•70 
EXTRACTS FROM MINUTES OF EVIDENCE 
peror lias modified; before that, there were many more comprised in the list, which 
have since been struck out. Those which I have in my list have been taken from a 
great number of cases which have come before me; arsenic, corrosive sublimate, the 
poisonous alkaloids ; I have not mentioned the separate names of these : a man who 
deals in drugs ought to know them exactly and be able to distinguish them. Prussic 
acid, essential oil of bitter almonds, chloroform, oxalic acid, salt of sorrel (a compound 
of oxalic acid), and mix vomica; tincture of aconite ; tincture of colchicum ; cantha- 
rides, or Spanish flies; and cocculus indicus. Then there are three substances which 
raise a difficulty, two of them are poisons, and one a most frightful poison ; the diffi¬ 
culty is with regard to placing any restriction upon its sale, because it is very largely 
used for innocent purposes, and can hardly be dispensed with. I am afraid restric¬ 
tions upon it would give rise to a good deal of inconvenience; I allude to cyanide of 
potassium ; I may call it solid prussic acid, that will be the better name to give it; 
two or three grains of it would be sufficient to kill a person speedily; it is one of the 
most fatal poisons we have; I may call it prussic acid in a solid state. As cyanide of 
potassium is largely employed in elech’o-plating and in electro-gilding, as well as in 
photography, and also employed by chemists for various purposes, it presents a diffi¬ 
culty. I need hardly say that it is desirable to have it sold only by educated men ; 
and I think the Committee would see no difficulty in excluding the sale of it from such 
ignorant persons as we have described, in low villages and shops of this description. 
The keeping of it there might give rise to accidents, and I am of opinion it is at present 
difficult to obtain this substance from small shops. It is kept by the higher class of drug¬ 
gists, who know its use, and therefore I put this substance before the Committee as its 
extensive use presents one of the most difficult cases for legislation ; but it is a deadly 
poison, and destroys life rapidly. Another substance, opium, is one that has given 
rise to difference of opinion. You will observe, probably, that I have not mentioned 
opium or laudanum in the list. I purposely omitted it, because I have had occasion 
to consider the views on both sides regarding it,—the necessity of supplying laudanum 
in small shops. I still think it would be for the safety of the public generally if this 
substance should not be allowed to be sold except by persons who have undergone an 
examination. ^ It should not be allowed to be sold in small villages by general dealers, 
and persons of that description. I may say, that a friend of mine very nearly lost his 
life. He sent to one of these village shops near Windsor for an ounce of tincture of 
lhubarb. It was laudanum that was sent to him. Any person educated in pharmacy 
would have known the distinction immediately by the smell, but the ignorant woman 
sent an ounce of laudanum. He had a narrow escape of his life, and has not been to 
a village, shop since. I now come to another article ; and that is a substance only re¬ 
cently discovered, or comparatively recently discovered, and which is now largely 
used with reference to the aniline dyes—nitro-benzole. It is a very powerful poison 
m some respects. . It lias some of the character or smell of the oil of bitter almonds. 
I had a case 01 poisoning with it lately referred to me. It was sold for the purpose of 
giving flavour to confectionery, and it acted so quickly on the person who took a small 
quantity that he died a short time after. The difficulty about this poison is this : a 
person may take it and appear to be well for some hours, as if nothing was the matter 
with him. There was a coachman who went into the kitchen where the cook used this 
in place of oil of bitter almonds for flavouring pastry, and, after tasting it, he did not 
appear to suffer any ill effects. The man jumped on the coachbox, and took his master 
lor a drive ; it was only on returning home, some time after he had tasted this liquid, 
that he felt very ill, and he soon died. This liquid would not probably get into com¬ 
mon use, because it could not be given to a person without his knowledge, as it has a 
peculiar smell. It is a dangerous substance to be allowed to be kept by uneducated 
persons.. I cannot see my way exactly between fettering commercial liberty in obtain¬ 
ing a thing like this in quantities for manufacturing and at the same time protecting 
life. I do not wish to fetter commerce. It has been a result of my practice to see 
a large number of deaths from poison, and I am more impressed with the necessity of 
seeing something done to prevent these deaths from occurring. 
61. May the Committee take it as your opinion that there are certain things that 
there would be no doubt whatever there should be strong restrictions against selling ? 
—I do. 
