Publicans' Poison.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XVII, Issue 5471, 30 December 1892, Page 4

Publicans' Poison.

FURTHER REVELATIONS. EXPERT EVIDENCE. (Sunday Times, Sydney.) As promised in last issue, we now republish the evidence given by Dr Maurice O'Conner and other experts liefore the Intoxicating Drink Inquiry Commission of 1887, and also offer further information about the wicked practice of adulterating intoxicating drinks, which are bad enough in themselves without the addition of more deleterious substances. The following figures, courteously supplied by Mr Powell. Collector of Customs speak for themselves, they refer to the duty accruing from methylated spirit : Year. l»nty per proof gat. No Nt„( t „ (: f a ': •jaui ... I'a 13,410 ',B*7 ... 4s 21,J*" *** , t»J»> isr>i 1802 up to Nov. la 30,W0 \ddtn" one-eleventh for the month of December, JW»2 gives 32.770 an mcreise of tr» tier cent, on the preceding year. Some people would attribute this startling increase to the lowering of the duty and the consequent greater use of the stutl in the manufacture of furniture. |>aint, varnish, etc. It uiust. however, be Remembered that the increased duty was m force during part of the year 1891 ; also that tho mention**! would not al>- | .sorb more of the stutf than they actually wanted. Now, the industries in question have during recent vears been much depressed—under the higher duty of 4s per gallon the number of gallons was several hundreds less in 1890 than in 1889. up to which there had been a steady increase. The reason given, therefore, cannot account for this increase of 4*> per cent. On the other hand the lowering of the dnty to Is per gallon admirably suited the unscrupulous dealer who would try to purify the srutr and foist it on a certain class of publicans as a potable spirit. Considering that smtiggfirig_ j*r deteriorates the value of any article, the margin of profit after 4s duty had been paid was somewhat small. Reducing the duty to Is increased the profit from that source at least GO per rent. Then the fact thit methylated spirit can be rendered drinkable by a certain class has only lately become known to the trade. On Friday, .June 18th, 188»>, Dr O'Connor was examined before the Commission. consisting of Messrs A. Oliver, F. Abigail. Rosoby. A. Hutchison. <J. Withers, and It. Fowler. The following are extracts from his evidence in t Fie report published by the Government Printer. The numbers refer to the consecutive order of the questions. 3798. You think a great deal of drunkenness is attributable to inferior lioii'ir i—l fancy it. is. r>799. I would have liquor of a certain quality, and would limit the number of public-houses. ;17<)7. In the first place the number of public-houses should be lessened, and I would to a certain extent abolish publichouses in all low and crowded districts. I think the limitation of the number of public-houses is necessary. I would endeavor to establish a superior class of houses, making the license fee higher. I would have a thorough examination of the liquor supplied. ~ The examination should take place in the first place in bond: I would have a similar examination when the liquor is in the hands of merchants ; atul I would have it repeated when it is in the hands of the publican. T would have three examinations. Mr Frederick Fowler. Superindent of the Insane at Darlinghurst, gave evidence from which we cult the following extracts :

:;SS!>. Vixt think that. hni.kc>% both temporary and permanent, is oeejwioned not only f>y thr mere drinking, bjtt also by the bud liquor es, I will tell you why. I have had many publi cans nnder my hands in a l);iel state. I one of the unfortunate men who go prow! ing round Kent-street had v'"t into such .1 state he would soon fie in his o>Hin. But all

the rru. Ttißoß'-n i!E>a<"se THEY HAVE Kfc KN IN THE EEAt-iT Of eoyintlM. THK BEST l»r tWI'OR.

They have a better ehanee. :m:k V»m may have «ee» s» |*uagn»ph in yesterrlay's Telegraph about a man who went into a house to get a glass of beer. He subsequently had a glass of wine made for him; he lost his senses. On the following ruornir.g he did not know where he w:vs and he found that he had been robbed of his money and his watch. That happened in Kent-street. Something must have been put. into the drink. The license of the house was refused. 3001. Have many persons passim; through your hands been in the habit do you think, of drinking the best cl;isa of lienors ? —Plenty of them, and partiotilarty the publicans. They all pull through. £ have one at the present time tn iv very bad state. If he hid been a poor man he would not have pulled throngh. ">302. Have you inmates occupying respectahte positions who have been in the habit of taking good liquor ! I can only bo gmded by the publicans who. I know, wouM not take bad liquor. I have had plenty of them under my care, but I never lost, one. Scores of poor fellows have told me before dying that their death has been brought about by the bad stutl obtained at. such arid such a place. 3005. t do not. think a pttWit-an knowingty would drink bad liquor. I'osides, instead of goin£ from house to house, he takes his drink at home.

:S9ot>. I do not believe that the pubtiean drinks liquor similar to that which he supplies to the public My experience telts me hotter.

The follow in:; .we j«v»sag*!H from the evideru'o of I>r Manning. Iri.-tpector-Oenetal of Insane, sworn and examined on June 2S. ESB»>:

406!>. Irr the larger proportion of c:ws the persons who get into the receptionhouse belong to r.he laboring classes. 4070. Yes. they cither drink more or get iror.ir H'l'ior* than people in better circumstances.

