618 
THE ADULTERATION OF DRUGS. 
registered under this Act, who sells any such article adulterated, shall, unless 
the contrary be proved, be deemed to have knowledge of such adulteration.” 
The sale of drugs was thus, last year, made amenable to the same law, affect¬ 
ing adulteration, as applied to food or drink ; but it was not expected that 
much benefit would result from this, as the Adulteration of Food Act of 1860 
had proved a complete failure in regard to food, and was not likely to be more 
successful in regard to drugs. At the time of the passing of the Act we pre¬ 
dicted that it would be inoperative, and the prediction has been fully verified. 
The principal causes of the failure of the Act of 1860 appear to have been 
the following :— 
1. That persons selling articles adulterated with ingredients injurious to 
health, cannot be easily proved to be cognizant of the fact, indeed they are 
most likely to remain purposely ignorant of it; and persons selling articles 
known to be impure or adulterated, are not likely expressly to warrant them 
to be pure. 
2. That local authorities either do not think proper to appoint analysts, or 
they appoint them with such inadequate remuneration that the public do not 
get efficient benefit from their services. 
3. That the public are indisposed to appear as prosecutors in such cases. 
On these accounts the Act of 1860 has remained practically inoperative, and 
the object of the Bill now before Parliament appears to be to render the law 
available for the purpose for which it was originally intended, and to retain the 
application since given it to the sale of drugs. 
It is proposed to make the Act applicable to two classes of offences ; firstly, 
those which consist in adulterating articles of food or drink, or drugs, by 
adding to the former any “ injurious or poisonous ingredient or material,” and 
to the latter any ingredient or material intended to adulterate it; and secondly, 
those which consist in selling articles of food or drink which, to the knowledge 
of the seller, have been adulterated so as to be injurious to health, and in selling 
as pure and unadulterated, articles of food or drink, or drugs, which are found 
to be adulterated or not pure. 
For the first class of offences, the penalty, on the first conviction, is the pay¬ 
ment of a sum not exceeding fifty pounds , and on the second conviction, six 
months' imprisonment with hard labour. 
For the second class of offences, the penalty, on the first conviction, is the 
payment of a sum not exceeding twenty pounds, and on subsequent conviction, 
the publication as an advertisement of the name and offence of the offender at 
his own cost. 
In order to make the Act effective for the accomplishment of these objects, 
several alterations are proposed to be made in the mode of putting it into 
operation. 
The appointment of analysts, instead of being voluntary, is to be compulsory 
in the several districts throughout Great Britain and Ireland, and the appoint¬ 
ments are to be subject to the approval of the Secretary of State. 
Commissioners are also to be appointed by the Government “ to confer with 
and assist the local authorities in carrying out and enforcing the Act.” 
Then, instead of leaving it to the general public, who purchase what they 
suppose may be adulterated articles, to find out the adulterations and to prose¬ 
cute those who have been illegally engaged in the transaction, these duties are 
thrown upon the inspectors of nuisances or other officers appointed by the local 
authorities. These paid officers having, with the aid of the analysts, discovered 
the existence of adulteration and the nature of it, are to take summary proceed¬ 
ings against the parties implicated. By proceeding thus in a systematic way, 
and exposing all cases of adulteration such as are recognized by the law, the dealers 
in any district may be speedily deprived of the power of pleading ignorance of 
the facts, and may thus be made amenable to the law. 
