Diseased Meat.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3857, 10 May 1881, Page 2

Diseased Meat.

Not many days ago, there came across the telegraphic wire*, from Europe, details v>, of a calamitous discovery lud'of i^f ifi- N: mediate results The people df 'the»e * colonies were told, that the: rery large majority of the European -States had. closed their ports against, the landing of American hams owing to its having been found that that te,rrible acoorge, trichina?, " had made its appearance in America. It was slated that there were no less than eight millions hogs in the United: StaUip diseased with the complaint, one we may bring to mind, incurable, with both.. baas , and men and which the latter acquire #m "■•; the greatest facility when partaking of bam or. bacon made of meat attacked. While almost every Europeen power prohibited the import of American bams, as soon as unimpeachable' testi* mony was procured on the subject, Great Britain it seems, stood .aloof and took no preventative steps inlthe matter.; , How this came to pass, cannot as yet be clearly ascertained. . The traffic in Aawri* can salted and sacked pork between the United States and* b ngland is enormous. This ham curing industry has for many yea/a been a prominent; feature of Am«u.^ . can commercial pursuits.' BoabUcarllff'J' Imperial authorities at Home will have to follow suit and also close their, ports against American pork. This must prove a very serere blow to the Americans, but we cannot see that "there, can be any UtKf for it. Seeing that-New Zealand is still absorbing a large quantity of American' hams, aDd that it is impossible to discover which portion of a shipment may or may not contain traces of tbe deadly wvrm, would it not be wise and' prudent en the part of the Government to d 6 that wtiieh, these Continental nations have doM,prj>«~ hibited, on account of. the danger pfihfec*, ' tion being communicated to dur Wew v Zealand herds, which infection ebuld not ~ possibly affect the human health.. Why not show at least as much regard and - concern for the lires of the people. Surely the question is one. of £reai moment and one which should secure th« ' immediate attention of the authoritie*. In the meantime we fancy that the con* - sumption of bams, will recaiy« a ftwtaig check, mauy people wisely remembertig■•■*•* the old adage that prevention/is, bettor than cure, in the matter of this -, frightful curse, tricbinae,*of cure^here. is absolutely none.—Canterbury Standard.