THE MEDICINE STAMP AND LICENCE. 
445 
LAUDANUM. 
POISON. 
W. SMITH, CHEMIST, BOLTON. 
We observe in a letter by Mr. Halliday, an extract from which we have given 
elsewhere, that, at an inquest since held" in the same town, syrup of squills has 
been declared a poison. 
Another case which serves to show the difficulty of making even the judges 
in some of the subordinate courts understand the provisions of the Act, clearas 
they appear to others, will be found fully reported at page 488, under the head 
of Oldham County Court. In that case much unnecessary trouble and expense 
have been caused by the refusal of the judge to proceed with a case upon what 
we understand was a very uncalled-for objection. 
Again, we have a letter in this month’s Journal, from a member, Mr. Edward 
Davies, who states that he has been convicted by a magistrate, and fined, for 
selling a packet of “ Clift’s Vermin Killer” on the 19th of November last, with¬ 
out registering the same and labelling the packet with the name and address of 
the seller. As vermin killers were not, at the date referred to, included under 
that name, among poisons, in either part of schedule A, but have since been 
added, and as a chemist has no means of knowing whether a preparation of that 
kind, which he has not prepared, and the composition of which is kept secret, 
really contains a scheduled poison or not, unless he were to submit it to analysis, 
it seems unjust to enforce a penalty under circumstances such as those described. 
We think the decision was wrong, but as there may be some doubt with refer¬ 
ence to it, and as this class of poisons are now included with those contained in 
part 2 of schedule A, so as to remove such doubt for the future, it can hardly 
be considered of sufficient importance to call for further interference. 
THE MEDICINE STAMP AND LICENCE. 
We have received a great number of communications on this subject, from 
winch it appears that whilst at the Council Meeting on the 12th of December, 
only a very small majority of those present voted for the proposed abolition 
of the stamp and licence, a great preponderance of opinion is entertained in 
the opposite direction among the members of the Society both in town and 
country. There is strong evidence of this in the fact that all the communica¬ 
tions sent for insertion in our pages contain objections to the contemplated 
change, and as some of these come from men who have had considerable expe¬ 
rience in the sale of Patent Medicines, we have no doubt the opinions thus ex¬ 
pressed will exercise an influence on members of the Council. We believe 
that with reference to the objects contemplated, and which the advocates of 
the abolition of stamp and licence think likely to be promoted by that means, 
there would be a very general agreement among the members of our body 
that such objects are desirable. The discouragement of quackery and the re¬ 
moval of an impediment to the full and fair operation of the law for regulating 
the sale of poisons, are objects advocated alike by those who have taken part 
on either side of the question. The difference, as far as we can gather, relates 
to the probable influence which the w ithdrawal of the implied sanction and 
authority given by the Government stamp would produce on the sale of quack 
