OF THE FHAltMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. 
593 
subscriptions of 1866 far exceed those of the same portion of last or any pre¬ 
vious year. I would guard you, however, against any abatement in your libera,- 
lity by an over-confidence in our resources. When annuities were hist planned, 
it was on the understanding that none should be given until the accumulated 
fund had reached £10,000 ; including our investments since Christmas, it only- 
now reaches £7,000; and I am sure you will agree with me m thinking that 
the Council would not be justified in granting annuities beyond the amount ot 
the interest on Capital We are your Trustees for the proper distribution of 
this fund, and by the new system of administering it we become the Trustees also 
of the annuitants ; and in tlie event of a failure of the income, which by your 
votes you promise to them, they would justly call Mr. Tidd Pratt to their aid, 
and convict us at least of miscalculation. Our Benevolent fund is m fact an 
Insurance fund; an insurance indeed from.which we none of us hope to 
benefit, but which we should all view in a business way as if we did.^ 
Gentlemen, we meet on these occasions to consider and discuss tne general 
affairs of our Society, which the Secretary will bring before you presently m 
the Annual Report; that is the formal document presented by your Council at 
the close of its official existence; but it is usual for your President to offer some 
few remarks, less formal in their character, on passing events, anc wou 
avail myself of the opportunity to say a word or two on an old subject lately 
revived —I mean the early -closing movement. It is a subject on winch, as a 
Society, I think we can do nothing; we have always carefully avoided intro¬ 
ducing matters connected with the private arrangements of trade into our cor¬ 
porate proceedings ; they would assuredly be sources of discord, therefore I hope 
we shall continue to exclude them ; but as individuals it is quite competent foi 
us to consider this question. It is a question of great interest to many asso¬ 
ciates of our Society, and, indeed, I may say, to members also ; but seeing our¬ 
selves aside for the moment, I think, in the interests of our assistants, we are 
bound to weigh the matter fairly, not regarding it as a. source of antagonism 
between us, as some recent writers would, I fear, make it by their imprudent 
counsel, but with an honest desire to do that which is right between the em¬ 
ployer and the employed. We cannot shut our eyes to the fact, that during the 
last few years a growing desire to curtail the hours of business lias been mam es 
throughout the whole commercial community—bankers, merchants, and traders 
have met that desire in a liberal spirit, and even in our business many establish¬ 
ments which, when I was an assistant, kept their doors open until eleven o clock 
now close them two hours earlier, and, as I may say from experience, without 
detriment to their interests. I have great faith m example,—for the advance¬ 
ment of this question, much greater than I have in combination. M e see too 
often by reports from provincial towns, that agreements to close are made, and 
very soon departed from ; I believe in many cases the departure trom the agree¬ 
ment commences accidentally, or by necessity; a man s particular inability to 
close on a certain night cannot be understood by Ins neighbour, and so is taken 
as a wanton disregard of his promise, and becomes actually a source of ill-feelm . 
Therefore I say, let each man make his own arrangements, according to t e 
requirements of his particular locality, and do Ins best to maintain them, 
believe the public will acquiesce as readily in such arrangements by chemists as 
they will in those of other tradesmen. 
The Secretary (Mr. Eremridge) then read the following balance-sheet and 
report:— 
