PTOMAINE POISONING.

Evening Star, Issue 12882, 3 August 1906, Page 12

PTOMAINE POISONING.

[Special to the Stab-]

CHRISTCHURCH, August 3,

The rasa of Sinclair v. James Freeman, Limited, in whieh the.plaintiff claimed £56 16s 6d damages in connection with the recent ptomaine poisoning cases at Addington. was resumed at the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning before Mr Bishop,. S.M. In March ia'st a number of guests at a wedding breakfast partook of trifle, provided by the defendants, and became seriously ill.—Mr Stringer, for the defendants, sa.id that the cream used for the trifle, which was alleged to have caused -the trouble, was only a small portion of a supply obtained that morning. One pint had been .used- in this, trifle, out of the two gallons received at Free-man's that morning, and the other 15-16ths had been made into cream puffs, etc. for the shop. No one else except the wedding party contracted ptomaine poisoning.—L. Chelmsc said that he was manager of Freeman's in March last. Ho knew that among -.other things supplied for tlic wedding breakfast was a trifle which contained cream obtained from a dairyman at HalswelL About a pint of cream was used in the trifle, out.of two gallons supplied that morning. The other fifteen pints was used to manufacture cakes and articles for the shop in the ordinary way. As a -rule,. the-whole of the. cream supply was used in .one-:day, and if there were any over it would be. used next day, provided it ■ were good. It 'was'possible for one of the employees to have mixed up cream that had been left over from the previous day with other cream.—John Stott, pastrycook at Freeman's in March last, made up : the supply for the wedding breakfast. The trifle .was made up that morning, and consisted of jam,, stale cakes, and cherry wine. Two gallons of cream had been obtained that morning, and about a pint was. used jn making the trifle. The remainder was used in .other articles for the shop. Stale cakes were' used because they were harder and: absorbed wine better. The trifle was made in the same way as he had conscientiously made it for sixteen years past. On. _the morning when the trifle was made for Sinclair there had been no cream left over from the previous night. When such cream, was used, it had to be good, and when standing over night it -was .kept in a refrigerator on the premises.—Dr Jennings said he made investigations on behalf of the oom.pany, and the symptoms bore a resemblance to ptomaine poisoning, with peculiar complicat : ons, commensing. with rigor, and suggesting mixed conditipiis of bacteria. The micro-organ-isms were, of various- kinds, and could be carried in the air. Such a room as a schoolroom, where a number of persons were gathered, .might contain these micro-organ-isms, lie would expect to see all the people suffering from poisoning who ate any of the. articles"' Containing any of the two gallons of crcahii There was'no characteristic germ that woukl produce ptomaine poisouiug, but a school was a likely place to supply these micro-organisms. If the schoolroom had been swept that morning there would be a danger of increasing the chances of these organisms spreading when the dust was stirred up. The fact that a development had taken, place within twenty-four hours afterwards made him of the opinion that it was something' else that was.in the stomach. The stomach and intestines were favorable to the development of certain classes of organisms.—Dr Moorhorse gav« corroborative evidence.—Mr Stringer said he did not propose to discuss the question of law at all. It had been admitted that the cream was the moJ-t suitable medium, and it was placed hi a schoolroom, which was an ideal place to find all kinds of organisms. It was a Sunday school, and probably had been swept early in the day, and dust had been stirred up, which might have contained'.all. kiuds of microbes, and the ..cream, was left there exposed. Ho Mibmuted that if the sickness was due to ptarnaine poisoning it was got there.—Mr Brown, for the plaintiff, said that the goods'were under the charge of Freeman and Co. until they were "given to the guests, and where there was not a reasonable opportunity given to people to inspect articles, then it required greater diligence on the part of tho supplier. There was nothing to 6hdw that the school, had been swept that,morning, and he submitted the responsibility i-ested with Freeman riajht. up to tho point of snpplying.r--The Magistrate said that' what' he. had heard tha£_V morning did /not alter' his;,former opinion in the least. He did nob think that the defendants'could be held, liable, and.gave judgment;accordingly. " .'■■