214 
THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST OF AUSTRALASIA. 
Oct. 1, 1895 
NEW SOUTH WALES. 
to vote at any of the general meetings.” Clause 12, section 
1, of the bye-laws, says: — “Associates and apprentices of 
the Society (who have paid 10s. Od. annually) shall enjoy all 
the privileges of the Society, excepting the right to hold 
office and vote at general meetings. ” It is thus plain that 
assistants have no power to vote at general meetings, and 
the annual meeting is clearly a general meeting. Clause 2, 
section 4, runs: — “All general meetings of the members of 
the Society, except the annual general meeting, shall be 
called special meetings.” 
Agre for Final Examination.— When the bye-laws of 
the Pharmaceutical Society were drawn up clause 11 of 
section 12 was devoted to the examinations, and provided 
that no person should be admitted to the final or qualifying 
examination who had not reached the age of 21 years, and 
who could not satisfy the examiners that for three years he 
had been registered as an associate or apprentice, Ac. Mr. 
Marshall has discovered that the restriction placed on 
assistants preventing them going up for the final until they 
are 21 years of age acts very harshly on them. Many 
assistants consider themselves competent to pass the 
examination before reaching 21, and with a view of altering 
the bye-law to permit them to be examined before that age, 
he gave notice of motion at the August Council meeting to 
strike out the words “ who shall not have attained the full 
age of 21 years,” adding to the end of the clause “ but no 
successful candidate shall be entitled to the Society’s dip- 
loma or the poisons’ certificate until he shall have attained 
the age of 21 years.” The motion met with general ap- 
proval, and will no doubt be carried unanimously. The 
argument is that if an assistant can pass at, say, 18 years, 
he should not be put to expense and constant cramming for 
three years more. The assistants are highly pleased with 
the prospect of the alteration. By some error the motion 
was not brought forward at the September meeting of the 
Council, the Secretary probably being under the impression 
that it was a Board matter. It has nothing whatever to do 
with the Board. 
The Proposed Dental Bill. — The announcement at the 
recent annual meeting of the Dental Association of New 
South Wales, that there were good hopes that the Dental 
Bill might become law this session, makes it desirable to 
call attention to those of the clauses which relate to phar- 
macists. The bill is drawn on the same lines as the Medical 
Bill, which has now passed through the Upper House, 
and is waiting the approval of the Assembly. It provides 
for the registration of dentists, and makes it illegal for any 
unregistered person to take the name or title of dentist, or 
any other name, initials, or description which would imply 
that he was registered under the Act. It provides also that 
anyone who practises dentistry, or publishes an advertise- 
ment or notification that he practises dentistry, must state 
his Christian name and surname in full in the advertise- 
ment, and also maintain the names upon any house referred 
to therein, and if he is not legally qualified within the mean- 
ing of the Act, he shall have affixed to his surname the 
words, “ not registered,” under the penalty of £20, and £5 
a day from the time when the offence was first committed. 
Among those entitled to registration will be any person who 
has, for a period of six months, before the passing of the 
Act, been bond fide engaged in New South Wales in the 
practice of dentistry, either separately or in conjunction 
with the practice of medicine, surgery, or pharmacy, and 
also any person who has attained the age of 20 years, and 
for a period of two years has been a pupil or apprentice of 
a registered dentist (probably this means anyone entitled to 
be registered as a dentist, but this should be made clear), 
and shall have been such pupil or apprentice for a period of 
six months before the passing of the Act. These two 
clauses will recommend the Bill to pharmacists, and there 
seems every reason why the Pharmaceutical Society of New 
South Wales should give all possible assistance in securing 
its passage into law. 
Poisoning Cases. -Several cases were reported during 
the month. Bose Cameron, two years of age, swallowed 
some iodine liniment, and was treated at the Sydney 
Hospital. Mr. M. S. Browne, railway stationmaster at 
Ashfield, took an overdose of strychnia medicine, and was 
found in his office early one morning in a state of collapse. 
