Poisons.

By 31 & 32 Vict. c. 121, poisons can only be sold by pharmaceutical chemists or chemists and druggists, who must be registered under the Act. Such persons are required to keep a book, in which they are bound to make an entry of all sales of poisons, giving name and address of person to whom sold.

The Act prohibits the sale of poisons to persons unknown to the seller unless introduced by some person known to him, and requires that a label with the word "poison," &c., shall be affixed to the bottle or box containing such poison. Apothecaries, veterinary surgeons, and wholesale dealers in poisons are exempted from certain provisions of the Act, as also dealers in patent medicines.

14 & 15 Vict. c. 13, contains special provisions regulating the sale of arsenic. Arsenic cannot be sold to persons under age. Section 3 of the Act contains provisions regarding the quantity which may be sold, admixture, &c.

Poisoned flesh prohibition. - 27th & 28th Vict. c. 115, renders it penal to lay poisoned flesh on land. Poisonous preparations can, however, be placed in stacks, houses, or enclosed gardens for the destruction of rats and mice, or in drains, provided the drains be protected so as to prevent any dog from entering.

Poisoned grain prohibition.—26 & 27 Vict. c. 113, renders penal to sell or expose for sale, or to set, lay, or sow, or cause to be sown, grain so mixed with poison as to render it poisonous, and calculated to destroy life.

Exception: The use of any solution, &c., used for dressing, &c., any grain or seed for bond fide use in agriculture only, or the sowing of grain so dressed, is not prohibited.

Drugging animals.-The Aet 39 & 40 Vict. c. 18, prohibits any person wilfully administering to or causing to be administered to or taken by any horse, cattle, or domestic

animal (without reasonable cause or excuse), any poisonous drug or substance under certain penalties, unless the person be the owner or acting by his authority.

Post Office Offences.

Postmen or drivers of mail carts, &c., guilty of any act of drunkenness, negligence, or other misconduct whereby the safety of a post letter bag or post letter may be endangered, or who wilfully mis-spend their time so as to retard or delay mails, or give false information of assaults or attempted robbery upon them, or commit other offences enumerated in 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 36, s. 7, are liable to fine or imprisonment.

Under 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 36, s. 25, the Home Secretary has power to authorize the Postmaster-General to inspect any letter sent through the post office, but it is a power which is rarely exercised, except where some injury to the State may be apprehended. As to stealing of post letter or letter bags by post office officials, see 24 & 25 Vict. c. 96, EPITOME OF STATUTES, post.

The Post Office (Protection) Act, 1884, provides for the punishment of a number of offences, such as placing explosive, dangerous, or noxious substances, or any fire or light in or against any letter box, or injuring any letter box, sending by post any explosive, dangerous, or noxious substance, enclosing in a postal packet any indecent or obscene print, sending any such packet having any indecent words or marks upon it, fixing placards &c., to post offices or letter boxes, imitating and using fictitious stamps, &c.

Section 11 of Act deals with offence of forging, altering, or disclosing the contents of a telegram. See also title TELEGRAPHS, post.

Preaching.

The Act 52 Geo. 3, c. 155, requires any house or premises to be registered wherein more than twenty persons assemble for religious worship, but there is no specific law on the sub

ject of open-air preaching or meetings for religious worship held in the public streets. If held in the street such meetings appear to stand on the same footing as other obstructions of the highway (see title NUISANCES, ante), but where meetings in the streets for religious worship are conducted with decency and order, the excellence of the object would be an excuse for what otherwise might be considered an obstruction, provided ample space be left for the ordinary street traffic.

As to disturbances in street by the Salvation Army, see title RIOTS, post.

Prevention of Crimes Acts.

(34 & 35 Vict. c. 112.)

The Prevention of Crimes Act, 1871, had for its object, as its name denotes, the more effectual prevention of crime in this country. Its main provisions refer to the treatment of convicts on license.

