694 
TWENTY-EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY 
society ; for instance, sanitary matters came almost exclusively within their 
domain, and if they were studied and experimented upon, great benefit would 
arise to every town in the kingdom. At present the whole system of water 
supply and drainage was in a very backward state, and it was in reference to 
such matters that chemists should seek to make their knowledge useful to man¬ 
kind. Allusion had been made to the Bill with reference to the adulteration 
of food and drink, and he recommended it to the careful consideration of the 
Council, especially as he believed that very mistaken notions were entertained 
on the subject. In the City of London, Dr. Letheby had been appointed 
medical officer under the provisions of the former Act, and it was decided that 
he should make an analysis of any article submitted to him without any charge 
whatever to the applicant. The result was that they had not had a single case, 
and therefore he hoped no encouragement would be given to the idea that the 
food and drink of the country was adulterated to any great extent. In the 
case of drugs his experience was that the quality was far superior to what it 
was some five-and-twenty years ago. He believed that competition in trade 
was the best protection to the public ; it was to every man’s interest to sell the 
best articles, and in the end he had no doubt of its paying best. He had been 
much struck by the great increase in the number of young men presenting 
themselves for examination, and therefore he would again urge upon the Coun¬ 
cil, in their altered circumstances, to spare no expense which was necessary to 
place the most complete educational appliances within the reach of all rising 
chemists and druggists. In conclusion, he would say that there never had been 
so much cause to congratulate the Society on its position as on the present oc¬ 
casion, and it was therefore with the greatest possible pleasure that he seconded 
the motion for the adoption of the Report. 
Mr. Richardson (Leicester), in supporting the motion, desired to express 
his concurrence with the views of the last speaker on the subject of adultera¬ 
tion, and considered that the Bill now before Parliament cast a slur in some 
degree on chemists and druggists. Under the altered circumstances of the So¬ 
ciety, he heartily responded to the expression of the Chairman, that further 
efforts should be made in behalf of the Benevolent Fund, and suggested that 
local secretaries should be appointed in different towns and districts to collect 
subscriptions. He cordially thanked the President and Council for their efforts 
in relation to the Pharmacy Bill, which he looked upon as a stepping-stone to 
the improvement of the whole trade, and he was glad to find that the expenses 
attendant upon passing the Bill through Parliament had not been so heavy as 
was anticipated. 
Mr. Andrew's also alluded to the necessity for increasing the Benevolent 
Fund; many well-known names were conspicuous by their absence from the 
subscription list, which he could only account for on the ground that they had 
not been asked. He suggested, therefore, that collecting-cards or books should 
be issued to a certain number of gentlemen, who would undertake to go round 
and collect names of subscribers. Education was the great topic year after 
year, but there was one deficiency, they did not get hold of the rising genera¬ 
tion early enough to prepare them for their future studies. He ventured to 
suggest the desirability of founding schools for the children of chemists and 
druggists, in the same way as had been done by other sections of the community, 
—not charity schools, but such as the richest need not object to send their chil¬ 
dren to, and yet within the means of the poorest. 
Mr. Collins wished to say a word with reference to the Modified Exami¬ 
nations. He had heard complaints—he could not say whether well-founded or 
not—that many persons who presented themselves for these examinations, had 
been rejected in consequence of not being able to grammatically translate Latin 
prescriptions, and give the terminations correctly. If such were the case, he 
