The Glasgow tinned pea prosecution

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THE

GLASGOW T I N N E D

T i l E GLASGOW T I N N E D P E A PROSECUTION. (GlasgowEz,enin~News, September 7th.) ON September 5th Sheriff Birnie heard debate in the test case regarding the unwholesomeness of green peas. Mr. John Lindsay, writer, appeared for Mr. Peter Fyfe, sanitary inspector, at whose instance the case has been brought before the C o u r t ; and Mr. Malcolm Campbell, fruiterer, Gordon Street, the defender, was represented by Mr. D. T. Colquhoun, writer. Mr. Lindsay said if the peas were such as to tender a person using them liable to injury to health, the Court was entitled to convict, unless the defender, in terms of the 5th Section of the Food and Drugs Act, could show to the satisfaction of his Lordship that he did not know the goods were mixed or coloured with sulphate of copper, and that he could not with reasonable diligence have obtained that knowledge. The essential question, therefore, was whether sulphate of copper mixed with peas was injurious to health. The witnesses who were examined for the prosecution were unhesitatingly of opinion that sulphate of copper was capable of producing acute or chronic poisoning, according to the dose that might be taken. The defender said that the legumin of the pea absorbed the copper and rendered it inert. While admitting that the legumin absorbed some of the copper, Mr. Lindsay held that the evidence put before the Court justified him in denying that it absorbed the whole. Five medical gentlemen were brought forward to give evidence for the defence. With the exception of Dr. Dougall, they were comparatively young and inexperienced men. Dr. Dougall had some eccentricity about him, inasmuch as he was always differing from the general body of practitioners. SheriffBirnie : I don't think that has the remotest bearing on the case. Mr. Lindsay: Dr. Dougall said sulphate of copper was insoluble, and in that he was supported by the other four medical witnesses for the defence. The speaker thought his Lordship would be inclined to hold even on the evidence he had heard that the gastric juice and other powerful organic solvents in the stomach and intestines were sufficient to render copper soluble to some extent. If it was digested it was soluble, but if the defender was correct in his contention that it was insoluble, then it was indigestible, and in either case it was injurious to health. Referring to the note on the tin to the effect that, although the peas contained a minute quantity of copper, they were warranted not injurious to health, he held that the fact that the words on the label were suggested by Dr. Clark, the public analyst, did not prejudice the case for the prosecution. The Sheriff: I think Mr. Campbell is perfectly entitled to try the question after getting that from

PEA PROSECUTION. Dr. Clark. I don't think you need trouble your self about that. Mr. Lindsay said the whole defence was an apology, and a miserable apology at the best, for the use of this poisonous compound as food. H e submitted that the sale of copper peas was not at all satisfactory. What the defender practically asked his lordship to do was to grant a certificate for the sale of these peas mixed as they were. That authority should not be given. I f there was any doubt as to sulphate of copper being injurious to health, the public should have the benefit of the doubt. Mr. Colquhoun said the charge was that the peas i n ' q u e s t i o n were injurious to health, and being of the nature of a quasi criminal charge, involving as it did penal consequences, the onus which lay upon the prosecutor to prove his case must be as clearly discharged here as if it were a purely criminal trial. In support of the charge one would naturally have expected that some practical evidence would have been submitted to show that the eating of such peas, had, as a matter of fact, caused injury to health, but no such evidence was adduced. Professor Charteris admitted frankly that he had not partaken of the peas since he first became aware of their being green by means of sulphate of copper, and that he had personally never seen a case of injury to health traceable to the eating of such peas. So also with Professor Simpson and Dr. Dalziel. These three medical gentiemen atl admitted that they had never met with a case of either acute or chronic poisoning traceable to the eating of greened peas. The only doctor examined for the prosecution who ventured to quote his own practical experience of the supposed injurious nature of the peas was Dr. Russell, who stated that he had once been troubled with indigestion after partaking of such peas. The statement, however, was so vague that it is utterly worthless as evidence that such peas are really injurious to health. I f the doctor had intended to found upon that incident seriously as proving anything, surely we were entitled to know when, where, and under what circumstances the peas were eaten, and what quantity he consumed. It is quite possible that the doctor had taken too many peas or too much of something else at one or other of the Corporation banquets, and if he did so it would be very hard indeed to debit the poor peas with the inconvenience to which the doctor says he was subjected. At one of these banquets there are seldom less than from 15 to 2o separate dishes to be had, and no one who has seen the menu-card of such entertainments could be surprised that a gentleman with such a delicate stomach as Dr. Russell is known to have should on one of these occasions suffer somewhat from indigestion. Dr. Russell could not tell which of the many dishes occasioned the indigestion. Such an incident, however, to be quoted by a medical man in support of the serious charge now being

