790 
ANNUAL MEETING. 
less, but they fancied it would be an intolerable burden if it were made compulsory. 
Some gentlemen seemed to suppose that if these precautions were adopted, they must 
at once become careless, but what ground was there for such a supposition ? It was 
not one sense alone which was to be trusted. If all the poisons were kept in a cup¬ 
board, surely more care would be exercised when going to the poison cupboard than 
when taking a bottle from an ordinary shelf. But another and a stronger reason for 
their adoption was this,—that an Act had been passed by Lord Campbell which made 
eveiy man in the room responsible to the full extent of bis means for any damage which 
he occasioned. Would it not be a plea in a court of law that all possible precautions 
had been taken for the safety of the public P Would it not be a powerful lever in the 
hand of an adverse counsel in bringing upon them, through the verdict of a jury, a 
heavy amount of punishment, if he were able to say that they were not willing to put 
up with a certain amount of inconvenience in order to ensure freedom from accident? 
For their own sakes, therefore, and especially in the interests of the younger members 
who had not had so much experience, he thought it well that a system should be 
adopted which would remind them when they saw the poison cupboard, that it re¬ 
quired greater care, and not les3 as had been stated, when handling these dangerous 
things, than when using ordinary bottles. For that reason alone, and as a matter of 
precaution with regard to future damages, if placed in the position in which one of 
their brethren in Liverpool had not long ago had the misfortune to be placed, he 
would recommend these rules for adoption. If they agreed to a certain state of very 
carefully-drawn up rules to prevent accident, would it not tell upon every jury and 
upon every judge in the land if such a plea as that were put upon the record ? It was 
worth any amount of inconvenience to themselves if they were able to say on the first 
occasion of their meeting, after being fused into one whole body, they had shown 
every desire to do what they could to merit the good opinion of the public, who after 
all were the ultimate judges. If it could be pointed out that a motion of this kind 
had been brought before the meeting and rejected, what would be said ? Simply that 
they were going on in their own old-fashioned ways, and any cantankerous member of 
the House of Commons would be justified in inserting a clause in any other Bill, and 
bringing down upon them an amount of inconvenience and annoyance far beyond 
anything now proposed. 
Mr. Sutton (Norwich) said he wanted to know whether medical men and apothecaries 
were to submit to these regulations as well as themselves ; and if not, what a state of 
confusion there would be ! there being often in the same house medicines from doctors 
and chemists or druggists. He was quite willing to admit the feasibility of keeping 
concentrated poisons by themselves, but to keeping these articles in certain shaped 
bottles, and with certain coloured labels, he considered a disgrace and a reflection upon 
the whole body, which they ought not to put up with. Each man was held respon¬ 
sible for what he did, and if these regulations were canned out to the fullest point, they 
would have no indemnity in case of accident. Let each man manage his own affairs 
as he chose, and no doubt proper regulations would be enforced, which would be 
sufficient for the purpose. The only true principle was that of education, and all the 
mechanical regulations in the world would not prevent a careless man from making a 
mistake. 
Mr. Wilkinson desired to ask whether it was imperative that something of this kind 
should be done, because, although he was as strongly opposed to these regulations as 
any one who had spoken, and could say very much more probably against them 
than had been said, though he would not detain the meeting by so doing, still, if it 
were necessaiy and compulsory upon the Society to do something, it might be worth 
while to take the matter into consideration. Yeiy few, he thought, woxild object to 
the first of these recommendations, becaxxse almost every well-regulated establishment 
carried it out at pi’esent. No one would think of keeping a virulent poison without 
a label, but he strongly objected to No. 2 and No. 3. He bought arsenic by the cask, 
and he should not like to have to put it in a cupboard with an ounce or two of strych¬ 
nine or morphia. With regard to the dispensing and selling poisons in the shape of 
liniments and lotions, he had always been in the habit of labelling laudanum axxcl 
things of that kind—“ Poison,” because the Council had recommended them to do 
so. He hoped before he went any further the Chairman would answer the question 