He was treated at the Western Suburbs Cottage Hospital, 
and recovered in 12 hours, A child named Connors, at 
Milparinka, while playing about the yard at her parents’ 
residence, found some pink-coloured strychnine, and swal- 
lowed it. Kemedies failed to save the life. The mother 
knew nothing of the presence of the poison on the premises. 
Mary Stewart, a young married woman, lost her life 
at Strathfield through drinking carbolic acid. There 
was no evidence forthcoming to say whether it was 
accidental or not. A girl named M'Court, 15 years, of 
Muswellbrook, is reported to have drank a quantity of 
ammonia in an attempt to commit suicide because she got a 
scolding from her mother. AtBalranald, six of the Canally 
station hands, including the manager (Mr. A. Lawrence), 
the bookkeeper (Mr. Armstrong), and the overseer (Mr. 
Baiikin) were poisoned with arsenic in potatoes, and nearly 
lost their lives. Two men have been arrested on suspicion 
of putting arsenic in the station food supplies. A thief 
broke the plate-glass window of a wine shop in Market- 
street, Sydney, and betook himself to the Hyde Park to try 
the wine he had stolen. The police, seeing him with the 
bottles, arrested him before he had consumed any. It 
transpired afterwards that they were only show bottles 
filled with dangerous fluids. He was better pleased with 
fourteen days’ gaol than the chance of losing his life. 
A Mrs. Crawford was successfully treated at the Sydney 
Hospital on September 3 after swallowing 2 ozs. of iodine 
(tincture ?). At North Sydney, on September 4, Emma 
Bardsley died under circumstances demanding investiga- 
tion, and analysis of the stomach revealed traces of 
meconic acid, as well as of camphor and chloroform, but 
whether these poisons had been wilfully taken or not could 
not be determined. John S. Grange died at the Sydney 
Hospital on September 18 after an overdose of “ Death on 
Rats,” self-administered. 
Subscription Arrears.~The return of arrears of mem- 
bers’ subscriptions to the Pharmaceutical Society, asked 
for by Mr. Marshall at the August meeting of the Council, 
was supplied to the September meeting. The list showed 
that over 550 members were in arrears to the tune of 
£3534 7s. The members of the Council knew that a solid 
amount was owing, but they never had the slightest con- 
ception that it ran into thousands. The list showed that a 
large number had only paid the first subscription, which 
entitled them to the Society’s diploma, and, having secured 
this, they did not chase the Secretary with any further 
guineas. The members of the present Council see that it is 
hopeless to expect any of these arrears to be made good, 
because there is nothing to give chemists in return. There are 
no benefits of any description. The Society for many years 
has not had a room of its own where country members 
visiting Sydney might drop in to use the library or read the 
various pharmaceutical periodicals published in the great 
centres of the world. Nothing whatever has been done in 
nineteen years to advance the objects of the Association, 
and is it any wonder that members have lost all interest in 
its affairs ? The metropolitan chemists and druggists can 
furnish the reasons for the stagnant position bf the Society 
and the loss of interest taken in the welfare of the organisa- 
tion during recent years, but they prefer at present to say 
nothing about it. There is only one instance on record of 
any member having moved in the direction of urging a build- 
ing fund, and, meeting with no support, he dropped the idea 
for good. Assistants and apprentices were attached to the 
Society in the early days by an annual subscription of half- 
a-guinea, but such a thing has never been heard of for many 
many years. It is obvious now to the Council— if it never 
was before — that members’ subscriptions must be hunted 
up, and the value of them shown in some practical form. 
The fact of meeting once a month in a Government office, 
and dealing with matters that have no general interest for 
members, is no inducement for them to pay up. It is not 
too late to make a move in the direction of a building fund, 
and it is about the only step that will encourage old members 
to rejoin and induce assistants and apprentices to take an 
interest in the Society’s future. If something tangible is 
not attempted the membership will go on decreasing until 
the Society will cease to exist. Doubtless many members 
will say— “Let us get a Pharmacy Act first,” but that is just 
the mistake. If Parliament saw the pharmacists doing 
something for themselves, tliey would be impressed with the 
necessity of helping them, and there would be some good 
