NON-CERTIFICATED PRACTITIONERS. 
565 
civil action, which, in the case of a country practitioner, 
could only be tried at the spring and summer assizes, an 
indictment may be preferred at the quarter sessions and at 
the assizes also; and instead of the power of proceeding 
against unqualified practitioners being restricted, as in the 
case of the specific penalty imposed by the statute, to the 
society of apothecaries, it will be competent for any person 
to prefer an indictment who may be disposed to do so. 
Another distinction between the two modes of proceeding, 
which is likely to operate still more powerfully as a check upon 
illegal practice,is this,that whereas an individual against whom 
a judgment for a penalty is obtained, under the present form 
of proceeding, can relieve himself from the consequences of 
his offence by obtaining his discharge under the Bankrupt or 
Insolvent Acts; an individual found guilty, on indictment, 
of having practised as an apothecary without legal qualifica¬ 
tion will be punishable by fine and imprisonment, and 
will have to undergo whatever measure of punishment the 
criminal court may, in its discretion, award. 
“The society sincerely hope that a public intimation that 
the penalties of the law can now be enforced against illegal 
practitioners of medicine more summarily than heretofore 
will deter all persons from practising as apothecaries who 
have not given such evidence of their competency to practise 
as the law demands. But if individuals who have not pos¬ 
sessed themselves of a legal qualification will persist in 
practising in the absence of such qualification, they will do 
so at the risk of being criminally indicted for the offence, at 
the instance of any individual prosecutor who may be induced 
to prefer an indictment against them. 
“ The society, on their part, will be ready, as they ever have 
been, to enforce the law to the extent of the means placed at 
their disposal, but those means are inadequate to the insti¬ 
tution of frequent prosecutions. It may, therefore, be antici¬ 
pated that, indictment will be preferred at the instance of 
other parties, and the society take this opportunity of stating 
that they will endeavour to render such experience as they 
may have acquired in administering the Act of 1815 avail¬ 
able in furthering the ends of justice, and that they will be 
prepared, upon proper application, to furnish any information 
in connexion with the subject of illegal practice which they 
may have it in their power to afford. 
“Apothecaries’ Hall; Dec. TO, 1846.” 
