December 7,1372] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
451 
an examination at all, and an increased stringency would 
not only be an injustice to these young men, but would 
aiouse a feeling throughout the country that as altera¬ 
tions were being made so soon, others would be made 
later, and altogether young men would be deterred from 
turning their attention to the business at all. It must 
be remembered that in many country places the amount 
of pharmacy proper was very small indeed, not half a 
dozen prescriptions, perhaps, being seen in the course of 
a week, so that a great part of the^work of the chemist’s 
shop might as well be done by a porter. If these exa¬ 
minations were made too strict, the result would be the 
calling into existence of a class of men, not calling 
themselves chemists, who would retail drugs. Even at 
the present time, many grocers were selling drugs and 
chemicals, and the trade was being cut up not only by 
co-operative stores but by other traders. Making the 
qualifications too high would be only holding out a pre¬ 
mium for irregular trading. He should be glad, there¬ 
fore, if the question could be postponed sine die , espe¬ 
cially as all those to whom he had privately mentioned 
the subject agreed that it was quite a mistake to attempt 
any further alteration at present. 
Mr. Athekton, as another country member, did not 
think there would be any objection raised within the 
district he was acquainted with to these regulations 
being passed almost as they were. In fact, they were 
not increasing the rigidity of the examinations, but only 
making them more practical. He did not see that the 
passing of the Pharmacy Act was any injustice at all, 
but a very proper measure; and it really had the effect 
of lowering the examination, because the qualifications 
which now enabled a man to conduct a business were 
previously only intended for assistants, those who in¬ 
tended to carry on business themselves being expected 
to pass the Major examination. 
Mr. U li wick, did not think sufficient weight had been 
given to the opinion of those who had proposed the 
alterations, namely, the Board of Examiners, who were, 
perhaps, the best qualified to form a judgment on the 
matter. They seemed to think that the time was come 
when rather more should be required of those who 
presented themselves for examination, intending to carry 
on business, and he could not agree that men did not 
know they would have such an examination to pass. 
Most of those who had entered the trade ever since 
1844 or 1845, should have looked forward to passing 
the Major examination ; the Minor, which now qualified 
a man to commence business, was not so stringent as the 
Major. It was only proper that the public should be 
protected by a severer test being imposed, and he did not 
see that the complaint could be raised by those who were 
chemists and druggists and conducted country businesses, 
inasmuch as they had time given them to give notice of 
their intention to pass the modified examination. In his 
opinion, also, the examiners had the power of requiring 
almost as much (save the practical part) from the candi¬ 
dates under the present regulations if they thought fit; 
and the alterations appeared to be proposed more with 
the idea of making the change public, so that young men 
might see what would be required of them. At the 
same time, he agreed with Mr. Savage that the age 
might be reduced one year, for he thought any one 
might learn the business in three years if he had com¬ 
mon sense and application. 
Mr. Williams said that these new regulations really 
arose through the past action of the Council itself. About 
a year and a half ago the Council were forcibly impressed 
from what occurred out of doors, as well as what they 
heard in other ways, that the examinations were not any¬ 
thing like what they ought to be; Mr. Siebold, of Man¬ 
chester, for instance, expressing an opinion that they were 
a sham. The consequence was that a deputation of the 
Council met the Board of Examiners, who were then of 
opinion apparently that no alteration was required; but 
the question being argued at some length, the Board of 
Examiners took a different view, and the result was that, 
after much consideration, these improved regulations had 
' ieen proposed. The attempt had been, not to make the 
examinations more stringent, but to make them more 
consistent; and he believed this was their real effect. 
The present regulations required a man who went up 
for the Minor to be examined in prescriptions ; but there 
was no power of examining him as to unusual or poison¬ 
ous doses or in mistakes. Now, it was certainly very 
inconsistent to give a man the power to carry on busi¬ 
ness, when he had not completed his examination in such 
a necessary subject. The Council had impressed upon the 
Board of Examiners that they should make the Minor 
as purely practical as possible, so that a man who had 
passed some time behind the counter of a good house of 
business ought to be able to come and pass his examina¬ 
tion without the necessity of cramming or resorting to 
other extraneous sources. At the same time, it was felt 
that the Major should be made if possible the test of 
scientific acquirements, whilst the Minor was the test of 
practical knowledge. In that way he believed they 
would be carrying out the intention of the Act of Par¬ 
liament and doing their duty both to the public and to 
themselves, which, he believed, with the present exami¬ 
nation they did not do. He would only add that he might 
take exception verbally to some of the regulations; but 
he would not do so considering that the whole matter 
had been carefully gone into by the Board, who were 
really the best judges of the matter. 
Mr. Owen said, though he did not wish in any way to 
oppose the advancement of pharmacy, he could not for¬ 
get what had been said by Mr. Baynes and Mr. Hamp- 
son, who had an extensive knowledge of country busi¬ 
nesses. He could also speak as to the difficulty of getting- 
assistants, particularly juniors, and thought any further 
restriction would be a great mistake, especially consider¬ 
ing the short time since the Act was passed. 
Mr. Radley, as a country member, said the new regu¬ 
lations recommended themselves very strongly to his 
judgment, and he did not anticipate any difficulties 
whatever being raised in the country, for he believed 
they would meet with general approval. The certificate 
given to a young man entitled him to commence busi- * 
ness, and there was certainly nothing in the new regula¬ 
tions which was not necessary for him to be examined 
in, nor did he see anything to be objected to. He had 
spoken to some of his friends in the country on the 
matter, and they agreed that it was perfectly right that 
the examination should be improved. 
Mr. Siiaw said it always appeared to him that, the 
Act of 1868 was defective in certain respects, especially 
in allowing a young man to be examined at any age, 
either fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen. It might, however, 
be a question whether twenty should not be substituted 
for twenty-one. 
Mr. Williams said there were reasons why it could 
not be done. 
Mr. Shaw said that requiring three years practical 
experience was a very good feature, for he had it on the 
authority of Professor Attfield that those who had had 
no practical experience in a shop were the very persons 
who endeavoured to get through their examinations by 
means of cramming. In his opinion it was desirable that 
the Minor examination should be made as stringent as 
possible, seeing that the passing of it entitled a person to 
undertake the dispensing of medicine. It was true at 
the time the Act was passed the Government did not 
wish that the Major examination should be a business 
qualification, but it did not necessarily follow that that 
should be understood to apply to all future time. Under 
the head of chemistry in the Minor examination there 
was the word “practical” in italics, which he should 
like to have some definition of, because, as it stood 
there, it appeared to him that it might be construed to 
mean that the candidate must have been practically en¬ 
gaged in a chemical manufactory. 
