July, 1880. 
THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST. 
19 
board-room of the institution, Phillip-street, yesterday after- 
noon. Mr. F. Senior, J.P., president of the society, occupied 
the chair. There was a good attendance of members. 
Mr. W. T. Pinhey, the secretary, submitted the annual 
report, which was as follows : — 
“Your council, in presenting this, their fourth annual 
report, have considerable gratification in being enabled to 
state that the past year has been one of prosperity, and that 
the money placed at their disposal has enabled them to form 
a reserve fund to meet emergencies, or to make purchases as 
opportunities offer advantageous to the interests of the 
society. 
“ Your council are of opinion that the time has arrived 
when the chemists ought to possess the power of self-govern- 
ment ; in other words, power to admit into their ranks only 
those who have acquired sufficient knowledge in the leading 
branches appertaining to and inseparable from the legitimate 
carrying out the practice of pharmacy with comfort to the 
chemist and security to the public. 
“ Your council trust the ensuing year of the society’s opera- 
tions will form an era in the history of pharmacy, for the long- 
required and ardently desired Pharmaceutical Bill will in all 
probability soon be laid before Parliament. Its object will be 
to raise the status of the chemist, and give assurance to the 
public that in future none but those qualified to deal in or dis- 
pense medicines will be permitted to do so. The’ Pharma- 
ceutical Bill will have, inter alia , this beneficial effect ; for it 
contains a clause bearing upon the necessity of those who may 
be desirous of commencing business undergoing an examina- 
tion in chemistry, pharmacy, and materia medica , which, if 
carried out, will meet one of the grand objects the founders of 
this society had in view, and the education and qualification 
of the chemist will be clearly defined. 
“ The Medical Bill, brought before Parliament for the second 
time by Dr. Bowker, is for the present shelved ; but your 
council felt constrained to petition against the last clause of 
section three of that measure, because it had a tendency to 
interfere with the rights and privileges secured to the chemist 
and druggist under the Apothecaries Act of 1815. 
“Your council are of opinion that it would be well if an 
arrangement were entered into with the University for special 
lectures to be given there on chemistry, pharmacy, and toxi- 
cology. This subject will be brought up for discussion at an 
early date. 
“Your council have to acknowledge with gratitude the 
gifts of valuable books from Messrs. W. H. H. Lane, A. J. 
Watt, L. B. Bush, T. Humphreys, your secretary, and others ; 
which have enabled your council to invest a sum which would 
otherwise have been expended in adding to the collection of 
standard works now in your library. 
“Your council have instituted a minor examination for 
associates, and a major examination for members. Every can- 
didate will be expected to be able to translate medical pre- 
scriptions, to be acquainted with a certain amount of practical 
pharmacy, as well as conversant with toxicology. 
“ The following have been selected as texts-books for exami- 
nation Proctor’s or Bed wood’s Pharmacy , Pereira’s Selecta 
e Prescripts, British Pharmacopoeia, Squire’s Companion to 
the British Pharmacopoeia , Attfield’s or Bowman’s Chemistry , 
and Bentley’s Botany. 
“Your council would impress upon all chemists and 
druggists that the Pharmaceutical Society is for the protec- 
tion of the chemist, and to study his interest ; they, therefore, 
trust that by and through your continued support your society 
may be further benefited, and its usefulness extended, involv- 
ing as it does the welfare of the public, upon whose patronage 
and confidence all are dependent upon for success. 
“During the year four vacancies in the council have 
occurred. These were filled by the appointment of Messrs. 
Wm. Larmer, Wm. Pratt, Edward Bow, and John C. Burrell, 
but their seats becoming vacant at the expiration of the year, 
notification to that effect was made by advertisement, and the 
following gentlemen have given the required notice to fill the 
vacancies, viz. Messrs. Wm. Larmer, Wm. Pratt, Edward 
Bow, and John W. Guise. 
“ The honorary treasurer will now lay before you the balance- 
sheet, duly audited, which your council trust will be gratify- 
ing to all concerned.’’ 
The report and balance-sheet were unanimously adopted. 
The treasurer’s financial statement showed that the receipts 
for the past year amounted to £269 10s. lid., which included 
a balance of £75 11s, 7d. brought forward from the previous 
year. The sum received during the past twelve months in 
subscriptions was £163 10s. The expenditure for the year was 
£82 Is. 2d., leaving a credit balance of £187 9s. 9d. 
Messrs. Wm. Hume and J. Henry were elected auditors for 
the current year. 
A vote of thanks was most cordially accorded to the council 
for their services during the year. Messrs. W. Larmer, W. 
Pratt, Edward Bow, andJ. W. Guise were declared members of 
the council, being the only members who had given the 
required notice. 
The chairman returned thanks on behalf of the council, and 
bore special testimony to the exertions of Mr. W. T. Pinhey on 
behalf of the society. In alluding to the various matters 
touched upon in the annual report the chairman said he could 
not help thinking that some of their brethren, who, from 
various causes, had withdrawn from the council, would be 
rather astonished to find the society at its fourth general 
meeting in such a prosperous state, considering the luke- 
warmness the society had met with until the last twelve months. 
In proof of this prosperity he drew attention to the following 
facts: — They would see by the audited account-sheet that the 
income from fees was doubled, and that the sum of the invested 
funds, though small, was increasing. They had purchased, 
and had now on order many of the latest works, both English, 
American, and foreign, on subjects pertaining to pharmacy. 
They had had several valuable gifts of books from kind well- 
wishers, and had now ordered from America a large quantity 
of specimen bottles, with which to commence the formation 
of a Pharmaceutical Museum. He thought they would allow 
these were all marks of progress in their young society. And 
the time had now arrived to make another progressive step, 
as their confreres in other parts of the world had done. By 
the kind assistance of the Government they were taking 
measures for the introduction of a new Pharmacy Bill, which 
would no doubt raise their status, and benefit their fellow- 
colonists by educating a more scientific body of dispensing 
chemists ; and already they have evidence of a better class of 
youths seeking admission into the society. As there seemed 
in the minds of some of their brethren a doubt as to what 
effect on their business Dr. Bowker’s Bill would have, they 
thought proper to petition against it, and for the present that 
Bill seemed to have dropped out, though he should hope before 
long the Government would be induced to introduce one, 
when he trusted no undue interference would be made with 
their privileges. He would advise all those who had 
not yet joined the society to do so at once, as it must be 
evident to every intelligent pharmacist that each year would 
necessitate their examinations being of a more stringent 
character, and he felt sure that all those who really felt an 
interest in pharmacy would have no difficulty in going through 
the curriculum laid down, and to which they were determined to 
adhere. He could not conclude without taking the opportunity 
of thanking the older society of Victoria for the interest they 
took in the society by regularly sending to them their exami- 
nation papers and periodicals, and he hoped this kindly 
sympathetic feeling would always exist. 
The meeting then closed. 
flotcs aitii Abstracts. 
Wickersheimer’s preservative fluid for animal and vegetable 
tissues is composed as follows : — 
Alum 100 parts 
Common salt 
Saltpetre 
Potash ... 
Arsenious acid 
Dissolve in 3000 parts of boiling water. After cooling and 
filtering, add to every 10 pints of this solution 4 pints of 
glycerine and 1 pint of methyl alcohol. 
According to the American Journal of Microscopy , silver- 
wire, in which the most delicate test could detect no difference 
of diameter, has been run through plates of rubies to the 
length of 170 miles. 
The new Boyal Irish University does not promise to become 
of great importance in science. The senate consists of ecclesi- 
astics, politicians, and lawyers— classes of men seldom favour- 
able to the investigation of nature. 
25 
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60 
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