THE ANALYST. 277 H O U S E O F C O M M O O S . May 23rd, 1878. SALE OF FOOD AND DRUGS ACT IN SCOTLAND. Mr. W. EOLMS asked the Lord Advocate if he was aware that by a recent decision of the High Court of Justiciary the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875, had practically become inoperative in Scotland; and, if so, what steps he proposed to take to remedy that state of things. The LORD ADVOCATE said his attention had been called to the decision in ques- tion.The result of that decision was rather too strongly put in the question. It only affected the sixth clause of the Act, but he admitted that it would have the practical effect of stopping those prosecutions, The Act, however, was one which applied to England as well as to Scotland, and the same point which had been decided by the High Court of Justiciary had been raieed by an appeal from a decision of the magistrates of Sheffield.He understood that that appeal was now pending before the Courts in this country, and he thought it would be better before taking action in the matter to wait and see what the judgment in that case might be.-Times. May 27th) 1878. SELLING SPIRITS UNDER PROOF. Mr.SCLATER-BOOTH, in answer to Sir F. Perkins, who asked whether theatten- tion of the Government had been directed to prosecutions which had been instituted against licensed victuallers for vending spirits of different degrees of strength under proof and the conflicting decisions of local justices on the point, said : The attention of the Government has, from time t o time, been directed to the prosecutions which have been instituted against licensed victuallers for selling Rpirits of different degrees of strength under proof.The policy of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act was to leave it t o the local tribunals to give decisions in accordance with the evidence in each case, and, in order to provide against the inconvenience which might result from varying views among the locally-appointed analysts, it was provided that the opinion of the Commissioners of In- land Revenue might be taken in disputed cases.I have no reason t o doubt that in course of time, by this means, and by the decisions of the High Court of Justice on typical cases brought before them on appeal, greater uniformity of procedure will be arrived at. Mean- while I may say that the statements and facts submitted to me tend to show that there is a natural process of deterioration in the strength of spirits by lapse of time, which should caution local authorities against the institution of proceedings in doubtful cases, and that there is a margin between the degree of about 17 per cent.under proof, which may be taken to be the figure at which spirits are delivered over to the licensed victuallers, and the point or points at which the Superior Courts have supported convictions within which at present some uncertainty must be admitted to exist. There are difficulties in the way of fixing a specific standard, and Parliament has not thought it proper to insert any such in the Act ; but means are provided by which, in doubtful cases, retailers of these articles can protect themselves from prosecution, either by retailing under warranty or by labelling the article sold as of a particular degree of strength below proof.-nmes.