PRESENTATION TO MR. SANDFORD. 
701 
been conferred upon him in selecting him for the position which he then occupied. 
Then, turning to Mr. Sandford, he said :—Mr. President, I have been requested 
by the subscribers to this testimonial fund, which I think amounts to something 
over £500, to beg your acceptance of this service of plate. There is to be a 
portrait, which I am sure, from the gentlemen who have been selected to make 
choice of an artist worthy of the work, will be a painting that will represent 
you very favourably. I now beg your acceptance of this plate, as a feeble recog¬ 
nition of the very great services you have rendered to the members of the Phar¬ 
maceutical Society and the whole trade. I am sure that all present fully recog¬ 
nize with me that through your energy and untiring perseverance you have been 
the instrument in securing the passing of the Pharmacy Act of 1868. We know 
that your heart has been thoroughly in the work, and that your very bright in¬ 
tellect has been exercised on behalf of all the members of the trade, who will 
hereafter reap the benefit. I pray that your life may long be spared to enjoy 
the use of this plate, to see your friends around you, and to tell them how highly 
you have been respected and esteemed by the members of the Society of which 
you are the highly.distinguished President, and by every chemist and druggist 
throughout the country. I am sure that all members of the wholesale and re¬ 
tail trade, whether absent or present, reflect the sentiments which I feel, and 
which 1 have endeavoured feebly to express. May the Almighty bless you here, 
and reward you in a brighter and better world hereafter. 
Mr. Sandford then rose, amidst immense cheering, which for a long time 
prevented his being heard. When silence was restored, he spoke as follows :— 
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : when you spoke of the honour of presenting this 
plate to me, I certainly thought the honour was all the other way, for I feel 
it a great honour to receive,such a gift at your hands. I must confess that I 
was greatly surprised, and almost overpowered, by the magnificence of this dis¬ 
play. When I first received an intimation from Dr. Attfield that a resolution 
had been passed at Norwich by the Pharmaceutical Conference, declaring that 
some public recognition should be made of my poor services, I never for one 
moment expected that it would assume such a form as this. It is indeed magni¬ 
ficent ; I admire it in itself, for “ a thing of beauty is a joy for ever,’’ yet it is 
not for its beauty that I principally value it. I value it as an expression of your 
feeling, as a confirmation of my own opinion, that the Act which I have en¬ 
deavoured with the assistance of others to obtain will be for the benefit of our 
body generally. There are certain ideas associated with it which will always be 
present to my mind. It will not be necessary for me to tell my friends that I am 
respected ; that plate will speak for itself. It is inscribed on every piece of that 
plate, just as legibly as if by a graver, that I have your approval of the course 
which I have adopted, and your confirmation of the opinion that the Pharmacy 
Act will work well for the general benefit. But, Sir, I claim no separate merit 
for this work. In the last article which was published in the Journal in Jacob 
Bell’s lifetime, I find this:— u All that remains to he accomplished, is the more 
direct recognition of the Society by Act of Parliament , by such an extension of its 
powers , tinder proper control , as may enable it. to bring to an early and successful 
completion the work which has already made satisfactory progress , by which means 
pharmacy will be fully established in its proper position, in the hands of persons 
duly qualified and entitled to the confidence of the public.' 1 '' That, gentlemen, was, 
I believe, the last article written by Jacob Bell, and that has been my text. I 
have stuck to it, even when some of my friends have thought me obstinate. 
I determined, if possible, to carry it. You may remember that the Medical 
Council put forth a proposition that dispensing chemists should be under 
the control of that body. I took it as a compliment that the Pharma¬ 
ceutical Society was recognized in this proposition, but the great fact was 
that it was put forth by such an authority, that it was necessary for the good 
