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grains of boric acid had been found, all the other cases being adjourned
pending the decision. The appeal was heard by Mr. Robert Wallace,
K.C., the Chairman, and a Bench of Magistrates, at the Quarter
Sessions, at Clerkenwell, on October 31st, November 8th and 18th, and
a large number of witnesses were called on both sides; for the Council,
Mr. Reginald Harrison, Prof. Halliburton, Dr. Ralph Vincent, Prof.
Kenwood, Mr. Henry Droop Richmond, F.I.C., Chemist to the Aylesbury
Dairy Company; Mr. Cassal, the Public Analyst; myself, and
Mr. McNair, the Inspector, who purchased the sample, gave evidence.
Mr. McCall, K.C., Mr. Courthope Munro, and Mr. W. F. Clark represented
the Council.
The appellant was represented by Mr. W. R. Bousfield, K.C.,
Mr. E. Page, K.C., and Mr. G. Elliott, who called as witnesses Drs.
Thresh, Hutchison, Thompson, Yaisey and Luff; Messrs. Bannister and
Lloyd, chemists; and four representatives of Dairy Companies.
The Court dismissed the appeal with costs, the Chairman, in giving
judgment, said:—
"In this case the appellant was convicted before the learned police
magistrate under Section 3 of the Food and Drugs Act, as selling an
article of food mixed, to put it shortly, so as to be injurious to health,
and from that decision he has appealed to this court. Now, first, some
discussion has arisen in regard to the meaning of the Act itself, Section
3, and we have considered who the class of persons are whose health
might or may be injured by the article of food so sold. In our opinion
the persons included are, first, what we may call normal persons, and
not an invalid in the ordinary sense—that though this article thus
mixed would be unprejudicial to the health of the general community
even when it might be prejudicial to persons afflicted with particular
diseases, we don't think that it would come within the terms of the
Section; on the other hand we do think, and for this reason—because of
certain findings of fact which I am about to go into—we do think that
it includes cases of children and infants, and we think so because we
think that now cream has become part of the food used by infants more
than formerly. As a question of fact we find that this Section only of
course applies to foods and the classes who use those foods, and if cream
was not ordinarily used by infants then this Section would have no
application, but as we think that now infants do use cream mixed with
their milk we think that this Section applies to infants as well, and I
may say in regard to that that if there is any desire expressed as to the
ground on which we include infants in the classes we will state a case
to anyone who is dissatisfied with our finding in respect to this matter.
The finding of fact remains of course. We find as a fact that cream is
now an article of diet used by the class to whom we referred—the class