T H E GLASGOW T I N N E D PEA PROSECUTION. considered only strengthened the defender's case, and proved that the prosecutor had really no evidence of any practical value to adduce in support of his accusation. For ten out of twelve months of every year such tinned peas as those in question are most extensively - - one might almost say exclusively- used in Glasgow, and Glasgow may be taken as affording a fair example of the habitual use of these peas in every town and city, not only in this country, but throughout the whole Continent of Europe. If, therefore, any injury to health had ever resulted from their use, it is surely reasonable to assume that the prosecutor would quote a case, or give a reference to one where such injury had taken place, because had such a case occurred it would certainly have been recorded in one or other of the medical books dealing with the application of sulphate of copper and its effects. The fact is that no case has ever been known, notwithstanding the enormous quantity of greened peas in daily use and the experience of the medical gentlemen examined, for the prosecution admittedly confirmed that fact. It was therefore upon the mere theoretical opinions of his medical witnesses that such peas might be injurious to health, not one of which opinions was founded upon a practical fact, that the prosecutor asked for a conviction. On the other hand, five medical witnesses for the defence all denied that such peas were injurious to health, and they were able to speak from personal experience to the noninjurious effect of eating greened peas. These gentlemen, in the knowledge that the peas were greened with sulphate of copper, had all been in the habit for years of using these peas, and they had also allowed their families to take them. Not only so, but these doctors and their families had during the last few weeks partaken of the particular brand of peas referred to in this case. They were thus able to speak with some degree of authority on the question, and they all deponed that the peas were perfectly harmless, and that no risk whatever of injury to health was incurred from permitting them to be sold. This opinion was given by Professors Dougall, Glaister, and Barlow, and by Drs. Sloan and M'Phee. This opinion, supported as it is by practical tests, was of the greatest value ; while the opinion cn the other side, based on no experience whatever, was undeserving of the slightest weight. To show the enormous quantity of these peas consumed annually, Mr. Colquhoun quoted the following passage from Dr. Wood's Therapeutics, page 463 : " Copper is habitually used upon the Continent of Europe, especially in France and Belgium, in the preparation of vegetables-French peas, beans, etc.--owing to their attractive colour, to their treatment with copper, which can be chemically recognised in them. The possibility of injury resulting from the use of such food has been repeatedly investigated by French and Belgian Commissioners, and the general verdict has

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been that no harm is produced. The fact that twenty millions of cans of these food articles are consumed every year, and that after 36 years' continuance of the custom, it has not been established that any harm is done, is sufficient in itself to prove that the vegetables are not poisonous." The opinion of the medical witnesses for the defence was also confirmed by the evidence of Dr. Clark, the city analyst, who admitted that he did not consider that the most recent scientific results showed that the peas were injuricus to health, and also by the action of the French Government in i889 . Previous to that year the French Government prohibited peas greened with sulphate of copper from being sold in France, but in consequence of the results of scientific investigation , conducted by the highest medical authorities in France, the prohibition was withdrawn. The views of the defence were further supported by Professor Lehman in his recent paper, read before the Hygienic Congress held in London last month. Mr. ColquhoUn then argued that the opinions of the medical witnesses for the prosecution were based upon an entirely erroneous view of the question, and took Professor Charteris' evidence as an example. That gentleman deponed that the sulphate of copper was a poison ; that it was cumulative ; and that if a person continued to take a quantity of it, to the extent of i'4 grain for a day or two, it would be injurious to health. Now, such an opinion has really no bearing whatever on the question, nor has the experiment of Dr. Dalziel, in taking four grains of the sulphate of copper in one day, any bearing upon it, for the simple reason that consumers of peas greened with sulphate of copper are not having the sulphate of copper given to them at all. The combination between the legumin in the peas and the sulphate of copper forms the albuminate of copper, and in that form only does the copper exist in the greened peas. This atbuminate was a very different body in its chemical constitution and action from that of sulphate oi copper. Thus the sulphate of copper was soluble, and could thereby get into the blood, while the albuminate, as was clearly shown by the medical testimony, was absolutely insoluble in the digestive tract, inert, and therefore harmless ; that is to say, it did not enter the blood, but was wholly ejected through the bowels. The chemical union of different bodies mad~ very great changes in their natures. Take, for instance, common table salt. It was a wellknown fact that it was composed of two virulent poisons--chlorine and sodium--and yet we see when united how harmless they become in common salt. So it is with sulphate of copper, When united with legumin in the peas it is no longer sulphate of copper, but the atbuminate of copper, a composition almost identical with egg albumen, which is one of the recognised antidotes to copper poisoning. Sulphate of copper as such has not, therefore, anything to do with the matter,

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H O N O R A R Y D E G R E E S F O R E M I N E N C E I N SANITARY SCIENCE.

