THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS OP THE MEDICAL ACT. 
857 
Bishop and J. Nock, Cradley; Messrs. Allsopp, Buck, and Tonge, Oldbury; Mr. Thompson, 
Sedgley. The meeting was presided over by Mr. Hollier, pharmaceutical chemist, Dudley. 
Communications were received from Mr. Buck, Dudley ; Messrs. Steward and Booker, 
Brierley Hill; Messrs. Bache and Wilshaw, Pensnett; and Mr. Wilshaw, Wordsley; ex¬ 
pressing regret at their inability to attend, and promising support, by subscription or 
otherwise, to any movement having for its object the furtherance and protection of the 
interests of the trade. 
The Chairman explained the object of the meeting, and stated that they were called 
together to consider certain clauses which were proposed to be inserted by the Medical 
Council in an amended Act, which it intended to apply for during the ensuing session of 
Parliament. As many present hardly knew anything about the Act itself, much less the 
obnoxious clauses proposed to be introduced, he would read over those clauses which ap¬ 
peared to him to have reference to chemists as they stand in the present bill, and as in¬ 
tended to be altered. The first was the 20th clause, where, in addition to the powers 
already delegated to them respecting medicine and surgery, the Council assume to them¬ 
selves also that to regulate the examinations as to pharmacy. In clause 31 the Council 
again introduce pharmacy, giving only to those persons qualified under their Act power 
to sue in any court of law for medicines so supplied, or prepared for patients or other¬ 
wise. In clause 55, as it at present stauds, reservation is made of all the existing rights 
of chemists and druggists, “ providing that nothing in that Act shall be construed so as 
to affect or in any way to prejudice the lawful occupation of chemists and druggists.” 
This is proposed to be abrogated, and the words “chemists and druggists” to be omitted 
from the clause altogether. Clause 55 is altogether new, and to which he would request 
their particular attention, for, although he could not but remark that it conferred addi¬ 
tional privileges upon the pharmaceutical chemist, it would operate prejudicially to those 
not members of the Pharmaceutical Society. It went on to say—“that it shall not be 
lawful for any person to keep open a shop for compounding physicians’ and surgeons’ 
prescriptions, unless he be a licentiate of the Apothecaries’ Hall of England or Ireland, 
or shall have received a certificate of competency to compound medicine from either of 
the above bodies, or from the Pharmaceutical Society, or from some other body duly 
authorized in England, Ireland, or Scotland, by the General Medical Council to institute 
the necessary examination, and grant such certificate, and at such rate of fee as the Medi¬ 
cal Council may sanction ; and any person disobeying this provision will be liable to a 
penalty not exceeding £20 for each offence.” It then goes on to appoint an inspector 
for each kingdom, who shall have power to inspect as often as they think proper all shops 
where medicines are compounded, and to pay these inspectors salaries such as they think 
fit, out of the Consolidated Fund.” As he remarked before, the Chairman could not but 
think this a step in the right direction ; but yet the great body of chemists did not want 
any Medical Council to regulate their proceedings. They were quite competent to appoint 
their own examiners, and to order the manner of their own examination ; and to effect 
this in a proper manner he conceived the time was come when the Pharmaceutical 
Council must apply to Parliament for an extension of the Pharmacy Act, admitting all 
real bona-fide chemists, under certain regulations, and upon payment of a certain fee, to 
the privileges of the Society. With all deference to the United Society, he thought the 
present organization of the Pharmaceutical Society, the acknowledged standing it already 
possessed, the confidence extended to its operations by medical and scientific men, would 
enable it better to effect this than any other body. It was impossible that a compulsory 
Act like the one proposed could have a retrospective effect; it must have due regard to 
existing interests, as well as to the future regulations of their body. It could hardly be 
expected that many of those now carrying on business with credit to themselves and 
safety and security to the public, would be sufficiently up in the technicalities of some 
of the branches of science requisite to pass a satisfactory examination, and neither ought 
this to be expected from them. Take the chemists and druggists generally as a body, 
and he claimed for them as great an amount of intelligence, as great a love of science, 
as great a desire to keep pace in general requirements as any other class of the com¬ 
munity, and that he thought they were quite able to take care of themselves. The last 
and 57th clause of the proposed Bill was one of those preposterous attempts at legisla¬ 
tion, the gross injustice and absurdity of which, it was supposed, would ensure its imme¬ 
diate rejection, were it not that at times clauses equally unjust did creep into Acts of 
Parliament unnoticed until their effects were in full operation. It went on to say— 