-to7l. An,ilys>U of the liquor sold in pubfiehouses dny» not show any great amount of adulteration. lam astonished at that and I cannot help thinking that there is a great deal in the liquor that is not got at by analysis. lam sure that kerosene and other injurious compounds are raised with' : the grog. T have never been able t»« thoroughly betieve in the analysis. tfeorge 11. I»u-ue>\ Inspector of Distilleries. wis sworn and evimined on 2nd July, JBS9 ■■ 4£41. I think a great deal of it is white spirit, flavored with essences of various kinds. They import very strong white spirit now, and it is sold at so low a price that it pavs people to get it and flavor it. 4142. The Austrian and Gentian potato spirit which is imftorted herein such large quantities can he sold at from Is f*d to Is ItHt per gallon in bond. 414:5. Some of tt is over »>."> o.p. 4144 •>h " yes. ir would be nearly LI per gallon atone. [Since then the duty has been raised from 12s to 14s per proof gallon.—Kt>. S». Times.] 4139. Is not Colon til sold as English beer J—Yes. I have been endenrvoring to get prosecutions, but the agents will not prosecute, and the Government HAVE NO POWEK TO PROSEt'VTE FOR THE t'SE OF FALSE LABELS. [They have in Victoria. —Er>. S. Times.] 4167. Are you aware that much of what is called improving is done here. I mean FLAVORING INTERIOR STUFF WITH ESSENCES. —Yes, there is a good deal of that going 00.

4168. Not by brewers. It is done by the lower class of spirit merchants. 4169. Do you think the publicans do it?— Probably they do. I have nothing to do with publicans. The letailing of liquor is a matter for the police. JlrWm. Hamlet i, F.C.S., Government Analyst, was next examined. 4182. Do you think that the whiskies, brandies and rums were the manufacture of made liquors, or what they were represented to be, the brandy made from wiue, and the whisky from malt ?—My own opinion is that the first-mentioned is the only genuine brandy of the lot. 418:3. And the whisky?— One or two of them were good. About three of them, I think, had been tampered with. 4184. 1 belipve it was silent spirit. 418 G. The majorities of whiskies, brandies and gins are made of silent spirit flavored with various essences. 4209. Could you, as a chemist, make, from the essences of which you have control, port-wine thatWOULD I>EFY TIIE DETECTION OF THE DKINKER? —T could. 4270. And whisky, or sherry, or rum or gin —Yes. Charles Watt, Government Analyst: 4J580. Home time ago stramonium was found in the stomach of a man who had died from the effects of drinking beer ?—I have no doubt it is used in certain cases •>f hocussing, but I do not believe it will be found in the barrel. Dr M'Lam-in, President of the Board of Health, and Medical Adviser of the Government. What would you do to those who make him drunk ?—Compel them to sell good liquor—have a strict supervision over the supply of alcohol to the community. 4036. President A. Oliver, Esq. Do you think tlmt would stop drunkenness? [ —lt would go a long way towards it. There is nothing that produces that furious drunkenness so much as the admixture of amylic alcohol with ordinary -spirit. It produces quite a different effect to that which results from the use of alcohol not adulterated. A man becomes a

PERFECT MADMAN, ANI> THE CKAVING for a renewal of the dose conies on with gre.iter rapidity and strength. 4(137. Are you of opinion that a large proportion of the drink retailed at the various public houses is of an inferior quality ?—I am very much afraid it is. A very great deal of the liquor drunk here is simply very bad. 4fi3B. In your professional practice do many cases come under your notice which arise from drinking bad liquor ?—Yes, there are many cases. Ido not think, however, it is so bad as when I came here first.

40-10. The reason why these vile spirits come into consumption is because they arc cheaper than the better spirits. I should impose a differential duty in favor of pure wine and brandy. I should make them the cheapest, and then they would be drunk. An adulteration of wine and brandy should be punished with the utmost severity, because it is simply a means of poisoning people. The potato spirit should never have been allowed to come into this country. It is SOT FIT FOB USE AS A SPIRIT ; IT IS O>"LV FIT TO r.I'KX. Here is Dr M'Kellar. M.B.CJ.M., President Hoard of Health's, evidence, given July IL\ 1886 477<>. Is it not necessary when alcohol is ordered medicinally that it should be mire —lt is very desirable. 4777. Are you aware that very little pure brandy is obtainable ?—I am aware of that. 4773. That a large quantity of the port wine frequently ordered for invalids is not what it purports to be Yes, lam aware of that. 4784. We have had produced before us a number of essences, lib of which it is said could be made into 100 gallons of rum, brandy, etc. Do you think that the importation of such essences composed of all kinds of deleterious compounds should be forbidden 1"—I am not aware that they are composed of deleterious compounds. 4785. President, here is the analysis of them: Ethylic- alcohol, amylic alcohol, amylic acetate, butylic acetate, and isobutylic ether. Ethylic is pure alcohol; propyiic, butylic, aud amylic alcohol are deleterious. They are contained in a irreater or less extent by potato spirit, and the glucose, which is the most dangerous of all. It contains more of these Kid spirits than does any other article.