Convicts. Any constable in any police district may, if authorized in writing by the chief officer of police of that district, without warrant take into custody any convict who is the holder of a license under the Penal Servitude Acts, if it appears to such constable that he is getting his livelihood by dishonest means, and may bring him before a court of summary jurisdiction for adjudication (section 3).

If it appears that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the convict is getting his livelihood by dishonest means, he shall be deemed to be guilty of an offence against this Act, and his license shall be forfeited.

Section 4 refers to convicts breaking the conditions of their license, which is made an offence against the Act, and is punishable with three months' imprisonment with hard labour.

Reporting.-Every holder of a license under the Penal Servitude Acts who is at large in Great Britain or Ireland shall notify his residence to the chief officer of police of the district in which his residence is situated, and shall, whenever he changes such residence within the same police district,

notify such change to the chief officer of police of that district, and whenever he changes his residence from one police district to another shall notify such change of residence to the chief officer of police of the district which he is leaving, and to the chief officer of police of the district into which he goes to reside; moreover, every male holder of such a license as aforesaid shall, once a month, report himself at such time as may be prescribed by the chief officer of police of the district, either to such chief officer himself or to such other person as that officer may direct (a), and such report may be made personally or by letter, as the chief officer directs (section 5).

If any holder of a license who is at large in Great Britain or Ireland remains in any place for forty-eight hours without notifying the place of his residence to the chief officer of police of the district in which such place is situated, or fails to comply with the requisitions of this section on the occasion of any change of residence, or as to reporting himself once in each month, he shall in every such case, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the court that he did his best to act in conformity with the law, be guilty of an offence against this Act, and upon conviction his license may be forfeited; or, if the term of penal servitude in respect of which his license was granted has expired, or has less than a year to run, the court may sentence him to such imprisonment, with hard labour, as will amount to one year.

Registers.-Registers of criminals are to be kept for England, Scotland, and Ireland, containing such particulars as the Home Secretary or Lord Lieutenant shall require, and that in every prison the gaoler or governor shall make returns of the persons convicted of crime and coming within his custody; and every gaoler or governor neglecting to transmit such returns, or wilfully transmitting a false or imperfect statement, shall for every such offence forfeit a sum not exceeding 201., to be recovered summarily. The Home Secretary, and in

(a) See p. 268 (Act of 1879).

Ireland the Lord Lieutenant, may make regulations as to the photographing of all prisoners convicted of crime confined in any prison, and may prescribe the times at which and the manner and dress in which such prisoners are to be taken, and the number of photographs of each prisoner to be printed, and the persons to whom such photographs are to be sent. The registration and photographing prescribed by this section are now by 39 & 40 Vict. c. 23, limited to such classes of prisoners as the Home Secretary or Lord Lieutenant may think fit.

Twice convicted.-A person twice convicted of crime within seven years is liable to imprisonment, with hard labour, for one year; (1) if, on being charged by a constable with getting his livelihood by dishonest means, and brought before a court of summary jurisdiction, it appears to such court that there are reasonable grounds for so believing; (2) or if, on being charged with any offence, and required by a court of summary jurisdiction to give his name and address, he refuses to do so, or gives a false name or address; (3) or if he is found in any place under such circumstances as to satisfy the court that he was about to aid in the commission of any offence; (4) or if he is found in or upon any dwelling-house, or any building, yard, or premises, being parcel of or attached to such dwelling-house, or in or upon any shop, warehouse, counting-house, or other place of business, or in any garden, orchard, pleasure ground, or nursery ground, or in any building or erection in any garden, orchard, pleasure ground, or nursery ground, without being able to account to the satisfaction of the court for his presence on such premises (section 7).

In the first-mentioned case any constable, if authorized by the chief officer, may arrest without warrant. In the third case a constable may arrest without being authorized, and without warrant. In the fourth case anybody may arrest. A person twice convicted may be subjected to police supervision for seven years when the provisions of section 5 apply (section 8).