70 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 
the Inland Revenue Laboratory, which was established in 1842 primarily 
for testing tobacco, became also the laboratory for the analysis of dutiable 
foods, such as tea, coffee, pepper. In this connection it is of interest to 
note that the Government at times sought assistance from distinguished 
chemists not on its staff, as when Thomas Graham, at University College, 
London, carried out for the Board of Inland Revenue an inquiry into the 
chemical means of detecting vegetable substances mixed with coffee for 
the purposes of adulteration. Among the early pioneers in the chemistry 
of food may be mentioned Dr. Hassall, who was the analyst of the ‘ Lancet 
Sanitary Commission,’ and published the reports of that body under 
description of ‘ Food and its Adulteration.’ 
Besides the enactments with regard to certain dutiable foods referred 
to above, legislative action was taken with respect to bread, the Bread 
Act of 1822 dealing with the sale of bread in London and district, and 
that of 1836 with the sale of bread outside the London area. There was 
no provision for analytical examination of samples under these Acts, which 
still remain in force. 
By the efforts of Lyon Playfair on matters of sanitation and the work 
of the Royal Commission on the Health of Towns of which he was a 
member, public opinion was being awakened during the ‘forties to the 
social importance of the health of the community, a movement in which 
the Prince Consort took an enthusiastic part. This led to the Commission 
of 1869 and the foundation of the Local Government Board, through which 
the safeguarding of public health in England was systematically organised. 
_ From this Board and its successor, the Ministry of Health, a series of useful 
reports on questions of food have issued, most of which have involved 
chemical investigations. 
In 1855 and again in 1856 a Committee was appointed by Parliament 
to inquire into the ‘ Adulteration of Food, Drinks and Drugs.’ It was 
evident to these Committees that some provision for the chemical analysis 
of samples was necessary, but they made no provision for samples to be 
taken. This and other matters were provided for in an amending Act, 
which came into force in 1872. A Select Committee of Parliament was 
appointed in 1874 to inquire into the working of these Acts, and as a 
result of their report another Act, that of 1875, was substituted. By this 
Act the Local Government Board was given power to require evidence of 
competence from analysts, and the Inland Revenue Laboratory (now the 
Government Laboratory) was appointed as the authority to which Courts 
of Law could refer disputed cases. 
The Act of 1875 has been amended and extended by the Acts of 1879 
and 1899, and other Acts have been associated or incorporated with it, 
such as the Margarine Act of 1887 and the Butter and Margarine Act of 
1907, the whole series being referred to collectively as the Sale of Food 
and Drugs Acts, 1875-1907. 
The provisions in the above Acts affecting chemists may be summarised 
as follows: (1) the appointment of public analysts by local authorities is 
compulsory ; (2) the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture 
(when the interests of agriculture are in question) have power to step in 
if the local authority fails to utilise the services of the public analyst ; 
(3) the appointment and dismissal of a public analyst by a local authority 
are subject to the approval of the Ministry of Health ; (4) the analyst must 
