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49
although we did not then find any unsound food we saw a steam
blast blowing into a vessel containing meat, a circumstance
that was sufficient to make further enquiries as to the genuineness
of this business. From that time the inspector and myself
kept the place under observation, and it was not until July
that an opportunity occurred to inspect the premises without
preliminaries.
In July, I found the door opened and walked in, when I
seized a large quantity of manufactured tins of meat, and a
number of large tins of corned beef, salmon, and lobster, all of
which were unfit for food ; I had these taken to the Police
Court and condemned. This matter was reported to the Vestry,
who ordered a prosecution. On conferring with the Clerk it was
thought best to let the matter stand over and keep fresh observations
on the premises. This was done by your inspector and
myself, both in the day-time and at night; we also employed
a detective, but to no purpose, as the owners we found were
well aware of what was going on. So matters went on until
the 3rd of October, when Mr. Lyon and myself, finding the
door of the premises open, walked in and seized 61 tins of
soup, 15 tins of rabbit and beef, all of which were unsound
and unfit for food, these were condemned by the magistrate.
Still keeping observation of the premises, on the 10th of
October, we made another inspection and seized 40 tins of
corned beef, and a large quantity of manufactured small tins of
bloater paste, etc. On this occasion the owners refused to
open the tins. We had anticipated this, and provided ourselves
with tin-openers and opened all these ourselves; they were
found to be bad and unfit for food. They were taken to the
Police Court and condemned. On the occasion of the first
seizure I explained to the manufacturers the risks they were
running in having bad meat 011 the premises; and also informed
them, that if at any future time unsound food was found there,' it
would be my duty to take proceedings against them. This
warning, however, had 110 effect. The Board passed the necessary
resolution that proceedings should betaken, and I obtained
three summonses against each of the three partners of the firm.
It will be needless for me to detail the various stages of the