Sub-Inspector Attwill and others testify as to

TUB r.AP EFFECTS OF COLONIAL r.EER which, the manufacture of malt being almost an impossibility in so warm a climate, is largely made from glucose, a compound prepared from starch by the agency of sulphuric acid or vitriol. Mention is so frequently made of fusel oil and "silent " or white spirit that some explanation may be necessary for the information of many readers. Ordinary distillation is carried 011 by means of a pot-still, varying in size, shaped somewhat like 1 globular decanter. The still is filled with wash, a tire is lighted benoath, and the spirit rises in the form of vapor, which is carried through .1 pipe. This passes through cold water and is called" a worm. The vapor is condensed into spirit. This at first is of a milky white, but gradually becomes clear as the purest water, and then becomes milky anain. The milky stuff called " feints" is subjected to .1 second distillation. As .1 rule, " potheen "or illicitlymade spirit of any kind is dangerous bec.uimc the fear of detection does not allow the maker to purify the feints. With the alcohol produced are essential oils, fusel oil being the kind when the spirit is made from corn. In newly-made spirits this is deleterious, but dissolves with age and gives the distinctive flavor and bouquet ited with the best brands.

The pot-still process is too slow for manufacturing districts where the capital invited is large, wages high, and a quick return <>n capital is required. Coffey's flatent still is then employed. This apparatus is so complicated that improvements contemplated by the inventor, .-Kneas Coffey, an Irish Excise officer, have never been carried out. though he has Iwen dead for over half a century. There are, we believe, some American improvements on Coffey. This consists of two huge chambers, the analyser and the rectifier. The wash passes in at one end. and after being subjected to the actum of steam and passing through complicated plates and pifies. appears in the form of spirit at the other. The principle involved in simple. Alcohol h:is a lower boiling {Kiint than the other constituents of the wash. When the latter is kept at a certain temperature the alcohol rises in the form of vapor, and is thus separated from the water and dress, technically termed "lees." The product is a pure plain spirit of {treat strength, and free from essential oils. Owing to the latter circumstance it is imjiossible to tell the material used, hence the name "silent" spirit—it tells no talcs. It is also called whitespirit. It is largely used for themanufacture of methylated spirit, and after being distilled a second time with juniper berries, of gin. But it is used for other purposes less praiseworthy. The writer has seen the silent spirit produced by the Coffey still at Bristol flavored and sent over to Dublin to be warehoused as Irish whisky. It is extensively used for blending in and out of bond. Dunville and other Irish distillers get large quantities every week from the Saucell at Paisley, the Caledonian at Edinburgh, Port Dundas at Glasgow, Yoker on the Clyde, Cameron Bridge, etc., where Coffey's apparatus is used. Of the many brands advertised in Australia, few are Scotch or

Irish whisky at all in the strict sense of the term. They are all blended, silent spirit being used as a base, and a flavor produced by mixing with a superior brand or by more questionable means.- _ In the report quoted from much evidence is given to show that, owing to the cheap price of spirits imported, illicit distillation cannot pay. The heavy duty, 14 per proof gallon, or about 700 per cent, ad valorem, is a sufficient argument against this. Even allowing for the low price of the spirit imported, the publican cannot, unless he resorts to adulteration or deals with the illicit distiller, sell a wholesome article at 3d per glass. The price of spirits is practically the same in this as in the old country, but the duty is 40 per cent higher, the license fee is higher as a rule, so are rent, wages, etc. Add to this the fact that during the voyage the liquor must decline rapidly in strength—as it always does after being produced—and decrease through the "ullage" the absorption of the liquor by the staves, evaporation, etc. In this respect Sydney is exceptional. In Melbourne, where the duty was until recently 2s per proof, gallon lower, spirits were not sold at 3d per glass. Before now we have asked what the LICKNSKII victuallers' association has DONE FOR THE PUBLICANS OK SYDNEY. Here is the means for that body to justify its own existence by getting the trade to co-operate, so that spirits may lie sold at a price which admits of a legitimate business. Without questioning the ability of Messrs Watt and Hamlet, the analysts, we are inclined to think that the spirits and beer were, and have been, of a worse quality than their evidence would imply. Neither the Adulteration Act 1879 nor the Licensing Act of 1882 give scope enough to the analysts. Then, as the laboratory at Somerset House, London, knows from experience, work of this kind demands sjiecial knowledge and undivided attention. By the way, John Macdonald Cameron, ex-M.P., lately appointed to Sydney Mint, was considered one of the best men ever turned out of the laboratory at Somerset House. Though his professional services have of late been confined to metallurgy, his knowledge and experience are worthy of consultation. We are tolerably familiar with the farce of appointing Royal Commissions without acting on their recommendations. Though the publication of the report demanded reform, in the interests of the revenue, the public health and the honest trader, we have the opinion of Dr Maurice O'Connor, that, as far as he can see, there has been no change, nor does our statute book bear any evidence of such. And yet we claim to be a civilised people with an Executive and a Government.