The correspondence relating to the Lancet Sanitary Commission : (which appeared lately in The Times) / examined by James Caesar Durnford, John A. Power and Raymond S. Daniell ; with an appendix of documents.

  • Durnford, James Caesar.
Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The correspondence relating to the Lancet Sanitary Commission : (which appeared lately in The Times) / examined by James Caesar Durnford, John A. Power and Raymond S. Daniell ; with an appendix of documents. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    21/64 (page 19)
    of paradise ; of anchovies, of potted meats and fish, of the red sauces, for bole Armenian ; of anatto for lead and copper, &c. That these were amongst the important chemical analyses cannot be denied. Again, Dr. Letheby states that he furnished directions for all the “unimportant” analyses, and gave “written and verbal instructions for all the chemical processes ” alluded to in Dr. HassalPs work. The principal chemical processes described in the above mentioned work are those for the detection of lead, copper, iron, vermilion, alum, and sulphuric acid. Now these are described in nearly every elementary work on chemistry, and it is difficult to conceive what merit Dr. Letheby would claim in connection with such well-known processes as these. But it is not a little singular, in reference to this part of the sub- ject, that Dr. Hassall has in his possession a communication in which Dr. Letheby expresses a very strong disinclination to make known the processes of analyses pursued by him. The reasons assigned would be acknowledged to be of a very curious character did we feel ourselves at liberty to publish them. In the cases of the analyses in which Dr. Letheby was employed, it was necessary that Dr. Hassall should be furnished with the method of examination pursued by him, both in order that he might have some means of assuring himself of the accuracy of the results supplied, and that he should be in a position to describe, if required, the steps by which those results were arrived at. It occasionally happened that the results furnished were inaccurate, rendering imperative the repetition of the analyses, and the exercise of the greatest caution in em- ploying the conclusions supplied. A remarkable instance of this kind has been stated, which was very nearly pro- ductive of the most disastrous consequences. In reply to inquiries of Dr. Hassall, Dr. Letheby reported that two samples of gin forwarded for examination contained that poisonous metallic substance, sulphate of zinc, and a state- ment to that effect was actually in type, giving the names of the parties of whom the samples of gin were obtained, and with severe reflections upon the serious nature of the B 2