OE TI1E PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY. 
601 
Young men must be instructed with a full knowledge of the benefits of this Society 
during their apprenticeship, and then they will not be satisfied to enter into business 
until they have taken advantage of them. The apron must not be cast aside for science, 
but there must be a happy blending of the two. A taste for the latter must be incul¬ 
cated by the master, and instruction imparted, so that, either during the term of appren¬ 
ticeship or afterwards, a young man will feel he must , at any sacrifice, enter the lecture- 
room and laboratory of this Society if he wishes to take a good standing, or even be 
thought thoroughly to understand his business. The Society was never in a more 
healthy condition, and as to the position of the Benevolent Fund, it made one’s heart 
beat high to know that this institution had created a fund by which they were enabled 
to hold out their hand to assist the widow, to wipe away the tears, and relieve the 
suffering of herself and children. They were doing a great and noble work in that 
respect, but above all things he begged of them to keep in view the £10,000, which he 
looked upon as a good foundation, and he had no doubt they would go on and prosper. 
The Society were much indebted to the Council and their predecessors for what they 
had done, and if each member of the Society would only well follow up the noble work 
that had been commenced, there would be nothing to fear, but great cause for rejoicing. 
Mr. Deane said that as Mr. Smith had mentioned his name he wished to make a few ob¬ 
servations upon the education of youth. He concurred in what Mr. Smith had said on 
that matter. He had always held that one of the greatest misfortunes with which they 
had to deal was that the greater number of their pupils was drafted from those who 
were not sufficiently educated : not that they wanted ability, but that their parents and 
guardians had omitted to give them a sufficient education to prepare them for the re¬ 
sponsible position of becoming dispensers of drugs. He would therefore urge on every 
one to reject apprentices who were not sufficiently well educated, by doing which, they 
would ensure the ability of the parents or guardians to meet the necessary expenses 
of the pupils in acquiring a proper knowledge of the profession. He thought the pre¬ 
sent arrangements gave to the London chemists every facility for the attendance of their 
pupils ; and he was happy to say the Council had adopted what he had for a long time 
urged, the affording every facility to students so that they might attend even for a few 
hours as best suited their convenience. There was now no reason why every appren¬ 
tice or an assistant, if he required it, should not attend the laboratory and the lectures. 
He would instance the case of his own son. He was able to leave Clapham and attend 
the laboratory and the lectures : and he was satisfied that so far from being a loser by the 
apparent loss of the two days a week, he was a gainer, because he had obtained a far 
greater amount of practical knowledge than he could have obtained behind the counter, 
even if he had been allowed to make private experiments with his (Mr. Deane’s) assist¬ 
ance. His son, from the knowledge he had obtained at the Institution, was enabled to 
analyse anything according to the process of the Pharmacopoeia as correctly as he could. 
He mentioned it not in praise of himself or his son, but to show what facilities for im¬ 
provement were offered by the Society. 
Mr. Pedler said although every one must feel highly gratified at the position of the 
Society, both with regard to the educational and benevolent departments, yet there was 
another side to the picture which was perhaps not quite so pleasant, and that was the 
abortive character of their late attempts at legislation. It appeared to him that they 
had taken the wrong course, for, instead of trying to obtain a bill, he thought it would 
have been better if they had remained on the defensive, and that, by so doing, they 
would have consulted the real benefits of the members. However undesirable it was to 
have two bodies, he thought the Society could not congratulate themselves on the sum¬ 
mary manner in which the Committee had treated this Society. He mentioned this to 
caution the Council as to the future, because it was undesirable to do anything which 
might tend to lower the high position which they at present held in this country. Their 
great justification to the people and Parliament was the improved position of the 
body. By continuing to improve it they would become the envy of the trade, and if 
there were those who would not come in in 1866, they would no doubt in 1876 ,or 1886, 
from experiencing the advantage resulting from professional education. He would 
urge them not to take the initiative with regard to extending their powers or the risking 
their position with reference to any other body, but, if the Government were prepared to 
bring in a Bill, let them give them their cordial assistance. He felt more strongly than 
ever, now that they had lost Jacob Bell, that they had a poor chance of obtaining a Bill 
YOL. VII. 2 R 
