” But this mode of punishment has been long changed, 1Hale, P. C.566; outhouses and barns, parcel of the dwelling house and barns having corn in them were included under the word house, for it was not necessary as in burglary to say in the indictmentdomum mansionale(1Hale, P. C.567,Barham’s case, 4Co. Rep.20;) to take away clergy, these distinctions are ended by 9Geo.1. See stats. 21H.8,c.1; 23H.8,c.1; 37H.8,c.26; 1Ed.6,c.12; 4 and 5P. and M. c.4; 43Eliz. c.13; 22 and 23Car.2,c.7; 9Geo.1,c.22, made perpetual by 31G.2,c.42; 28G.2,c.19; 1G.1,c.48; 10G.2,c.32; 9G.3,c.29; see alsoJac. L. dict.tit. Burning, andHawk, P. C.byLeach.
602. The crime of arson, at common law, is the malicious and voluntary burning of the house of another, by night or by day, whether in part or entirely. 3Inst.66. This felony was without benefit of clergy; but seePoulter’scase, 11Rep.29, 2Hawk. P. C.503, 1Hale, P. C.570. All doubts on this point are now taken away byStat.9,Geo.1, c. 22.Brittonsaith, “Soit inquise de ceux que feloniousment en temps de pace aient auters blees, au autres measons arses, et ceux que serr de ceo attaint, soient arses, issint que its soient punies per mesme le choz dont ilz pecherent.” But this mode of punishment has been long changed, 1Hale, P. C.566; outhouses and barns, parcel of the dwelling house and barns having corn in them were included under the word house, for it was not necessary as in burglary to say in the indictmentdomum mansionale(1Hale, P. C.567,Barham’s case, 4Co. Rep.20;) to take away clergy, these distinctions are ended by 9Geo.1. See stats. 21H.8,c.1; 23H.8,c.1; 37H.8,c.26; 1Ed.6,c.12; 4 and 5P. and M. c.4; 43Eliz. c.13; 22 and 23Car.2,c.7; 9Geo.1,c.22, made perpetual by 31G.2,c.42; 28G.2,c.19; 1G.1,c.48; 10G.2,c.32; 9G.3,c.29; see alsoJac. L. dict.tit. Burning, andHawk, P. C.byLeach.
603.Mr. Lesliehas availed himself of this property in oatmeal, and has applied the substance in the place of Sulphuric acid, in his ingenious and beautiful experiment of freezing in the exhausted receiver of the air pump.
603.Mr. Lesliehas availed himself of this property in oatmeal, and has applied the substance in the place of Sulphuric acid, in his ingenious and beautiful experiment of freezing in the exhausted receiver of the air pump.
604. Annals of Philosophy, vol. xvi, p. 390.
604. Annals of Philosophy, vol. xvi, p. 390.
605.Memoires de l’Academie de Paris, 1743.
605.Memoires de l’Academie de Paris, 1743.
606. Apoodconsists of 46 pounds Russian, or 36 English.
606. Apoodconsists of 46 pounds Russian, or 36 English.
607. We also refer the reader to the article “Combustions Humains Spontanées” in theDictionnaire des Sciences Medicales; also to thePhilosophical Transactionsfor 1745; andPhil. Trans. Abr. v.10,p.1073.
607. We also refer the reader to the article “Combustions Humains Spontanées” in theDictionnaire des Sciences Medicales; also to thePhilosophical Transactionsfor 1745; andPhil. Trans. Abr. v.10,p.1073.
