704 
COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO MR. SANDFORD. 
No doubt they would have been attached to a very honourable profession, but 
they would in that case have been only like a minnow among the whales, and 
he thought they were much better by themselves. Almost on the day, there¬ 
fore, on which he read the proposal of the Medical Council, he drafted his first 
Bill for the extension of the “ Pharmacy Act” of 1852; that Bill he introduced 
to the Council, who approved of its principle, and it was now, in all its essen¬ 
tial features, the law of the land. Certain alterations and additions had to be 
made,—for instance, the poison clauses; and though some members were under 
a little apprehension with regard to some of these provisions, he believed it , 
would be found that there was no real difficulty in working them out. He 
should not have done all this had he not been well supported by the members 
of the Council, who, seeing he wanted help, assisted him most earnestly and 
manfully all the way through. And not only so, but he. had received valuable 
help frem many who were not members of the Society. Mr. Barron had spoken 
of union, and it was probably for want of that that they lost their Bill in 1865 ; 
now he believed they had carried a Bill which would satisfy all parties. It 
was a m ^asure which would lead to a great advance in pharmacy; if any 
one visited the house in Bloomsbury Square, they would now find the library, 
lecture rooms, and laboratory full, and the Board of Examiners were almost 
worked to death. As no man could in future commence business without 
passing an examination, there could be no doubt that the status of pharmacists 
would be improved. It was every man’s duty, and it should always be his 
pleasure, to do all in his power to advance the order to which he belonged. He 
felt that he had succeeded in so doing, but it was only because he had been fa¬ 
voured with such efficient helpers. He trusted that the unanimity which now r 
existed would continue ; they were gathered under the roof of the Freemasons’ 
Hall, and though not a mason himself, he believed there was uo body of men 
more thoroughly united together, and hoped that some of their spirit would be 
communicated to this Society. There was need for caution and moderation 
in their proceedings, in order on the one hand that no one should be able to 
complain of illiberality, and on the other hand that the public should have no 
grouud for complaining that the Pharmaceutical Society did not do their work 
well and honestly. lie concluded by thanking his friends most heartily for 
their kindness, and sat down amid renewed applause. 
Mr. H. Sugden Evans proposed “ The Medical Profession,” which com¬ 
prised a body of gentlemen with whom, both as citizens and in business, they 
were on the most friendly relations. A harder-worked class of men, or one 
more ready to make sacrifices for their fellow-creatures, was not to be found 
anywhere, and their bravery at the call of duty at least equalled that shown 
in either the army or navy. Such were the men whose health he proposed, 
and he would couple with the toast the name of Dr. Alexander Silver. He 
had come amongst them to do honour to their President, who had been the 
means of bringing into existence the Pharmacy Act, which, he believed, would 
tend to draw the line more distinctly between the medical and pharmaceu¬ 
tical professions, and be the means of preventing those jealousies which some¬ 
times existed. The medical profession, he was sure, now feel that pharmacists 
were men fully capable of carrying out honestly and efficiently their instruc¬ 
tions, and would therefore feel confidence in placing their dispensing in the 
hands of the chemists, and no longer do it themselves ; and, on the other hand, 
the pharmacist, feeling that this confidence was reposed in him, would no 
longer have any inducement for prescribing across the counter. He hoped, 
therefore, that the event which they were that evening commemorating would 
cement more strongly than ever the bond of union between the medical pro¬ 
fession and pharmacists ; and, in the firm belief that such would be the case, 
he begged to x>ropose “ The Medical Profession.” 
