ing health

S440. Every person who willfully opposes or ob- Obstructstructs any health officer or physician charged with officer in the enforcement of the health laws, in performing any." any legal duty, is guilty of misdemeanor.

See Laws of 1856, ch. 147, § 31.

S 441. Every person who willfully violates any provision of the health laws, the punishment for violating which is not otherwise prescribed by those laws, or by this Code; and every person who willfully violates or refuses or omits to comply with any lawful order, direction, prohibition or regulation prescribed by any board of health or health officer, or any regulation lawfully made or established by any public officer under authority of the health laws, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, or both.

See Laws of 1856, ch. 147, §§ 30, 31, 33; Ibid., §

28, subd. 3.

performance of his duty.

Wiliful viohealth laws.

lation of

piloting.

S442. Every person not holding a license as pilot Unlicensed under Article V of Chap. I of Title III of the Political Code, or under the laws of the state of New Jersey, who pilots, or offers to pilot any vessel to or from the port of New York, by the way of Sandy Hook, except such as are exempt; and every person not being a Hellgate pilot, or one of the crew of the vessel who pilots or offers to pilot any vessel through Hellgate; and every master or person in command of any steam tug or tow boat who tows any vessel through Hellgate without having a licensed pilot on board, is guilty of misdemeanor.

See Rep. Pol. Code, §§ 329, 345.

steamers

S443. The last section does not apply to vessels Consting propelled wholly or in part by steam, owned or excepted. belonging to citizens of the United States, and licensed and engaged in the coasting trade.

See Rep. Pol. Code, § 329.

portwarden without

S 444. Every person who not being a port-warden, Acting as assumes or undertakes to act as such, or undertakes the authority.

Apothecary omitting to label drugs,

them wrongly, &c.

performance of any of the duties prescribed in Article VII of Chap. I of Title III of the Political Code, as pertaining to the office of port-warden; and every person who knowingly employs any other than the wardens for the performance of such duties; and every person who issues any certificate of a survey on vessels, materials or goods damaged, with the intent to avoid the provisions of that article, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Rep. Pol. Code, § 355.

S445. Every apothecary, or druggist, and every person employed as clerk or salesman by any apothecary or druggist, or otherwise carrying on business as a dealer in drugs or medicines, who, in putting up any drugs or medicines, or making up any prescription, or filling any order for drugs or medicines, willfully, negligently or ignorantly omits to label the same, or puts any untrue label, stamp or other designation of contents upon any box, bottle or other package containing any drugs or medicines, or substitutes a different article for any article prescribed or ordered, or puts up a greater or less quantity of any article than that prescribed or ordered, or otherwise deviates from the terms of the prescription or order which he undertakes to follow, in consequence of which human life or health is endangered, is guilty of misdemeanor.

The frequent occurrence of accidents, involving, often, even the loss of human life, through mistakes in the putting up of prescriptions, render necessary some legislation to enforce care and caution on the part of dealers in drugs. The recent case of Thomas . Winchester, 2 Seid., 397, illustrates the danger arising in a different class of cases, also embraced by the section in the text; viz.: cases in which a manufacturer or dealer in drugs sends them into the market under an untrue label; in consequence of which, retail dealers are innocently led to supply dangerous articles without intending it. In that case it appeared that defendants, who were manufacturing druggists, sold to a dealer a jar labeled, "extract of dandelion;" but which really contained extract of belladonna. The dealer, relying on the label, sold the jar to a retailer; and the latter, in turn, used a part of the contents of the

jar, supposing them to be extract of dandelion, in putting

up a prescription in which that article was required. A
dangerous illness was the result to the person taking the
prescription. The court of appeals, in the case cited,
held the manufacturers liable in damages to the injured
person, notwithstanding the article had passed through
intermediate sales, in reaching such person. This liabil-
ity is founded upon the duty which the law imposes upon
the dealer, to avoid acts dangerous to other persons; and
not upon any contract, or privity between him and the
consumer. Obvious considerations make it proper that
this duty should be enforced by criminal penalty as by a
remedy in damages.

S446. Every apothecary or druggist, and every person employed as clerk or salesman by any apothecary or druggist, or otherwise carrying on business as a dealer in drugs or medicines, who sells or gives any poison or poisonous substance, without first recording in a book to be kept for that purpose, the name and residence of the person receiving such poison, together with the kind and quantity of such poison received and the name and residence of some person known to such dealer, as a witness to the transaction, excepting upon the written order or prescription of some practising physician whose name is attached to such order, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Founded on Laws of 1860, ch. 442, § 1, as amended.
Laws of 1862, ch. 273, § 1.