608. This was the case of the priestBertholi, described in one of the Journals of Florence for October 1776, byM. Battaglia, the surgeon, who attended him; we extract a short account of this extraordinary event fromFoderé(tom. 8, p. 210) who to his own observations on the subject adds those ofFouquet,Marc,Koop, and others.Don Gio Maria Bertholihaving spent the day in travelling about the country, arrived in the evening at the house of his brother-in-law; he immediately requested to be shewn to his destined apartment, where he had a handkerchief placed between his shirt and shoulders, and being left alone, betook himself to his devotions. A few minutes had scarcely elapsed when an extraordinary noise was heard from the apartment, and the cries of the unfortunate priest were particularly distinguished; the people of the house hastily entering the room, found him extended on the floor, and surrounded by a light flame which receded (â measure) as they approached, and finally vanished. On the following morning, the patient was examined byM. Battagliawho found the integuments of the right arm almost entirely detached and pendant from the flesh; from the shoulders to the thighs the integuments were equally injured; and on the right hand, the part most injured, mortification had already commenced, which notwithstanding immediate sacrification rapidly extended itself. The patient complained of burning thirst, and was horribly convulsed, he passed by stool putrid and bilious matter, and was exhausted by continual vomiting accompanied by fever and delirium. On the fourth day, after two hours of comatose insensibility, he expired; during the whole period of his suffering, it was impossible to trace any symptomatic affection. A short time previous to his decease,M. Battagliaobserved, with astonishment, that putrefaction had made so much progress that the body already exhaled an insufferable odour, worms crawled from it on the bed, and the nails had become detached from the left hand.The account given by the unhappy patient was, that he felt a stroke like the blow of a cudgel on the right hand, and at the same time he saw a lambent flame (bluette de feu) attach itself to his shirt, which was immediately reduced to ashes, his wristbands (poignets) at the same time being utterly untouched. The handkerchief, which as before mentioned, was placed between his shoulders and his shirt, was entire, and free from any trace of burning; his breeches were equally uninjured; but though not a hair of his head was burnt, his coif (calotte) was totally consumed. The weather on the night of the accident was calm, the air very pure; no empyreumatic or bituminous odour was perceived in the room, which was also free from smoke; there was no vestige of fire, except that the lamp, which had been full of oil, was found dry, and the wick reduced to cinder.Maffei(saysM. Battaglia) would have found in the case of the PriestBertholia confirmation of the opinion delivered by him (Journ. de med. tome68, p. 436) that lightning is sometimes excited in us, and destroys us.See the works of theAbbè Fontana, entitledRicerche filos, sopra la ficic. animale.M. Foderèobserves, that the inflamed hydrogen, occasionally observed in church-yards, vanishes on the approach of the observer, like the flame which consumedP. Bertholi; and as he, in common with others, has remarked that this gas is developed in certain cases of disease, even in the living body, he seems inclined to joinM. Marcin attributing this species of spontaneous combustion to the united action of hydrogen and electricity in the first instance, favored by the accumulation of animal oil and the impregnation of spirituous liquors.
608. This was the case of the priestBertholi, described in one of the Journals of Florence for October 1776, byM. Battaglia, the surgeon, who attended him; we extract a short account of this extraordinary event fromFoderé(tom. 8, p. 210) who to his own observations on the subject adds those ofFouquet,Marc,Koop, and others.Don Gio Maria Bertholihaving spent the day in travelling about the country, arrived in the evening at the house of his brother-in-law; he immediately requested to be shewn to his destined apartment, where he had a handkerchief placed between his shirt and shoulders, and being left alone, betook himself to his devotions. A few minutes had scarcely elapsed when an extraordinary noise was heard from the apartment, and the cries of the unfortunate priest were particularly distinguished; the people of the house hastily entering the room, found him extended on the floor, and surrounded by a light flame which receded (â measure) as they approached, and finally vanished. On the following morning, the patient was examined byM. Battagliawho found the integuments of the right arm almost entirely detached and pendant from the flesh; from the shoulders to the thighs the integuments were equally injured; and on the right hand, the part most injured, mortification had already commenced, which notwithstanding immediate sacrification rapidly extended itself. The patient complained of burning thirst, and was horribly convulsed, he passed by stool putrid and bilious matter, and was exhausted by continual vomiting accompanied by fever and delirium. On the fourth day, after two hours of comatose insensibility, he expired; during the whole period of his suffering, it was impossible to trace any symptomatic affection. A short time previous to his decease,M. Battagliaobserved, with astonishment, that putrefaction had made so much progress that the body already exhaled an insufferable odour, worms crawled from it on the bed, and the nails had become detached from the left hand.
The account given by the unhappy patient was, that he felt a stroke like the blow of a cudgel on the right hand, and at the same time he saw a lambent flame (bluette de feu) attach itself to his shirt, which was immediately reduced to ashes, his wristbands (poignets) at the same time being utterly untouched. The handkerchief, which as before mentioned, was placed between his shoulders and his shirt, was entire, and free from any trace of burning; his breeches were equally uninjured; but though not a hair of his head was burnt, his coif (calotte) was totally consumed. The weather on the night of the accident was calm, the air very pure; no empyreumatic or bituminous odour was perceived in the room, which was also free from smoke; there was no vestige of fire, except that the lamp, which had been full of oil, was found dry, and the wick reduced to cinder.
Maffei(saysM. Battaglia) would have found in the case of the PriestBertholia confirmation of the opinion delivered by him (Journ. de med. tome68, p. 436) that lightning is sometimes excited in us, and destroys us.
See the works of theAbbè Fontana, entitledRicerche filos, sopra la ficic. animale.
M. Foderèobserves, that the inflamed hydrogen, occasionally observed in church-yards, vanishes on the approach of the observer, like the flame which consumedP. Bertholi; and as he, in common with others, has remarked that this gas is developed in certain cases of disease, even in the living body, he seems inclined to joinM. Marcin attributing this species of spontaneous combustion to the united action of hydrogen and electricity in the first instance, favored by the accumulation of animal oil and the impregnation of spirituous liquors.