A terrible occurrence has taken place at Bradford, by which a large number of persons lost their lives, many were reduced to a condition of permanent disease, and an unknown number have suffered severely. The incident thus fraught with death and disaster is of the simplest possible kind, and, such is the reckless carelessness with which business is conducted in the rough-and-ready manufacturing towns, might be re produced any day.
On Sunday, the 31st of October, two boys, sons of working men, died very suddenly, and their deaths were reported at the police-office. It was supposed that they had died of cholera, and at the moment little attention was excited. In a few hours, however, it was rumoured about that a great number of persons in the town had been taken ill, and were suffering excruciating pains. Inquiry was now instituted, and it was found, that the persons suffering unanimously attributed their sickness to lozenges they had purchased in the market-place on the Saturday previous, that being market-day at Bradford. The inquiries of the authorities elicited the following almost incredible case of carelessness.
There is a certain Joseph Neal, a confectioner at Bradford, who was in the habit of adulterating his lozenges and wares of the like kind with a substance which in the trade slang is called “daff,” but which is in reality a preparation of gypsum, called in commerce “terra alba.” This substance, when used in such proportions as Neal and others like him are in the habit of using it, is not destructive of life, nor to any noticeable degree deleterious to health. Neal wanted to make up a quantity of lozenges, and accordingly he sent over to Shipley, to the shop of an apothecary there named Hodgson, with directions to bring him back 12 lbs. of “daff.” Hodgson was ill in bed when Neal's messenger arrived, and when the application was made known to him, sent down word that the messenger had better let the matter stand over till he himself could come down and attend to it. The man, however, persisted, and at length Hodgson desired Archer, his assistant, a lad who had only been three weeks in his service, to supply him with the article he desired.
Hodgson told Archer to go up into the garret, and there he would find the “daff" in a cask. Now, in this garret there was a cask without any distinctive label. The lid was broken in three places, and it was as unprotected as any other article in the garret. The contents appeared to be the “daff” of which the assistant was in search, and he accordingly weighed out 12 lbs. of it, and delivered it to Neal's messenger. It was deadly poison—it was arsenic—which he had given to him by mistake. Neal's assistant returned to him with the supposed “daff,” and he handed it over to one of his workmen to be worked up into the lozenges. This man stated before the magistrates, that after working at this job from 6 in the morning until about 11 or 12 o'clock, he was taken ill with vomiting, he suffered great pain in his face and arms, and was ill for some days afterwards. It did not, however, occur to his mind to connect his illness with the work upon which he had been engaged.
The lozenges in due course were made up and deposited in stock, no one having any suspicion that aught was amiss. William Hardaker, a person who appears to keep a stall or booth in the market-place at Bradford on market-days, presented himself at Neal's shop, and asked to be supplied with 40 lbs. weight of the lozenges. The deadly compound was offered; but he objected to them because they were not so white as usual. However, the price was reduced from 8d. to 7 1/2d. per pound, and he purchased them. Any one of the lozenges which were thus delivered by the dealer to the retail chapman contained arsenic enough to destroy two human beings
Bradford market-day was the following Saturday. Hardaker got his little piles of sugared death ready, and the tragedy began. As the habit was, upon that day one person after another went to Hardaker's stall, and bought, some one pennyworth, some two pennyworth, of the deadly stuff. Some of the purchasers slipped the delicacies into their own mouths; some gave them to the children they had with them. These fell the first. The lozenges were scattered all about Bradford and in the villages around. Presently in the streets and in the houses lamentations arose. Then deaths occurred, and the alarm spread over the town. It was soon discovered, that wherever there was a sufferer, there had been a lozenge, and so the police soon found their way to Hardaker's. His stock was seized, and the Special Lozenges were handed over to an analytical chemist in Bradford, who discovered that they contained arsenic in large proportions. Each of them, by calculation, must have held nine and a half grains of arsenic! Nor could the inhabitants of Bradford feel secure that with the seizure of Hardaker's stock there was an end of the mischief. From his hands the lozenges were speedily traced to those of Neal, the dealer. This man stated that after Hardaker had been supplied, all that was left of the lozenges, including the scraps, was put into Scotch mixtures in his own shop. Where was this to end? Neal and his wife had, since they were apprised of the calamity, endeavoured to pick out the poisoned lozenges from their stock, but the man admitted that a considerable quantity even yet remained. The officers were at once most properly directed to go and make a clear sweep in Neal's shop.
When this was done Neal took to his heels, and ran away from the officers, who followed him to his workshop, and found that there were there in an upper room fragments of the poisoned lozenges, of which he had not made mention.
He was taken into custody, and Hodgson, the chemist, was also apprehended. In the meanwhile the most active measures were taken by the authorities to warn the inhabitants of the town and adjoining places of the dangerous compound that had been thus vended in market overt. This praiseworthy precaution was probably effectual in preventing further mischief; but the carelessness of the dealers and the passion of the poorer classes for cheap luxuries—though they know full well that this cheapness is obtained by the grossest adulteration—had proved abundantly serious, for eighteen persons died, seven or eight cases were reported in which recovery was doubtful, and at least 200 were ascertained where the sufferers had been ill, but out of danger.
Hodgson, the chemist, was indicted at the York Assizes for manslaughter; but after hearing the evidence, Baron Watson stopped the case, saying, that in his opinion, there was no case for the jury. The man was consequently acquitted.
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