518 
SALE OF STEEDMAN’S SOOTHING POWDERS. 
applied to by the working classes for the spare fittings of sixpenny feeding- 
bottles, under the pretence that they have already purchased a bottle but have 
lost the fittings. Having obtained the fittings (for which they pay 2\cl., they 
then attach them to an empty ginger-beer, lemonade, or wine bottle, and thus 
have a complete feeding bottle for twopence-halfpenny. 
Couple this with the fact that india-rubber teats are now commonly retailed 
in the north of England at three-halfpence each, and are we not forced to exclaim, 
Tempora mutantur , et nos mutamur in illis ? 
I think that the majority of your readers will admit that it is a great pity 
that sixpenny feeding-bottles were ever introduced to the trade,—and they were 
only introduced as a mode of rivalry between the wholesale sundry houses; they 
have always been a source of loss, rather than profit, both to the manufacturer 
and the retailer, besides the fact that the sale of such twopenny-halfpenny arti¬ 
cles is calculated to lower the dignity of the trade. 
Yours, etc., 
Scarborough, March 20th, 1866. J. J. H. 
THE SALE OF STEEDMAN’S SOOTHING POWDERS SINGLY. 
TO THE EDITOR OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL. 
116, Sails Pond Road , March 7, 1866. 
Sir,—Wishing to know whether chemists could legally sell Steedman’s Sooth- 
ing Powders singly, and failing to get a satisfactory reply to the question from 
the proprietors, I wrote to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue for their 
opinion. Their reply I enclose for the information of the trade. 
I am, Sir, yours, etc., 
Wm. Young. 
“ Inland Revenue, Somerset Mouse , London , 
“ Oth March, 1866. 
“ Sir,—The Commissioners of Inland Revenue have had before them your 
letter of the 26th January last, requesting to be informed whether it is legal 
to open a stamped packet of ‘ Steedman’s Soothing Powders,’ and retail the 
powders separately. 
“ In reply,.I am directed to acquaint you that in strictness a penalty is in¬ 
curred by selling any of the powders in question, under the circumstances men¬ 
tioned, without a proper stamp. 
“ I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
“T. Sargent.” 
THE BENEVOLENT FUND. 
TO THE SECRETARY OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. 
_ Lear Sir,—I have been requested, as President of the Bath Chemists’ Asso¬ 
ciation, to forward you two guineas, as a donation from the Society in aid of 
the fund for defending the actions Mr. Betts is bringing against retail chemists. 
I have also much pleasure in forwarding you a cheque for £12. 3s. Od. for 
the Benevolent Fund of the Pharmaceutical Society. I would say that, when 
a few months since my friends here selected me as their President, I considered 
that one of the duties devolving on the appointment was to bring the claims of 
the afflicted and needy in our special calling prominently before them. Believing 
at the same time that uncharitableness is the unenviable possession of the few, 
