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120
made in this direction by a Select Committee
of the House of Commons, who have taken
voluminous but not exhaustive evidence upon
the subject.
It would be useless to reiterate the objections
resulting from the present anomalous arrangements
under which the chemical authorities at
Somerset House are enabled to over-ride the
decisions of the most eminent analysts, upon
data they have never formulated; not to dwell
further upon the extraordinary and discordant
decisions given by magistrates throughout the
country, nearly always in favour of the dishonest
trader, and more in accordance with the
idiosyncrasy of the individual functionary, than
the requirements of science and common sense.
Innumerable instances could be adduced in
proof of this, but I fear nothing can be done to
remedy the evils until, on the one hand, Analysts
are provided with fixed standards or limits upon
which their work should be based, and on the
other, that the irresponsible action of magistrates,
controlled by such minimum penalties as