hey
examined it, and he was satisfied it was not genuine coffee; they
purchased another ounce (which he produced to the commissioners of the
Excise, who examined it); they were convinced it consisted partly of
coffee and beans and pease.

The defendant, in his defence said, that the poor people wanted a
low-price article; and by mixing the vegetable powder and coffee
together, he was able to sell it at three halfpence an ounce; he had
sold it for years; he did it as a matter of accommodation to the poor,
who could not give a higher price; he did not sell it for genuine
coffee.

_Commissioner._--"Then you have been defrauding the public for many
years, and injuring the revenue by your illicit practices: the poor have
an equal right to be supplied with as genuine an article as the rich."

He was convicted in the penalty of 50_l._

_The King against Brady._--The defendant, Mr. Alexander Brady, grocer,
and dealer in tea and coffee, was charged with having, on the 28th of
February last, in his possession eighteen pounds of sham-coffee, and
selling the same for genuine coffee.

Lord and Pearson, Excise officers, stated, that they purchased an ounce
of coffee of the defendant, on the 28th of February, and upon examining
it they discovered that it was made up of pease and beans, ground with a
small quantity of coffee. They also found eighteen pounds of vegetable
powder mixed with coffee, in a state prepared for sale, wrapped in
papers.

One of the commissioners tasted some of the eighteen pounds of
sham-coffee produced by the officers, and declared that it was a most
infamous stuff, and unfit for human food.

_Defendant._--"Why, I have sold it for twenty years."

_Commissioner._--"Then you have been for twenty years acting most
dishonestly, defrauding the revenue; and the health of the poor must
have suffered very much by taking such an unwholesome article. Your
having dealt in this article so long aggravates your case; you have for
twenty years been selling burnt beans and pease for genuine coffee.--You
are convicted in the penalty of 50_l._"

_The King against Bowser._--The excise officers stated, that on the 28th
of February they went to his shop: he was a grocer, dealer in tea and
coffee; they seized seven pounds and a half of vegetable powder, which
contained very little coffee, if any; and also a quarter of a pound of
coffee mixed with vegetable powder.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge, and prayed