An Act to Provide for the Appointment of Inspectors and Regulating the Manufacture of Gunpowder, ch. 25, §§ 1-9, 1820 N.H. Laws 274, 274-76 (Hill & Moore*).

"CHAP. XXV.
AN ACT to Provide for the appointment of Inspectors and regulating the manufacture of Gunpowder.

    Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives in general court convened, That his excellency the governor by and with the advice of council, be, and he is hereby authorized to appoint an inspector of gunpowder for every public powder magazine, and at every manufactory of gunpowder in this state, and at such other places as may by him be thought necessary; and his excellency the governor by and with the advice of council is hereby further authorized and empowered to remove said inspectors or any of them at pleasure, and may by new appointments from time to time fill any vacancy or vacancies which may happen.
    Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That from and after the first day of July next, all gunpowder which shall be manufactured within this state, shall be composed of the following proportions and quality of materials, that is, every one hundred parts of gunpowder shall be composed of fourteen parts of fresh burnt coal, made from wood which forms the least ashes, and which has been carefully and well prepared and made into coal, after being stripped of its bark; ten parts of pure sulphur, and seventy-six parts of purified nitre.
    Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of each of said inspectors to inspect, examine and prove all gunpowder which after the first day of July shall not be deposited at any public powder magazine, or manufactory of this state, before the same shall be removed from the manufactory or received into such public powder magazine, and if upon inspection and examination it shall appear to the inspector that such gunpowder is well manufactured and composed of pure materials, and such gunpowder shall be of the proof hereinafter mentioned, the inspector shall mark each cask containing gunpowder by him inspected, examined, and proved as aforesaid, with the words "New Hampshire inspected proof," and with his christian and surname, and shall also in figures mark upon each cask the quantity of powder contained therein, and the year in which the inspection is made.
    Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That no gunpowder within this state shall be considered to be of proof unless one ounce thereof, placed in a chamber of a four and an half inch howitzer, with the howitzer elevated so as to form an angle of forty-five degrees with the horizon, will, upon being fired throw a twelve pound shot seventy-five yards at the least.
    Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That whenever any of said inspectors shall discover any gunpowder, deposited at any public powder magazine, or any other place within this state, which is not well manufactured or which is composed of impure materials, or of any improper proportion of materials, and which shall not be of the proof herein before mentioned, the inspector in such case, shall mark each cask containing such impure, ill manufactured, or deficient gunpowder, with the word "Condemned" on both heads of the cask, and with the same words on the side thereof, with the christian and surname of the inspector on one head of the cask.
    Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall knowingly sell any condemned gunpowder, or shall fraudulently alter or deface any mark or marks, placed by an inspector upon any cask or casks containing gunpowder, or shall fraudulently put any gunpowder, which shall not have been inspected, or which has been condemned, into any cask or casks, which shall have been marked by any inspector agreeably to the provisions contained in the third section of this act, every such person, so offending, shall forfeit and pay not less than two hundred nor more than five hundred dollars, for each and every offence, to be recovered in an action of debt, in any court of competent jurisdiction, one half thereof to the use of the state, the other to the use of him or them who shall sue and prosecute for the same.
    Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That each inspector who may be appointed by virtue of this act, shall, before he acts as inspector, be sworn to the faithful and impartial discharge of the duties of his office, and each inspector shall be allowed one cent for each pound of gunpowder, by him examined, inspected and proved, whether the same be by him approved or condemned, to be paid by the owner or owners of the gunpowder.
    Sec 8. And be it further enacted, That if any manufacturer of gunpowder shall sell or dispose of, or shall cause or permit to be sold or disposed of, or shall export or cause to be exported without the limits of this state, any powder of his manufacture, before the same has been inspected and marked agreeably to the provisions of this act, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of fifty cents for every pound of powder so sold, disposed of, or exported, to be recovered in the manner provided in the sixth section of this act.
    Sec 9. And be it further enacted, That if any person within this state, after the first day of January next, shall knowingly sell, expose, or offer for sale, within this state, any gunpowder which is not well manufactured, or which is composed of impure materials, and which shall not be composed of the proof herein before required, shall forfeit and pay not less than five dollars nor more than fifty dollars for each and every offence, to be recovered in the manner provided in the sixth section of this act."