THE CONVERSAZIONE. 
667 
of Paris for the adulteration of lozenges, and that the carbonate of ammonia 
bottle of the shop was once filled with cyanide of potassium by mistake in 
rt l 10USe ’ - We cannot conscientiously say precautions are not needed. 
... .at a variety of lozenges, pills, etc., may still be regarded as legally 
Within the description of poisons ” we do not believe, and on that point we 
simply say that those who would apply the regulations to such things would 
the law"! miSChief ’ Tiiere 18 a <£ Spirit of tbe law ” as wel1 as a “ letter of 
clause of tbe Leeds paper, which complains 
that tiie list of legally-defined poisons does not by any means comprehend 
ail preparations liable to serious mistake in dispensing,” and asserts that the 
dispenser who “ may now treat them in a precautionary manner would be 
committing a breach of the law by adopting towards them any of the three 
methods prescribed by the regulations,” we say, not merely that the assertion 
is untrue but that it is the very reverse of truth; and, in confirmation, we 
refer to the first regulation, which says, not that the legally-defined poisons 
shall oe kept in a compartment by themselves, but in 'a compartment “ set 
apart for dangerous articles .” We know that these words were advisedly 
used to avoid this very difficulty, and that chemists should not be relieved of 
that discretionary power, or, rather, duty, without which all the laws and 
regulations of the statute book would be useless. 
. e P er fectly agree in the opinion, that the penalty of £5 would be but an 
insignificant portion of the punishment falling on the chemist whose appren¬ 
tice neglected his duty, and so caused mischief ; for that very reason, we 
believe every chemist should cheerfully accept such rules and contrivances 
as would lessen the chance of error on the part of his apprentice ; and as 
regards Lord Campbell’s Act, an observance of these rules would be presum¬ 
able evidence that due care had been exercised, thereby lessening the chance 
of conviction in case of accident. 
But does “ no sort of obligation rest upon the Pharmaceutical Society to 
make such enactments in the interest of the State ” ? Surely yes ! Has not 
the Pharmaceutical Society received privileges under the Act of ’68, and are 
not those privileges accompanied by duties ? We do not anticipate that our 
Secretary will be walking into every chemist’s shop to overhaul his bottles, 
but we do feel that, in cases of accident, the observance or non-observance 
of the rules laid down by the Society, will go very far with Judges and Juries, 
and, knowing this, chemists will soon find means to observe them without 
the smallest inconvenience. 
In the full belief that advantages as well as disadvantages will discover 
themselves in the forthcoming discussion, we repeat our hope that the atten¬ 
dance at the annual meeting on the 18th will be larger than we have ever yet 
seen in Bloomsbury Square. J 
THE CONVERSAZIONE. 
In compliance with the frequently-expressed desire of many of our mem¬ 
bers, an arrangement has been made by which an entirely new character will 
be given to the Society’s Conversazione, to be held this month. It is pro¬ 
posed that the meeting should be graced by the presence of ladies; and as 
tne rooms of the Society in Bloomsbury Square would not afford the accom¬ 
modation required for the introduction of this new element, the Council have 
obtained, from the Lords of the Committee of Council on Education, per¬ 
mission to meet their friends in the South Kensington Museum. It 
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