361 
LIVERPOOL CHEMISTS’ ASSOCIATION. 
placed, and to enable him to feel the master and not the slave of his profession, and 
above all to assist in its advancement. He pointed to the rapid progress of science, etc., 
in the outer world, and urged that in the world of pharmacy our motto should be 
“ onward.” He did not wish to banish £ s. d. question, but felt assured that the man 
who honestly and earnestly attempted to advance his calling would not lose his reward. 
He thought the pharmaceutist should perform his daily duties, not merely as so much 
drudgery that must be done, but also for the pleasure they afford in the doing ; that he 
should feel a pride in his products and always bear about him the resolve that neither 
trouble nor expense should be spared to render them as perfect as they could be of their 
kind. After quoting cases as illustrations of these points he went on to the next rela¬ 
tionship, that of one pharmaceutist to another, pointing out the means and the fruits 
of merging the few points in which they differ into the many in which they could unite 
—he spoke of what the Pharmaceutical Society has done in breaking down these walls 
of partition, in opening the hearts of pharmaceutical brethren, and in pointing to their 
common interest in a common cause. 
He said—Honest competition is honourable in all, and I for one would not lift a finger 
to suppress it. By honest competition I do Dot mean that disreputable system of under¬ 
selling, but just this : an individual who is always anxious that his preparations should 
be elegant and efficacious, finds some preparation in general use which, when prepared 
or preserved in the usual way, is of a very unsatisfactory character ; he plies the best of 
his ability, spends time in making experiments, and ultimately succeeds in fiuding means 
which, whilst retaining the original strength, makes or preserves it in a more elegant 
form than his neighbour, who does not trouble himself about anything of the kind, but 
just allows things to take their usual course, and if by such means he is enabled to im¬ 
prove his business, who can question the integrity of such a procedure? Some might 
think this selfish, perhaps, but T can see nothing selfish in a man reaping the reward of 
his labour. If he chooses to make it the subject of communication to a society such as 
this, it is liberal and he doubtless is compensated in another way. 
He then pointed out some of the advantages accruing to those who did not make 
their occupation subservient only to the production of wealth, but who did something , 
however small, for the day and generation in which they lived, and added, before leaving 
the fraternal relationship:—I would just mention one method of competition which 
meets my disapproval, viz. long hours of business. This is, perhaps, a difficult subject 
to treat on, one which has frequently been discussed, and yet with very little permanent 
good resulting therefrom. Nearly every one admits that long hours of business are a 
decided evil, and yet how very, very few put the shoulder to the wheel to remedy it! 
The mechanic’s hours were from six to six, during which he had a fair proportion of time 
allowed for taking his meals undisturbed , he felt this too long to give him proper time 
for relaxation and the improvement of his mind ; he makes resistance, elicits public 
sympathy, and now, on five days out of the week he works eleven hours, and on the 
sixth but six hours ; at the close of each day’s labour his time is his own. Gentlemen, 
we occupy a sphere above that of the mechanic, one in which, in season or out of season, 
we are called on to exercise the best of our ability, that involves responsibilities of 
the gravest character, and in which dexterity is often of considerable importance, and 
yet, we are such an unfortunate, penurious class of individuals that twelve hours of such 
labour per diem does not suffice to yield us the means of subsistence, or we are so de¬ 
sirous of gain that for the sale of a few trifling articles, the profits on which often 
amount to not more than a solitary shilling, we add one or two weary hours to wring 
out the very dregs of our mental and physical strength. These are the simple facts, 
disguise them how you will; I would that it were not so. We think ourselves philoso¬ 
phers ! We talk of the forces of gravitation, cohesion, electricity, and magnetism ; of 
the constitution of solids, liquids, and gases ; of the chemical composition of planets, 
stars, and nebulae ; and yet the mechanic proves himself the best practical philosopher - 
after all. He weighs life and health in the balance against the scanty gleanings from a 
few hours’ over-work, and concludes, that if a reasonable amount of labour is not suffi¬ 
cient to satisfy the demands of his calling, it were better to give it up and follow some 
other. In my own experience I never found early closing lose, or late closing gain, 
anything worth having in the long-run. I am also averse to any combination in the 
way of signing documents to close at certain hours; it invariably falls through. What 
of the fifteen gentlemen of Belgravia who were to set such an example and usher in a 
