Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/183

Rh 167 ADULTEBATION A DULTEKATION, the act of debasing a pure or i J_ genuine commodity for pecuniary profit, by adding j to it an inferior or spurious article, or by taking from it one or more of its constituents. The term is derived from the Latin adultero, which in its various inflections signifies to defile, to debase, to corrupt, to sophisticate, to falsify, to counterfeit, &c. The objects of adulteration are fourfold, namely, to increase the bulk or weight of the article, to improve its appearance, to give it a false strength, or to rob it of its most valuable constituents. All these adul terations are manifestly of a designedly fraudulent character, and are therefore properly the subjects of judicial inquiry ; but there may be accidental corruptions and adulterations of a commodity, arising from natural or unavoidable causes, as when darnel or ergot become mixed with grain in the fields of the slovenly farmer, or when an article becomes changed and deteriorated from spontaneous decay, or when mineral matters and other impurities are accidentally derived from the machinery or vessels in which the thing is prepared or kept. The recognition of such impurities, and the tracing of them to their source, is of prime importance in pursuing a charge of adulteration. Few articles of commerce, however, are exempt from fraudulent adulteration, and the practice of it has grown with the competition of trade, and the removal of those wholesome restrictions which in former times were so energetically opposed to all kinds of dishonest dealing ; for the guilds and companies of all large cities had their corporate regulations for supervising and govern ing every description of trade and manufacture. The excise, too, including the customs, had until recently control over the quality of all exciseable articles ; and although the prime object of this was to protect the revenue of the country, yet it also served to prevent adulteration. In addition to this there were in ancient times ordinances of assize for regulating the price and quality of the common necessaries of life. As far back as the reign of John (1203) there was a proclamation throughout the kingdom for enforcing the legal obligations of assize as regards bread ; and in the following reign the statute (51 Hen. III. stat. 6), entitled the Pillory and Tumbrel, was framed for the express purpose of protecting the public from the dishonest dealings of bakers, vintners, brewers, butchers, and others. This statute is deserving of notice as the first in which the adulteration of human food is specially noticed and prohi bited ; and it seems to have been enforced with more or less of rigour until the time of Anne, when it was repealed (8 Anne, c. 19). According to Liber Albus, it was strictly observed in the days of Edward I., for it states that &quot;if any default shall be found in the bread of a baker in the city, the first time, let him be drawn upon a hurdle from the Guildhall to his own house through the great street where there be most people assembled, and through the great streets which are most dirty, with the faulty loaf hanging from his neck ; if a second time he shall be found committing the same offence, let him be drawn from the Guildhall through the great street of Cheepe, in the manner aforesaid, to the pillory, and let him be put upon the pillory, and remain there at least one hour in the day ; and the third time that such default shall be found, he shall be drawn, and the oven shall be pulled down, and the baker made to forswear the trade in the city for ever.&quot; Vintners, spicers, grocers, butchers, regrators, and others, were subject to the like punishment for dishonesty in their commercial dealings it being thought that the pillory, by appealing to the sense of shame, was far more deterrent of such crimes than fine or imprisonment. But all this has given way to the force of free trade, and now the practice of adulteration has become an art, in which the knowledge of. science and the ingenuity of trade are freely exercised. Fifty years ago it attracted the attention of one of the most expert chemists of the day, Mr Accum, who, in his Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons, declared it to be an &quot; art and mystery.&quot; Subsequently to that, in 1851 and the three following years, articles on the adultera tion of food appeared in the Lancet, and the effect of those articles was to call for a Parliamentary inquiry, which resulted in the Adulteration of Food Act of 18 GO. That Act of Parliament gave power to certain local authorities in England, Scotland, and Ireland to appoint analysts, having competent medical, chemical, and microscopical knowledge. The penalty for selling an adulterated article, knowing it to be so adulterated, was five pounds, and the costs of the proceedings. But as the statute was permissive, only a few analysts were appointed, and it soon became a dead letter. Attempts were subsequently made to improve the law, and to make it compulsory on local authorities to appoint analysts. One of these was the Bill of 1869, and another was that of 1871 both of which were abandoned by their promoters. In the year 1872, however, an Act was passed, entitled An Act to amend the Laws for the Prevention of Adulteration of Food, Drink, and Drugs. The main features of this Act are the following : Local authorities in England, Scotland, and Ireland are bound to appoint analysts with competent medical, chemical, and microscopical know ledge. They must also appoint officers or inspectors to purchase articles of food, drink, and drugs within their respective districts, and take them to the analyst for. examination. Other purchasers of such articles are per mitted, under proper restrictions, to have suspected articles analysed. On receiving a certificate from the analyst, stating that any article is adulterated, the inspector must take the necessary legal proceedings for the pi;rpose of bringing the offender to justice. The penalty on conviction of mixing anything whatever with a drug, with the view of adulterating it, or of mixing any injurious or poisonous ingredient with any article of food or drink, is a sum not exceeding fifty pounds, together with the costs ; and for the second offence he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and be imprisoned for a period not exceeding six calendar months with hard labour. The penalty for selling an adulterated article with a guilty knowledge is a sum not exceeding twenty pounds, together with the costs ; and for a second offence, the justice may order the offender s name, place of abode, and offence to be published in a newspaper, or in any manner he thinks fit, at the expense of the offender.. Although the meaning of the term adulteration is not strictly defined in the Act, yet it is declared that the admixture of&quot; anything whatever with an article of food, drink, or drug r for the purpose of fraudulently increasing its weight or bulk, is an adulteration within the provisions of the Act. The adulteration of intoxicating liquors is provided for by the Licensing Act 1872 (35 and 36 Viet. c. 94) ; and in this Act there is a schedule of substances, called &quot; Dele terious Ingredients&quot; which are considered to be adultera tions : they are Cocculus indicus, chloride of sodium or common salt, copperas, opium, Indian hemp, strychnine, tobacco, darnel seed, extract of logwood, salts of zinc or*r lead, alum, and any extract or compound of any of these. . The execution of this Act rests with the police authorities and the Inland Hevenue. The penalties for adulteration--