ON  THE  ACT  REGULATING  THE  SALE  OF  POISONS.  119 
a  book  solely  for  the  purpose  of  making  and  keeping  the  registry  as  re- 
quired by  the  act,  (a  memorandum  would  not  be  proper),  and  the  dispen- 
ser must  note  therein  the  name  and  residence  of  the  party  receiving  the 
poison,  the  kind  of  poison  sold,  the  quantity  thereof,  and  the  date  of  such 
sale, — and  for  the  safety  of  the  seller,  such  entry  should  be  made  at  the 
time  of  such  sale,  and  he  should  see  that  the  entry  is  true  and  accurate  in 
all  its  particulars,  for  he  is  the  party  directed  by  the  Act  to  make  such  en- 
try, and  upon  him  alone  falls  the  punishment  if  the  entry  comes  not  up  to 
the  requirements  of  the  statute  ;  for  from  that  book  and  upon  the  entries 
therein  made  may,  perhaps,  the  purchase  and  possession  of  poison  be  traced 
to  one  charged  with  a  criminal  use  of  the  poison ;  thus  the  register  is  to  be 
made  a  part  of  the  detective  system  of  our  police. 
The  fourth  and  last  provision  of  the  Act  makes  the  violation  of  any  of 
the  requirements  of  the  statute  an  offence  of  the  grade  of  a  misdemeanor, 
and  expressly  provides  a  punishment,  to  wit,  a  fine  not  to  exceed  fifty  dol- 
lars for  violating  the  Act,  either  in  disobeying  the  prohibition  or  for  not 
complying  with  its  requirements  in  regard  to  the  sale  of  the  poisons  ; 
which  would  be  carried  into  effect  by  an  indictment  for  the  offence  and  a 
conviction  in  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  County  where  the  offence 
was  committed  ;  and  such  conviction  would  subject  the  party  defendant  to 
to  the  payment  of  all  costs  in  addition  to  the  fine  directed  by  the  Act. 
Whether  a  civil  suit  could  be  maintained  by  a  party  injured,  for  damages 
resulting  from  the  wrongful  sale  or  disposal  of  the  poisons  named  in  the 
Act,  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  your  inquiry. 
Yours  respectfully,  C.  T.  Bonsall. 
Whether  judicial  restraint  on  the  sale  of  poisons,  in  the  shape 
of  a  law  such  as  the  present,  will  promote  the  object  most  to  be 
desired,  viz :  Security  against  the  malicious  or  careless  use  of 
poisons,  is  a  question  which  has  engaged  the  attention  of  our 
own  as  well  as  the  medical  profession. 
The  several  Colleges  of  Pharmacy  and  the  American  Pharma- 
ceutical Association  have  labored  with  the  subject  for  years, 
with  the  laudable  desire  to  afford  some  protection  to  the  public 
against  the  indiscriminate  sale  of  noxious  drugs  and  chemicals. 
As  yet  they  have  not  felt  prepared  to  recommend  a  law  of  the 
kind  enacted  by  our  Legislature,  as  affording  the  security  to  be 
desired. 
So  long  as  the  sale  of  such  articles  is  left  open  to  free  com- 
petition, without  any  restraint  as  to  the  qualification  and  char- 
acter of  the  druggist,  the  law  will  by  many  be  regarded  as  an 
impediment  to  trade,  and  fall  short  of  protecting  the  community 
