ALLEGED POISONOUS MATTER IN GINGER ALB.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8794, 2 May 1890, Page 3

ALLEGED POISONOUS MATTER IN GINGER ALB.

The rehearing of the case Udward v. James Samson and Janet Low wai resumed before Mr li. 11. Carew, TIM., at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon.

Theclalmwas for £50, for " damages sustained by plaintiff inconsequence of injuries caused to him by the presence of injurious mutter—viz., lead and sulphuiio acid—ln a bottle of ginger alo purchased by him from defendants."

Mr S. Solomon appeared for plaintiff, Sir Eobert Stout for defendant Low, and Mr D. D. Macdonald for defendant Samson.

Sir B. Stout, in calling Profeisor Black.eaidhe vouldnot take tha witness over the ground covered it the former hearing, but would ask him concerning ixperiments since made.

Dr Black (examined) deposed that he had put twofifths of a grain of Hcetato of lead in 12oz of water. Tlmt was the quantity Mr Hill said he got in one of the bottles of ginger ale. It was a verj email quantity, hut could be eisily detected by a simpls test

(illustrated) Had there been one grain to lZoz, and Dr Ouston had used the sulphuric acid test, the presenco of lead would have been detected in the darkening of the liquid. Witness had never before he.ird of any chemist being ignorant that the ordinary sulphuric acid contained lead. It contained lead in solution. If strong sulphuric acid wefe applied to gingeraleawhilo precipitate would be shown, even though the ginger ale did not contain lead. It would be shown even by usk'g water instead of ginger ale. Sulphuric acid which la ordinarily cold contains aomelead. If a cork with le.id on it were left in a bottle of ginger alo it would affect the ginijer ale. Ho had tested this, and had also made the tett with

lemonade. [Testß repeated in court.] If there were 3Jlb of citric acid in 30f;a! of ginger ale syrup, the syrup in taking half an hour to travel through a loft leaden pipe might have a slightly corrosive effect on the lead, but not to such an extent that ii grains of lead would be found in about a quarter of a bottle of syrup. To Mr Solomon: Dr Ogston probably used strong sulphuric acid. All commercial 6u!phuric acid contains more or less lead. No chemist could say that a strong precipitate was instantaneously obtained in any of the tests witness had applied to day. His teat made today showed a smaller precipitate than two-fifths of a grain of lead in 12oz of water, co that

less lead came fiom a leaden cork standing in a bottle of ginger ale for 27 hours than there was in ordinary mercantile sulphuric acid. He could not spggest any means by which lead could get into ginger ale In preparation, and could not account for the presence of lead iv a bottlo with a gla;n stopper, unless it were the case that the stuff had stood for some hours in a leaden pipe. William Goodlet, asshtane to Dr Black, deposfd that he was engaged in Professor Black's laboratory. He got a bottle of' ginger ale on April 23, opened it, tested it for lead, and found none. He then allowed some of the liquor to stand in the bottle, and in this he subsequently found lead, and on making an elaborate analysis ha actually produced the lead In a metallic form.

Dr M. Coughtrey, a'dirty qualified medical practitioner, deposed that there wns no difference in colic from acute lead poisoning aud colic from undigested food. He had never seen or read of a case in which there had been acute colic from taking lesß than 20 grains of carbonate of lead. Acute lead poisoning

whb not a frequent thing. It would take a goad quantity to produce it. Of carbonate of lead, 60 grains or more would be required. On the factß as Kiven in evidence by Hitchcock: he should conclude that after vomiting to take men an indigestible diet would be quite enough to account for the col'o without invoking any other cmse. Three ot four grains of carbonateof lead would not have earned the colic.

To Mr Solomon : He would be surprised to hear of a case of colic from lead due to a person sleeping in a newly painted room. He had never read of a cate where a single medicinal dose had produced lead colic In this case he was inclined to think that lead

had nothing to do with the plaintifl'a Illness, but ha would not swear it had not;

Ke examined: Ho did not think that one grain or five grains of lead in a bottle of ginger ale would do any harm to the person who drank it. Aa to the hook from which a case had been cited," The Family Physician,"ho did not recognise that as anauthority. He knew the work. In many types of diseases it

was a source of great emolument to doctor*. He placed it in tho same category as " Every man his own lawyer."

Dr Black (recalled) said he had tasted the carbonate, ,he acetate, and the sulphate of leed. The acetate :iad a sweetish taste at first, and then after a time an

astringent taste. Carbonate and sulphate of lead were virtually tasteless.

Dr Jeffcoat had searched the books, and had not found any case in which less than twenty grains of acetate of lead—the acetate was the strongest formhad prodnced colic when taken aa a single dose. To Mr Sulomon: He was not gcing to do anything foolhardy, but he believed that 16 grains of acetate of lead would not hurt him if he swallowed it, nor the rp.mf quantity of carbonate.

John Shannon! iterated water manufacturer for 25 years, srM that the leaden pipes in the machinery were not 15ft but 4ft long. No water or syrup or anything elae waa allowed to stand overnight In the pipe leading from the agitator. When they ceased bottling for the night the pump waa stopped, and everything was blown out of the cylinder and pipe. The machine was cleaned out every night. He had been at defendants' works forfour months anda-half, and had never seen the cleaning out neglected even onco. There wai a leaden pipe from the syrup cask to the bottling place. The syrup stood in this pipe overnight. Before bottling in the morniug three bottles of eyrup were taken out before any waa saved, so as to clear the pipe.. That was always done.

William Brown, assistant to last witness, gave jorroborative evidence.

To Mr Solomon: There were four pipes leading from the cylinder to the rack. Some of these were over 4ft long. The pipes were not emptied after a dinner hour, but the stuff was not allowed to standin them overnight.

Re-exainined: One of the pipes, 12ft long, was used for ginger ale. and another of 4ft.

William Jilder (a chemist) deposed that he had manufactured aerated waters both here and at Home He had seen the machine used by the defendants. This machine he considered satisfactory. There wa3 nothing about the machine to account for lead in the ginger ale. Thomis Davidson (an engineer) deposed that he had been called in by Mr Low to look at his machinery and to do whatever was necessary to make it perfect. When he exnmined the pipes there was nocotrosion in them 60 far as he could see, and he left the plant in first-class order.

J. D Feraud. on being examined, Bald that the cylinders were generally Bilvere'l. If the water was left in the pipes all night the mnchine aonld not work. Nothing was left in th(. pipes over night. Patrick Fogarty deposed that he had seen Mr Hitchcock on Friday or Saturday latt and had asked him for empty b.illles. Mr Hitchcock refused to give him the bottles, and accused him of having a motive in asking for them. This closed the case for the defence. His Worship reserved ju 'gment.