270 
PHARMACEUTICAL MEETING. 
the passing of the late Act, that there seemed a pritna facie ground for the 
opinion, urged by several thoughtful members, that there was but little need 
for additional parliamentary powers, and that it only required time, and perse¬ 
verance in the course which had been followed since the commencement of the 
Society, to obtain a footing for scientific pharmacy, as satisfactory as any 
legislation could bring about. This position might have been easily defended 
from the narrow point of view which embraced only the interests of the ex¬ 
amined men, but nothing short of the compulsory examining powers now ob¬ 
tained could have raised the Society to its present position as a national in¬ 
stitution, and no smaller instalment could have satisfied its aspirations for 
the future. 
I am disposed, as an old member of the Hoard of Examiners, to dwell at 
some length on matters which have forced themselves on my notice in con¬ 
nection with this particular department. The most onerous duties of the 
Board during the past twelve months have consisted in the special examina¬ 
tions arranged for those who, as assistants before the date of the Act, had a 
fair claim for a certain amount of indulgence. Some reflections have been 
thrown, from time to time, on this “ Modified ” test, but it must be remem¬ 
bered that the class who alone could take advantage of it, had a distinct 
vested interest in the business, and consequently possessed rights which the 
Society was bound to respect. I need not before au assemblage of students 
preparing themselves for the higher examinations, dwell on the provisions 
of this particular ordeal, but I must express a general acquiescence in its 
justice, and insist upon the fairness of the standard of practical information 
upon which it is based. My present object is rather to dilate upon the deficien¬ 
cies which I have observed in the course of my duties in conducting the exami¬ 
nation of regular students, and to point out, if I can, the causes whereby they' 
originate, and the course by which they may be avoided. The defects we 
have most to deplore, especially in junior students, are attributable to insuffi¬ 
ciency of early education, and especially to the neglect of classical knowledge. 
It is a fact patent to all who have been brought in contact with apprentices 
or pupils, that youths with a desire for a gentler calling than that of the 
common tradesman, are placed in situations in which they are supposed to 
learn pharmacy with but scant allowance of that mental training which is 
regarded as essential to a gentleman; and whilst the new regulations of 
the Board of Examiners necessitate a larger and more liberal education 
in future, it is still worth while to inquire how those who have already r cast 
in their lot with us, may qualify themselves for the position which they ought 
ere long to be able to assume. To such as may feel themselves to be within 
this category, I would say, you are still young, and if you will give but a 
portion of each day to the study of English literature and of those ancient 
languages which are the delight of intellectual men, you may yet make for 
yourselves a sound basis for future learning. It is not the mere acquaintance 
with a Latin or a Greek author that is of importance, but the humanizing 
influence the study brings with it, and the widened mental capacity which is its 
invariable result. Your time so employed may not seem at the moment to 
yield a return adequate to the labour involved, but, believe me, the recompense 
is certain and manifold, and will endure for your whole after life. No bread 
cast upon the waters will more surely yield its increase in the future. With 
reference to Latin in particular, it is an integral and necessary portion of 
your education ; as practical pharmaceutists, you cannot safely neglect it if 
you would, and it is surely worth while to pursue it as a source of enjoyment 
rather than as task-work. Were the study of Latin undertaken in a right 
spirit, the amount of time that is often spent in gaining that modicum of 
knowledge which so frequently fails to serve even the purposes of the ex- 
