131 
VoL. ii., No. 5. THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST OF AUSTRALASIA. 
would demand the invariable use of such phrases as “ verbs 
of regular conjugation,” and ‘‘verbs of irregular conjugation.” 
In very truth, the term, “ conjugation,” in this connection, is 
erroneous, if the complete inflexion of a verb is called “ con- 
jugation,” since such verbs as hetvare, (juoth, hight, must, and 
others, can hardly be said to have any conjugation, and yet 
they belong, I suppose, either to the “strong” or “weak” 
class of verbs. But we have had enough of this. 
Your critic goes on to say, concerning my paper : — 
“Examiners should look to their own English, especially 
when they quarrel with that of a poor drowning man, as they 
do in question V. — “ Explain the strict sense of the drowning 
man’s words, ‘ I will be drowned, and nobody shall save me.’ 
If any error correct it.’ ” There is no “ quarrel ” whatever; it 
is stupidness to suggest it. The persistent and too general 
incorrect use of “ shall ” and “ will” is greatly to be deplored, 
and the fifth question was set to test the views of the candi- 
dates upon a grammatical subject. The man’s language was 
just the reverse of what a “ poor drowning man ” should use. 
and was such as if complied with would hinder any one from 
rescuing him. “No one shall save me” of course signifies 
“ I forbid any attempt being made.” The account I have to 
give of this quotation is that a highly intelligent woman, some 
i forty or fifty years ago, was accustomed to remind her 
I children of the saying in question V when correcting their 
I slipshod language, and in the arrangement of a kind Provi- 
i dence it happened that I was one of those children, but I 
I doubt there was no such sentence ever really uttered. The 
i case of “ the poor drowning man” was hypothetical, and the 
grammatical absurdity was regarded by us children as a 
pleasantry. While, however, the question is technically 
proper, I do crave forgiveness for such a display of hardness of 
heart and callous indifference to human affliction as appears 
in my presenting such a sentence in an examination paper. 
I No doubt I owe an apology to the candidates for harrowing 
I their feelings, and I thank your critic for his latent suggestion 
i that I should cultivate tender consideration for others. I 
j have used the*words quoted many times for the purpose of 
' producing a correct understanding and use of the auxiliaries 
1 “ shall” and “ will,” but nowthat your distinguished scientific 
I correspondent of the Melbourne University has pointed out 
! the cruel hardness of such a quotation I must, I suppose, 
I avoid all reference to such a painful subject in future, and 
i frame a brand new sentence. 
I trust you will excuse my occupying so much of your 
I valuable space, but I beg room just for one tiny Liliputian 
1 Parthian shot. Your correspondent is, I conclude, a young 
I man. He has doubtless acquitted himself creditably in the 
' schools in all the subjects he has studied, but he did very 
1 little English, or in English literature, and he has not had 
I time or perhaps opportunity for reflection, so that his 
I knowledge may gain coherence. Thus, he is quite right, I 
I think, in his strictures upon the Victorian preliminary Latin 
I examination, as any fifth or sixth form boy might perceive, 
I but his remark above in the same column respecting the 
I necessity of Latin for pharmacists is quite in error. Were all 
! English medical practitioners to write then: prescriptions in 
1 English there would still be valid reasons for dispensers of 
, medicine learning some Latin, at least how to read easy Latin 
; prose. Cannot your “accomplished” correspondent by a 
! little reflection discover a practical reason for it ? — I am, sir, 
your obedient servant, 
WILLIAM HOPKINS, 
Adelaide, S.A., 23rd April, 1887. The Examiner. 
[We willingly give place to Mr. Hopkins’ remarks, but we 
must really say that he entirely misses the point of our con- 
tributor’s criticism. No fault is found witn the terms strong 
verbs and weak verbs, but with the form of the question. 
“What is meant by strong and weak verbs?” is what the 
question says; “What is meant by the terms strong and 
weak verbs?” is apparently what was intended. To the 
question as it stands the reply is properly everything that 
English verbs can mean ; to the question as it ought to stand, 
and as in effect it did stand in the second examination, the 
answer is a proper grammatical definition. Whether the 
question was first set by the College of Preceptors or not does 
not affect the fact that it is not good English. As regards the 
use of Latin to doctors and pharmacists we dare not open our 
columns to the war between classics and science, with which 
Mr. Hopkins is doubtless familiar. Mr. Hopkins has no 
authority for saying that our contributor is connected with the 
Melbourne University. — Editob.] 
COURT OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS OF TASMANIA. 
President— T. C. SMART, F.R.C.S., Ed. 
Members— Drs, E. L. CROWTHER, J. COVERDALE, J. W. 
AGNEW. R. S. BRIGHT, W. G. MADDOX, H. A. 
PERKINS. 
Secretary— J. LEVER, L.R.C.S., Ed. 
~|\ /TEETINGS are held at the General Hospital, Hobart, as occasion 
may require, there being no fixed dates. 
~VTACANCIES in the Court are filled by election by the remaining 
’ members, subject to the approval of the Governor-in-Council. 
MEETINGS three are required to form a quorum, 
rp HE fee for Dispenser’s License by examination is £2 2s., and for 
Registration of Chemists qualified elsewhere, as also for Legally 
qualified Medical Practitioners is 5s. 
rp HE Court has also power under certain conditions to grant Letters- 
Testimonial, qualifying to practice medicine. 
LAUNCESTON PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION. 
President— LANDON FAIRTHORNE, J.P. 
Hon. Secretary and Treasurer— J. D. JOHNSTON. 
rjIHE ASSOCIATION is open to all registered Chemists of Tasmania.. 
^NNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, 10s. 6d. 
^ABJECTS OP ASSOCIATION. — The purpose of .protecting the 
Trade, and furthering the interests of Chemists generally. 
p) RIVILEGES. — Each member is supplied with : 
-L « Tiie Chemist and Druggist ” (London), weekly. 
“The Chemist and Druggist of Australasia,” monthly, 
“The Chemists’ and Druggists’ Diary,” annually. 
TASMANIA. 
HOBART CHEMISTS’ ASSOCIATION. 
A meeting of the Hobart Association was held at the Ship 
Hotel on Friday last, the 22nd ult. Present : Messrs. H., 
Hinsley (chairman), A. P. Miller, J. W. Tiplis, Drake, 
Lithgow, and Ash, hon. sec. The business of the meeting: 
consisted merely in discussing one or two alterations in the 
price list, and instructing the hon. sec., Mr. Ash, to obtain a 
quotation from some local printers for a series of antidote 
labels, something after this style : — 
POISON. 
Antidote (in case of mistake). 
