THE ANALYST. 116 SALE OF FOOD AND DRUGS ACT (1875) AMENDMENT BILL, Mr. Anderson as stmended by the Select Committee. WHEREAS conflicting decisions have been given in England and in Scotland in regard to the meaning and effect of section six of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875, in this Act referred to 8s the principal Act, and it is expedient, in this respeot and otherwise, to amend the said Act : Be it enacted by the The following is a Copy of the Bill introduced into the House of Commons by116 THE ANALYST.Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spirikal and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : 1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as the Sale of Food and Drugs Act Shorttitle.Amendment Act, 1879. 2. In any prosecution under the provisions of the principal Act for selling to the In sale of prejudice of the purchaser any article of food or any drug which is not of the nature, ",,"'t$E subshnc8, and quality of the article demanded by such purchaser, it shall be no defence z:g:&hh.se to any such proseoution to allege that the purchaser, having bought only for analysifi, was for snaIyuie.not prejudiced by such sale. Neither shall it be a good defence to prove that the article of food or drug in question, though defective in nature or in substance or in quality, wag not defective in all three respects. of section seventeen of the principal Act. 3. Any street or open place of public resort shall be held to come within the meaning Exteneion of Act as to Bale in streete, Lo.4. In determining whether an offence has been committed under section six of the Reduction at said Act by selling, to the prejudice of the purchaser, spirits not adulterated otherwise than :fEe$zz by the admixture of water, it shall be a good defence to prove that such admixture has not 25~ercent- under proof.reduced the spirit more than twenty-five degrees under proof for brandy, whisky, or rum, or thirty-five degrees under proof for gin. 6. Every liberty having a separate court of quarter sessions, except a liberty of a z z O & O f 6. The town council of any borough having a separate court of quarter sessions shall be exempt from contributing towards the expenses incurred in the execution of the bomwbnot principal Act in respect of the county within which such borough is situate, and the Ez:ph treasurer of the county shall exclude the expenses so incurred from the account required by analyst.section one hundred and seventeen of the Municipal Corporation Act, 1835, to be sent by him to such town council. borougha w i t h Parliament, or otherwise, a separate police establishment, and being liable to be assessed to sepsrab pouoe, the countyrate of the county within which the borough is situate, shall be paid by the justices of such county the proportionate amount contributed towards the expenses inourred by the county in the execution of the principal Act by the several parishes and parts of psrishes within such borough in respect of the rateable value of the property assessable therein, as ascertained by the valuation lists for the time being in force.8. In all prosecutions under the principal Act, and notwithstanding the provisions of speoial P section twenty of the said Act, the summons to appear before the magistrates shall be timefor pro- servedupon the personcharged with violating the provisions of the said Act within a '-* reasonable time, and in no case exceeding twenty-eight days from the time of the purchase from such person for test purposes of the food or drug, for the sale of which in contravention to the terms of the principal Act the seller is rendered liable to prosecution, and particulars of the offence or offenoes against the said Act of which the seller is aocused, and also the name of the prosecutor, shall be stated on the summons, and the summom shall not be made returnable in a less time than seven days from the day it is served upon the person summoned.cinque port, shall be deemed to be a aounty within the meaning of the said Act. " county." 7. The town council of any borough having under any general or local Act of Proviaionfor vision u to