Restriction to dealers. The Commissioners have re-
stricted the provision to sales or gifts made by persons
dealing in drugs. The statute of 1860, is stringent
enough to prohibit any individual from selling or giving
an article of a poisonous character to another without
opening a book and making a record of what is perhaps
his only transaction of the kind for years. Such record
cannot be expected to be kept, and serves no important
purpose if kept, excepting when maintained in connection
with an establishment of somewhat permanent and pub-
lic character, carrying on a business of dealing in articles
of the kind to be specified in the record.

Contents of the record. The act of 1860, as amended in 1862, requires the seller to record in a book "the name of the person receiving said poison, and his or her resi dence together with the name of some person as witness to such sale. The Commissioners have substitued for this language the words "the name and residence of the

Apothecary

selling poi

son without recording

the sale."

Refusing to

exhibit record.

Selling poison without label.

person receiving such poison, together with the kind and quantity of such poison received, and the name and residence of some person known to such dealer, as a witness to the transaction." Unless the kind and quantity of the poison sold are inserted, the record is a mere list of persons who have bought poisons, and lacks the very element recessary to render it of service in any subsequent legal investigation. If the purchaser may bring his own witness with him, fictitious names and residences of witnesses will be imposed upon the dealer whenever the purchaser wishes to evade the law. And the word "transaction " is more appropriate than "sale" because by the antecedent provisions gifts are to be recorded equally with sales.

The punishment. For the sake of greater harmony in the system of penalties, this offense has been declared a misdemeanor, simply, instead of retaining the special penalty of fifty dollars affixed by the present statutes.

S447. Every person whose duty it is by the last section to keep any book for recording the sale or gift of poisons, and who willfully refuses to permit any person to inspect said book upon reasonable demand made during ordinary business hours, is punishable by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars.

See Laws of 1860, ch. 442, § 1, as amended by
Laws of 1862, ch. 273, § 1.

S 448. Every person who sells, gives or disposes of any poison or poisonous substance, except upon the order or prescription of a regularly authorized practising physician, without attaching to the vial, box or parcel containing such poisonous substance, a label with the name and residence of such person, the word "poison" and the name of such poison all written or printed thereon in plain and legible characters, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Laws of 1860, ch. 442, § 2. The reasons which influ enced the commissioners to recommend that the provision requiring a record of transactions in poisons be restricted to the case of persons habitually dealing in kindred articles, (see note to section 446 supra) do not apply in all their force to the provision requiring the package to be labeled. But they do forbid preserving the exact provision of the present statute, which requires that the word "poison" be printed in red ink; while the particular name of the poison may be printed or written at the

dealer's option. Unless the furnishing of such articles as
laudanum, corrosive sublimate, and the stronger acids by
one neighbor to another, upon a casual necessity for their
use is to be absolutely prevented, the requirement of a
printed label will be inapplicable in a variety of cases
arising under the statute. The Commissioners have
thought it necessary, therefore, either to restrict this sec-
tion as they have that relating to the record book to the
case of dealers, or else to modify it by recognizing a label
wholly in manuscript as a compliance with the law. This
conforms to our former statute. 2 Rev. Stat., 694, § 23.

What are poisons. As the section enumerating the
articles deemed poisonous, within the meaning of the act
of 1860 (Laws of 1860, ch. 442, § 3), was deliberately
repealed in 1862 (Laws of 1862, ch. 273, § 2), without
any recognition of the propriety of a statutory enu-
meration, the Commissioners have not restored it.

Restriction as to locality. In view of the more guarded manner in which the provisions of sections 446 and 448 are expressed, they are deemed proper to be generally enforced throughout the state; therefore the provision of Laws of 1860, ch. 442, § 5, restricting the application of that act to incorporated cities and villages having a population of one thousand inhabitants and upwards, is omitted.

to mark

upon pack

are of hay.

S 449. Every person, who, in putting up or pressing Omitting any bundle or bale of hay for market, omits to mark me or brand, in a legible manner, the initials of his name on some wood or metal securely attached to such bundle or bale of hay, is punishable by a fine of twenty-five dollars for each offense.

Laws of 1860, 155, §§ 1, 4.

$450. Every person, who, in putting up in any bag, bale, box, barrel or other package, any hops, cotton, hay or other goods usually sold in bags, bales, boxes, barrels or packages, by weight, puts in or conceals therein any thing whatever, for the purpose of increasing the weight of such bag, bale, box, barrel or package, is punishable by a fine of twenty-five dollars for each offense.

See Laws of 1860, ch. 155, §§ 2, 4.

Putting exsubstances of goods

traneous

in packages

usually sold

by weight,

with intent

to increase

weight.

Adulterat

§ 451. Every person who adulterates or dilutes any article of food, drink, drug, medicine, strong, spiritu- quors, &c.

drugs, li