53S 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS 
[January 4,1873 
Carasptot*. 
*** No notice con be talcen of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily 
for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. 
Local Seceetaeies. 
Sir,—No decision has yet been arrived at by the Council 
on the notice of motion proposed by me a few months ago, 
and in the slight correspondence which has taken place on 
the subject my meaning seems to have been misunderstood. 
The Preliminary examination cannot be carried on without 
some out-of-pocket expenses for stamps, blotting-paper, pens, 
ink, etc., a detailed account of which many would not trouble 
themselves to keep; and it occurred to me that without con¬ 
sidering it at all in the light of a professional fee, a small sum 
per head might be allowed by the Society to cover these mis¬ 
cellaneous expenses. 
I have not the slightest wish to press this particular form 
of compensation upon the local secretaries, but I feel sure that 
Mr. Hills, who proposed another way of doing it, wishes 
with myself that we could arrive at something satisfactory 
to those whose interests are concerned. Trusting that these 
few words may lead to a more general expression of opinion 
on the matter, I am, Sir, yours, etc., 
Feancis Sutton. 
Chemists as Analysts. 
Sir,—We are admonished in the book which is recom¬ 
mended to us for the guidance of our lives not to “ Render 
evil for evil or railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing.” 
The rule is, perhaps, a hard one to practise at all times, but if 
we cannot always bless them that despitefully use us, we 
may pity the ignorance which dictates such conduct. These 
thoughts were forced upon my mind on reading the unrea¬ 
sonable and unfair article in the jLancet of the 21st ult., on 
the subject at the head of this letter. I am only surprised 
the writer restrained himself from calling us some other ugly 
names. He exercised no virtue by refraining, as he contem¬ 
plated what he only from policy left undone. H s own pro¬ 
fession, of course, he assumes to be immaculate. The line of 
argument adopted by the writer is as absurd a3 if it had been 
proposed to recognize the eligibility of tailors and shoe¬ 
makers. No one has ever suggested that all druggists (as 
he disparagingly chooses to designate us) were either quali¬ 
fied for such duties, or deserved such an appointment ; and 
although “ the dense and hopeless ignorance of Gwydyr 
House” may be impenetrable to the discernment of the 
Dancet, let us hope the higher qualities of justice, impar¬ 
tiality and reason, still hold sway in the councils of the 
Local Government Board, and that Mr. Stansfeld will have 
the moral courage to despise the senseless railing and medi¬ 
tated insults of such articles as have disgraced that publi¬ 
cation. 
An Analytical Chemist and Phaemacist. 
December 30th, 1872. 
The Adulteeation of Food Act. 
Sir,—It is satisfactory to learn that in the choice of persons 
desirous of filling the office of public analyst, the appointors 
are not pledged to favour the ranks of any particular pro¬ 
fession. 
I am ignorant as to the value of the appointment, but un¬ 
less it be of sufficient importance to form an independent 
source of income, I venture to anticipate a weighty objec¬ 
tion to the fitness of a pharmacist, in his quality of trades¬ 
man, sitting in judgment on the wares of his fellow-shop¬ 
keepers. 
The man who undertakes the delicate and responsible task 
of analyst under the new Adulteration Act ought to be far 
removed from the petty influences and prejudices of ordinary 
commercial life. 
The argument is, I think, so evident that I need not 
follow the subject. 
Waltee A. Powell. 
Castle Street, Swansea. 
Sir,—The columns of the Journal have been for some time' 
past pretty fully occupied in discussing the claims of rival 
parties—medical and pharmaceutical—for the appointment 
of public analysts under the recent Adulteration Act. I have 
no intention of entering upon the subject at any length, but 
I cannot, in passing, refrain from expressing my sympathy 
with the pharmaceutical body in this somewhat vexed ques¬ 
tion. There is, however, a difficulty in their way which I 
have never yet seen provided for. Drugs come as much; 
under the Act as food. Let us suppose that any of my 
brethren in business succeeded in getting this very lucrative 
analytical appointment, and that it should so happen that 
the medicine which he himself dispensed or sold was sus¬ 
pected. What is to be done ? I fear the community would 
hardly be content with his analysis—however accurate—in 
such a case. 
If proper remuneration were held out, the appointment 
might become a valuable one; for besides food, drink and 
drugs, in many agricultural districts in Scotland and Eng¬ 
land vast quantities of mineral manures are now used every 
year. These, and others which might be named, would pro¬ 
perly enough come within the province of the public analyst,, 
and would, I believe, form the most lucrative source of revenue 
under the appointment. We have among us not a few men 
highly competent for the situation; but in order to secure 
thorough confidence, the party holding such an appointment 
should not, in my humble opinion, have connection with any 
branch of trade coming under the operation of the Act. 
The same remarks, of course, would apply to medical men' 
who hold a direct or indirect interest in drug shops. 
Wm. Robeetson- 
Clydesdale Duildings, Elgin, 
December 30th, 1872. 
Sir,—In reference to the question that was raised in this- 
Journal whether ph rmaceutical chemists are eligible as. 
analysts under this Act, it seems to have been settled that,, 
if otherwise qualified, they are thus eligible. 
Some have thought that members of our body might pro¬ 
bably become candidates for the appointment, but I think a. 
very little consideration w r ould show that such a course is by 
no means desirable for the following reasons:— 
1st. The very wide qualification required under the Act, 
viz., competent medical, microscopical, and chemical know¬ 
ledge would exclude with very rare exceptions the whole of 
our body from the field. 
2nd. It seems most improper that any person engaged in. 
trade should be empowered to set in motion a prosecution 
against his compeers, perhaps rivals in business; how im¬ 
partial soever such an analyst might be, his reports would on. 
this ground be always open to suspicion and dispute. 
3rd. The Act, as I understand it, imposes an indefinite- 
amount of work for a fixed annual remuneration, and it is 
quite possible that in large towns the whole time of the 
analyst might be required for his official duties, thus com¬ 
pelling him, if a pharmaceutical chemist, to give up his 
ordinary business. In the district where I reside, the 
authorities propose to remunerate the analyst by the muni¬ 
ficent salary of £100 per annum. I need hardly say that 
not many pharmacists, competent or otherwise, will be taken, 
■with this bait. 
Seeing that the Act requires medical, microscopical and 
chemical knowledge embodied in the same individual, I will 
venture to say that very few of the medical profession could 
fairly and conscientiously undertake the duties. It must bet 
remembered that questions of a difficult character may fre¬ 
quently arise which cannot be conclusively solved by such a. 
smattering of chemistry or medicine as may be picked up by 
a six months’ attendance on lectures on the respective sciences, 
and herein lies a great danger to the public—really able and 
competent men will hold aloof, and pretentious sciolists get the- 
appointments. Now, of all the impostors who have deceived 
the public, perhaps the worst are some of these pseudo¬ 
scientific men who have puffed themselves into a cheap 
notoriety by playing on the credulity and the fears of the. 
ignorant with respect to the adulteration of food, etc., and 
some other sanitary questions. 
The Act, although it imposes severe penalties for selling: 
adulterated food or drugs, provides none for selling adulterated 
science; and as it is not to be expected that the local authorities 
can fairly estimate the qualifications of candidates for the office. 
