And be it further Enacted, That all Sum and Sums of Money arising from Conviction and recovery of Penalties for Offences committed against the Authorities and Provisions of this Act, shall be applied and disposed of in manner following, (viz.) One Half thereof to the Informer or Informers, and One Half thereof to the said Master, Wardens, and Society of Apothecaries as aforesaid, to be appropriated and disposed of by them in such manner as they shall deem most expedient.
And be it further Enacted, That all Penalties and Forfeitures by virtue of this Act imposed, (the manner of levying and recovering whereof is not otherwise hereby particularly directed, shall, if such Penalties and Forfeitures shall exceed the Sum of Five Pounds, be recovered by Action or Suit at Law, in the Name of the Master, Wardens, and Society of the Art and Mystery of Apothecaries of the City of London, in any of His Majesty’s Courts of Record in England or Wales, wherein no Essoign, Protection, or Wager at Law, or more than one Imparlance shall be allowed); and if such Penalty or Forfeiture shall amount to less than the Sum of Five Pounds, then the same shall be levied and recovered by Distress and Sale of the Goods and Chattels of the Offender, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal of any Justice of the Peace acting for any County, City, Town, or Place where the Offence shall be committed (which Warrant such Justice is hereby empowered and required to grant upon the confession of the Party, or upon the Evidence of any credible Witness upon Oath; and which Oath such Justice is hereby empowered to administer); and the overplus (if any), of the Money arising by such Distress and Sale, shall be returned upon demand to the Owner of such Goods and Chattles, after deducting the Costs and Charges of making, keeping, and selling the Distress; and in case sufficient Distress shall not be found, or such Forfeitures and Penalties shall not be paid forthwith, it shall be lawful for such Justice, and he is hereby authorized and required, by Warrant under his Hand and Seal, to cause the Offender to be committed to the Common Gaol for the County, City, Town, or Place, where the Offence shall be committed, there to remain without Bail or Mainprize for any time not exceeding One Calendar Month, unless such Penalties, and Forfeitures, and Costs, shall be sooner fully paid and satisfied.
And be it further Enacted, That where any Distress shall be made for any Sum of Money to be levied by virtue of this Act, the Distress itself shall not be deemed unlawful, nor the Party or Parties making the same be deemed a Trespasser or Trespassers, on account of any defect or want of Form in the Notice or Information, Summons, Conviction, Warrant, or Distress, or other proceeding relating thereto; nor shall the Party or Parties distraining be deemed a Trespasser or Trespassers ab initio, on account of any irregularity which shall be afterwards done by the Party or Parties so distraining; but the person or persons aggrieved by such irregularity, may recover full satisfaction for the special damage in an Action upon the Case.
Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That nothing in this Act contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to prejudice, or in any way to affect the trade or business of a Chemist and Druggist, in the buying, preparing, compounding, dispensing, and vending Drugs, Medicines, and Medicinable Compounds, wholesale and retail; but all persons using or exercising the said trade or business, or who shall or may hereafter use or exercise the same, shall and may use, exercise, and carry on the same trade or business in such manner, and as fully and amply to all intents and purposes, as the same trade or business was used, exercised, or carried on by Chemists and Druggists before the passing of this Act.
Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That nothing in this Act contained, shall extend or be construed to extend to lessen, prejudice, or defeat, or in any wise to interfere with any of the Rights, Authorities, Privileges, and Immunities heretofore vested in, and exercised and enjoyed by either of the Two Universities of Oxford or Cambridge, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Surgeons, or the said Society of Apothecaries respectively, other than and except such as shall or may have been altered, varied, or amended in and by this Act, or of any Person or Persons practising as an Apothecary previously to the First Day of August, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifteen; but the said Universities, Royal Colleges, and the said Society, and all such Persons or Person, shall have, use, exercise, and enjoy all such Rights, Authorities, Privileges, and Immunities, save and except as aforesaid, in as full, ample, and beneficial a manner to all intents and purposes, as they might have done before the passing of this Act, and in case the same had never been passed.
Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That no Action or suit shall be brought or prosecuted against any Person or Persons, Body or Bodies Politic, Corporate or Collegiate, for any thing done in pursuance of this Act, after Six Calendar Months next after the fact committed; or in case there shall be a continuation of Damages, then after Six Calendar Months next after the doing or committing such Damage shall have ceased, and not afterwards. And every such Action or Suit shall be laid and brought in the County where the matter in dispute shall arise, and not elsewhere; and the Defendant and Defendants in every such Action or Suit, shall or may, at his, her, or their election, plead specially the General Issue, and give this Act, and the Special Matter, in Evidence, at any Trial to be had thereupon, and that the same was done in pursuance, and by the authority of this Act. And if it shall appear to have been so done, or if any such Action or Suit shall have been brought before Twenty-one Days’ Notice shall have been given, or sufficient satisfaction made or tendered, as aforesaid, or shall be brought in any other County or Place than as aforesaid, then, and in every such case, the Jury shall find for the Defendant or Defendants; and upon such Verdict, or if the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs shall become Nonsuit, or suffer a discontinuance of his, her, or their Action or Suit, after the Defendant or Defendants shall have appeared, or if a Verdict shall pass against the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, or if upon Demurrer or otherwise, Judgment shall be given against the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs, then the Defendant or Defendants shall have Double Costs, and shall have such remedy for recovering the same, as any Defendant hath for recovering Costs of Suit in any other Cases by Law.
And be it further Enacted, That this Act shall be deemed and taken to be a Public Act, and shall be judicially taken notice of as such, by all Judges, Justices, and others, without being specially pleaded.
A Royal Charter granted to the Apothecaries of London 30 Maii 13 Jacobii.
(From Goodall’s Collection, p. 119.)