it being only the albuminate of copper that is present when we eat greened pea~. The question, therefore, narrowed itself to this, Was albuminate of copper poisonous or injurious to health ? This question Mr. Colquhoun answered in the negative, and argued that but for the defence now set up and the medical authorities examined on behalf of Mr. Campbell, the prosecution would have gone on pressing for convictions on this cha, ge, on the assumption that it was really sulphate el copper which was being swallowed by the consumers of greened peas, and that the sulphate of copper which entered the blood was a cumulative, irritant, and most dangerous poison, causing all the dreadful symptoms so vividly described by Professor Simpson. The medical evidence, however, given in this case has shown pretty conclusively, and it is now admitted even by the witnesses for the prosecution, that it is not sulphate of copper which is partaken of in the peas, but the albuminate of copper. Mr. Colquhoun founded strongly on the evidence given by Professors Dougall, Glaister, and Barlow, and Dr. Sloan, and argued that even assuming it was pure sulphate of copper that was taken with the peas, the evidence clearly showed that the proportion of r 4 grain to the lb. (there being ~o oz. in a tin) was so infinitesimal that taken in the ordinary way it was perfectly harmless. Mr. Colquhoun afterwards took one or two technical objections to the complaint, and another as to the mode in which the analyst had dealt with the "sample purchased," on one or otherof which he contended that his client was entitled to an acquital, even assuming the Court to be against the defendant on the medical questions raised. The Sheriff thought these objections might be got over by an amendment of the complaint, but Mr. Colquhoun doubted the competency of this. His Lordship then made avizandum • with the case. SURVEYOR

FOR

GUILDFORD. - - T h e

sanitary

authority of the town of Guildford are about to appoint a surveyor who is also to perform the duties of sanitary inspector. H e is to devote the whole of his time to the office, and to receive a salary of ..~'3oo per annum. A I~AGISTRATE'S KNOWLEDGE OF t~ SANITARY

SClENCE"--It is reported in the Times newspaper (September t9th ) that Mr. Hannay said, in giving his judgment with regard to some unsanitary houses at Fulham, " h e had very little belief in sanitary science, but he was there to administer the law. It had been his experience during thirty years that when he had people before him for living in insanitary houses they seemed to have been the healthiest persons in Court." We trust that the learned magistrate's remarks have been erroneously reported. * A Scotch legal term meaning that time will be taken to consider the judgment.

H O N O R A R Y DEGREES FOR E M I N E N C E I N SANITARY SCIENCE. THE universities of Oxford and Cambridge, by" nature conservative, bound by precedent and tradition, are slow to recognize new studies--a remark perhaps more applicable to Oxford than Cambridge. It must, therefore, have been most sat~sfactory to members of the public health service to have seen that at the time of the Congress, the University conferred the degree of Doctor-in-Law honoris causa upon Paul Brouardel, M.D., President of the Permanent International Committee on Hygiene, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris ; Carl Theodor von Inama-Sternegg, M.D., President of the Permanent International Committee on Demography, President of the Imperial Royal Statistical Central Commission, Vienna; Friedrich yon Esmarch, M.D., Professor in the University of Kiel; Alfonso Corradi, M.D., Professor in the Royal University of Pavia ; and Josef von Fodor, M.D., Professor in the University of Buda-Pesth. The following is the Latin oration delivered by the Public Orator (unfortunately neither InamaSternegg nor Esmarch could be present) : q Dignissime domine, domine Procancellarie, et tota Academia : - Nescio quo potissimum exordio hospites nostros, qui de salute publica nuper deliberaverunt, senatus nomine salutare debeam. Ad ipsos conversus, illud unum dixerim:--qui aliorum saluti tam praeclare consuluistis, vosmetipsos omnes iubemus salvere. Ea vero studia, quae vobis cordi sunt, gloriamur in Britannia certe Academiam nostram primam omnium adiuvisse. In salutis publicae ministris nominandis valent plurimum diplomata nostra, valent etiam aliarum Academiarum, quae, exem.plo nostro incitatae, laudis eursum eundem sunt mgressae. Hodie vero collegarum vestrorum nonnullos, qui gentium exterarum inter lumina numerantur, diplomate nostro honorifico decorare volumus. Nemini autem mirum sit, quod viros medicinae in scientia illustres iuris potissimum doctores hodie nominamus. Etenim Tullium ipsum in libris quos de Legibus composuit, scripsisse recordamini populi salutem supremam esse legem. (I) Primum omnium vobis praesento gentis vicinae,gentis nobiscum liber tatis bene tern peratae amore coniunctae civem egregium, Parisiorum in Academia medicinae forensis professorem praeclarum, faeultatis medicae decanum dignissimum, salutis denique publicae annalium editorem indefessum. Olim Caesar omnes medicinam Romae professos civitate donavit ; nos non omnes certe, sed, habito delectu aliquo, unum e reipublicae Gallicae medicis iUustrissimis, qui admirabilem in modum medicinae et iuris studla consociavit, corona nostra ob cives etiam in pace servatos libenter coronamus. Duco ad vos Paulum Camillum Hippolytum Brouardel.