186 
EDITORIAL. 
far  the  larger  portion  of  corrosive  sublimate  that  has  been  sold  for  legiti- 
mate purposes  to  housekeepers,  has  been  obtained  by  servants  with,  or 
without  a  written  request  for  the  same  from  employers,  the  servants  being 
of  full  age  and  known  to  the  apothecary.  Should  such  quibbles  and 
strainings  of  the  letter  of  the  law  be,  as  has  been  suggested  by  Mr. 
Bonsall,  capable  of  being  sustained  before  a  jury,  it  is  high  time  that  every  ' 
apothecary  was  awake  to  the  risk  he  runs  in  the  conduct  of  his  business. 
We  believe  the  only  really  valuable  feature  of  the  law,  over  and  above 
the  ordinary  care  of  a  respectable  apothecary,  is  the  requirement  to  keep 
a  regular  register,  full  and  clear,  of  the  several  sales  of  poison.  To  us  the 
law  points  in  its  spirit  chiefly  to  criminal  poisoning,  and  is  intended  to  aid 
the  cause  of  justice  and  to  caution  the  dispenser. 
The  Drug  Examiners  and  the  New  Administration. — Our  readers  are 
generally  aware  that  the  Act  passed  by  Congress,  in  1848,  usually  called 
the  Drug  Law,  requires  for  its  execution  special  oflScers,  denominated 
"  Examiners  of  Drugs,"  at  several  of  the  principal  ports  of  entry  of  the 
United  States,  viz :  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Charles- 
ton, and  New  Orleans.  For  a  copy  of  this  law  see  vol.  20th,  page  292, 
of  this  Journal,  and  for  subsequent  action  in  relation  to  its  working,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  vol.  xxv.  page  297. 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  execution  of  this  law  in  a  proper  manner 
will  greatly  tend  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  drug  market,  more  espe- 
cially at  the  port  of  New  York,  where  so  large  a  proportion  of  imported 
drugs  are  entered  ;  and  it  is  equally  clear  to  those  who  take  the  trouble  to 
examine  into  the  actual  conduct  of  its  officers,  that  its  efficiency  is  becom- 
ing less  and  less  evident,  since  the  first  appointments,  which  were  made 
under  the  influence  of  a  correct  appreciation  of  its  requirements.  At  the 
port  of  Philadelphia  the  examinership  is  now  vacant,  and  the  late  "  Ex- 
aminer'^ has,  for  some  time  past,  occupied  the  position  of  an  "  appraiser,'^ 
with  a  much  larger  salary.  Whatever  inspection  of  drugs  is  effected,  is 
carried  out  by  this  officer  and  the  general  Appraiser.  The  suspension  of 
the  Examiner's  duties  must  either  arise  from  motives  of  economy  or  be- 
cause the  office  has  become  a  sinecure.  Be  this  as  it  may,  within  a  month 
or  two  past  several  candidates  for  the  vacancy  have  turned  up,  indicating 
that  the  office  is  not  looked  upon  as  undeserving  of  an  incumbent. 
Our  attention  has  been  called  to  this  subject  by  the  earnest  movements 
which  are  taking  place  in  New  York  among  the  Medical  and  Pharmaceu- 
tical bodies,  in  relation  to  the  drug  law  and  its  practical  exponents,  as  the 
following  extract  from  a  communication  by  Dr.  E.  R.  Squibb,  published  at 
New  York,  in  the  American  Medical  Times  of  January  26th,  1861,  will 
exhibit,  viz  : 
To  the  Editor  of  the  American  Medical  Times — 
Sir: — As  the  time  approaches  for  a  change  in  the  Federal  Adminis- 
tration, and.  consequently,inmany  of  the  ofl&cesheld  under  that  authority, 
