BAD SAVELOYS AT THE DERBY.

A London Butcher by Gustave Doré 1872
(Note : A saveloy is a seasoned red pork sausage,
dried and smoked and sold ready to eat)

The Illustrated Police News – 14 July 1883 

On Friday, at the Bow County Court, before Mr, J. B. Dasgent, judge, an action of an amusing character was tried. The plaintiff, George Simmonds, was described as a dealer, of 126, St. Stephen’s-road, Old Ford, and he sued the defendant, John Tupper, also of Old Ford, for £2 4a. 6d., for 800 saveloys supplied. Mr, G. A, Haynes, solicitor, appeared for the plaintiff, and said that the defendant was in the habit every year of going to Epsom Downs with saveloys, coffees, and tea. On the Saturday preceding Derby. Day he gave the plaintiff an order for 800 saveloys, and on the Monday they were supplied. While they were being made the Government inspector was in and out of the plaintiff’s place all day, and a week afterwards he saw some of them and declared them to be perfectly good. Notwithstanding this, the defendant stated that they were unfit for human food. When he took them away he was told to unpack them as soon as possible, owing to the hot weather, but he did not appear to have done so, and by the following Friday they were sufficiently bad for the inspector to condemn them, The defendant, in answer to his Honour, said during the first three days he was at Epsom with the saveloys he sold about 400, but on the Friday everyone he sold them to, after testing them, pelted him with them, and, not satisfied with that, they knocked over his coffee stall, wasting a large quantity of tea and coffee, Eventually a police-sergeant came up, and he was “chucked ” off the Downs. When he came back to London he applied to the magistrate at Worship-street; for advise, and was recommended to go to the county court, but when he got home he found a summons awaiting him from the “plaintiff for the sum he now claimed, His Honour (to defendant) : Were they made of cats? — Defendant: I don’t know. — His Honour : Did you eat any of them? — Defendant: No, sir.— His Honour :- Oh, no. You knew ‘better than that. (Laughter) Why didn’t you pay for them ? — Defendant : Because I could not sell them. Directly found how people they smelt they ‘‘chucked” them at me and then they ‘chucked’ me off too, (Laughter).   Cross-examined by Mr. Haynes: He did not try them himself because he did not fancy them. If he had, perhaps he would not have been there to answer this case. — By his Honour : He did sell about four hundred of the saveloys. He supposed some persons liked them high, while others did not care about flavour, (Laughter) — Eventually his Honour said he believed the saveloys were fresh when he purchased them, and the defendant must pay for them, Judgment for the plaintiff with costs.