Attorney General v Bailey

[74] the attorney-general v. bailey. Nov. 10, 184G.-A person who distils spirit for the purpose of making, by the addition of nitric acid, sweet spirits of nitre for sale, is a distiller of spirits within the meaning of the 6 Geo. 4, c. 80, as. 6, 7, requiring an excise license, and liable to the penalties imposed by s. 39 , of that act on persons having any private or concealed still, &c. for making or ; distilling tow wines or spirits. [S. C. 16 L. J. Ex. 63, 172. Applied, Bailey v. //arm, 1849, V2 Q. B. 905. See further, 1 Ex. 281.] This was an information for penalties under the Excise Acts. The first count was franled upon the stat. 6 Geo. 4, c. 80, s. 39,(a) and stated, in substance, that certain officers of excise had discovered upon the premises of the defendant certain private and concealed stills and vessels for making and distilling privately made spirits and (it) Sect. 39 enacts, "that if any excise officer shall know, or have cause to suspect, that any private or concealed still, cask, or other vessel, for making or distilling low wines or spirits, or any privately made spirits or low wines, are set up or kept in any house or place, upon oath made by such officer it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Ejscise, or a justice of the peace, by warrant to authorise such officer to enter such bou^e or place, land seize such still, &c.; and in case the same shall not be claimed by the jtrue owneij, the stills and spirits shall be forfeited, and the proprietor of such private or concealed still shall forfeit, for every place in which such still shall be found, and (or every such still, the sum of 200," 16M.&W. 75. THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL V. BAILEY 1105 low wines. The fourth count was framed upon the fith and 7th sections (a)1 of the same statute, and charged that the defendant had distilled and manufactured spirits ia England, for the distilling whereof a license was required, without having taken out such license. Plea, riot guilty. At the trial, before Pollock, C. B., at the sittings in Middlesex after Trinity Term, it appeared in evidence that [75] the defendant had upon his premises several private and concealed stills, by means whereof he had made large quantities of sweet spirits of nitre for sale. The defendant's mode of manufacturing this compound was by first distilling pure spirit, or alcohol, and then adding to it a certain proportion of nitric acid. He had no excise license. The counsel for the defendant contended, that the distilling of;alcohol, as an ingredient for and with the ulterior purpose of thereby compounding sweet spirits of nitre, did not render the defendant liable ou this information, and did not require a license. The Lord Chief Baron, however, thought that the defendant was to be deemed a distiller of spirits, within the meaning of the act of Parliament, but gave the defendant leave to move to enter a verdict for him, if the Court should be of a different opinion. The jury having found a verdict for the Grown on the first and fourth counts of the information, Martin now moved pursuant to the leave reserved at the trial. The question in this case depends on the meaning of the word " spirits," in the 39th section of the 6 Geo. 4, c. SO; whether it can be held to include a compound of the nature of sweet spirits of nitre. It can hardly he that the manufacturer of such an article is to be deemed subject to the penalties imposed by this act, as a manufacturer or distiller of spirits. [Pollock, C. B. The case of The Attorney-General v. Green (4 Price, 224) seems to be a direct authority against you. Vinegar is a necessary ingredient in the manufacture of blacking; and there it was held, that a party who made vinegar for sale, either as vinegar or as blacking, was liable to the duties of excise relating to the makers and preparers of vinegar for sale, although in fact the article was never sold by him as vinegar.] The stat. 5 & 6 Viet. c. '25, s. 6, contains a definition of what shall be deemed British com-[76]-pounds, namely, " all spirits and all other liquors, which shall be mixed with, or shall have had communicated thereto, any flavour of jnniper, mint, peppermint, cloves, aniseed, carraway seeds, or almonds, or any of the oils thereof, or the materials producing the same, used by rectifiers or compounders, or in the manufacture of British compounds, and all juices of fruit having spirits added thereto : " and if a man keeps a still merely for the boua fide purpose of manufacturing any of those compounds, it is submitted that he need not have an excise license as a distiller of spirits, if he sells the spirits distilled for such a purpose, there are other enactments subjecting him to penalties. [Alderson, B. Can your ulterior object prevent the necessity of taking out a license for doing that for which by itself you roust have had a license,-namely, distilling spirits? If you do not obtain one, the revenue is defrauded, because otherwise you would buy them of a man who had obtained a license.] According to that view, every chemist who distils spirits for the bjon& fide piirpose of manufacturing compound chemical preparations is liable to the tjuty. [Parke, B. Yes; a chemist is a distiller, if he chooses to manufacture his own spirits of wine, instead of buying them. If a man keeps a still for the purpose of manufacturing spirits, whether he afterwards uses them to drink, or to make other Mixtures or preparationsr he uses the still for making and distilling spirits, and comes within the penalties of the act. Pollock, C. B. A man uaimot keep a still, and make low wines, without being a distiller.] Per Curiam.()'2 Rule refused. ; (a)1 Sect. 6 enacts, " that from and after the commencement of this act, it shall not be lawful for any person or persons in England to have or keep any still whatever for the purpose of distilling or rectifying or compounding spirits, without having first obtained a license for that purpose, under the provisions of this act, signed by the Commissioners of Excise," &c. And sect. 7 requires a new license to bo taken out annually, aiid enacts, " that if any person shall continue to keep or work, or shall use any still, or shall make or brew any wort or wash, or rectify or compound any spirits contrary hereto, every such person shall in every such case forfeit the sum of 500." (a)s Pollock, C. B., Parke, B., Alderson, B., and Rolfe, B.

[281] the attorney-gen ekal v. bailey. Nov. 18, 1847.-Sweet spirits of nitre : are not "spirits" within the meaning of the excise acts, G Geo. 4, c. 80, ss. 107, 133 ; 7 & 8 Geo. 4, c. 53, s. 32 ; 2 Will. 4, c. 16, s. 10. Therefore a person who buys from one who is riot a licensed distiller, and without a permit, sweet spirits of nitre, the duty on which has not been paid, is not liable to the penalties imposed by those statutes.-The term "spirits" in those acts signifies an inflammable liquid produced by distillation, either pure, or mixed only with ingredients which do not convert it into some article of commerce not known in common parlance under the general appellation of " spirits." [S. C. 17 L. J. Ex. 9. See Attorney-Gene ml v. Bailey, 1846, 16 M. & W. 74; Bailey v. Harris, 1849, 12 Q. B, 905.] This...