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Star (Christchurch), Issue 4942, 5 March 1884, Page 2

" Rough on Rats " bids fair to secure a long list of human victims. To the use of this preparation is due the tragic death of Olga Stenesse, at Wellington, and the selfslaughter of a man who had drunk himself into a state of madness at Wanganui, The householder whose premises are rat-in-fested is, of course, at liberty- to bane the " vermin" ; and as hejean scarcely hope to do so in the manner which is j said to have once on a time obtained in Ireland, by rhyming them to death, he expects to be able to procure a " stiff ener" for them as occasion may require. Such a Btiffener being, however, quite as likely to prove fatal to human j beings, the sale of poisonous preparations is ; supposed', to be conducted with extreme caution. It may be that the telegram j which narrates the suicide at Wanganui, ! was not judiciously worded. We hope so j for failing that explanation there seems to have been a degree of laxity amounting to criminal negligence. The man " had \ been drinking" ; no reason is assigned for the suicide except that " the man was temporarily deranged from the effects of drink." While in this condition, which it is reasonable to assume was readily noticeable, he " bought a bottle of the poison at a local store." It is impossible to reconcile these statements with the provisions of the " Sale of Poisons Act, 1871." That Act schedules the poisons referred to, and specifies, inter alia, " Every compound containing any of tho poisons mentioned in this schedule, when prepared or sold for the destruction of vermin." Arsenic, it need scarcely be said, is ono of the poisons enumerated ; and we have the testimony of Dr Skey that " Rough on Rats " is an arsenical preparation of a particularly deadly kind. Now it is provided that the purchaser of such a preparation must be accompanied by some person to whom ■ he is known, and who must, together with ( the purchaser, sign his name in a proper J register. Can it be for one moment supI posed that the purchase in question wa3

made under these Conditions P And if not, clearly the case is one for further proceedings of a stringent sort.