M»y 10, 1S73.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
891 
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MEETING OF THE COUNCIL. 
May 7th , 1873. 
MR. A. F. HASELDEE, F.L.S., PRESIDENT, IN THE CHAIR. 
MR. W. SCOTT BROWN, VICE-PRESIDENT. 
Present—Messrs. Atherton, Baynes, Betty, Bottle, 
Frazer, Greenish, Hampson, Hills, Owen, Radley, Sand- 
ford, Savage, Schacht, Shaw, Stoddart, Sutton, Urwick, 
and Williams. 
The minutes of the previous meeting were read and 
confirmed. 
Finance Committee. 
The report of this Committee was received, and sundry 
accounts were ordered to be paid. The sum of £2500 
new 3 per cents, was ordered to be purchased on the 
General Fund account. The Auditors’ report was read, 
and the accounts presented were accepted. The audited 
financial statement was ordered to be published in the usual 
way. 
Mr. Urwick moved that the statement of accounts 
marked B, prepared by the Finance Committee, and ac¬ 
cepted by the Council, be also published. He saw no 
reason why these accounts should be withheld from 
the members at large, the Council being only the repre¬ 
sentatives of the members, and the fullest information 
being due to their constituents. These details showed 
what each department was doing, and how its opera¬ 
tions affected the position of the Society, and when 
the question had been mooted of getting rid of some of 
these departments, it was very desirable that the fullest 
information should be afforded. The Journal had been 
valued at £5000 for some years past, and yet, by the 
accounts published, there appeared to be a considerable 
loss upon it each year, which was absurd. In the detailed 
accounts, however, credit being given in the Journal ac¬ 
count for the cost of Journals supplied to the members, 
and postage charged to general account, a very different 
result is brought out. 
Mr. Betty seconded the motion. He said that it was 
an acknowledged principle that the position of any society, 
and more especially an important one, must ever be 
strengthened or weakened by the state of its finances ; 
and he trusted that the accounts which the Council had 
already accepted, as prepared by the Finance Committee 
with the aid of a professional accountant, would be pub¬ 
lished for the information of the members of the Society. 
Unless very strong reasons were shown to the contrary, 
they should hesitate before passing a resolution which 
would put the seal of secrecy upon the real financial posi¬ 
tion of the Society. The reason why the Committee had 
in the first instance proposed that the accounts should be 
presented in another form was this :—it was apparent 
that in their present form they did not represent the time 
financial position of the Society at any given time, inas¬ 
much as they merely recorded payments and receipts of 
money. This is especially illustrated in the Journal de¬ 
partment, from the figures relating to which no member 
of the Council had ever been able to gather the true 
financial position of the Journal. These more extended 
accounts, however, give a statement of assets and liabili¬ 
ties, showing the actual loss or profit. It was unfair to 
charge the Journal account not only with £990, the cost 
of the Journals supplied in return for subscriptions to the 
Society, but also with £528 annually for the postage of the 
same. The Council really adopted this principle at its last 
sitting by requesting the Finance Committee to credit the 
Laboratory account with the cost of the education of 
Bell Scholars ; because, although no actual cash passed, 
there was value received. The question then was whether 
the old method should be still followed of only giving 
the receipts and expenditure, or whether the full details 
apportioned in the manner referred to should be given. 
He had heard it said that these accounts were confusing, 
and possibly in this instance they might require explana¬ 
tion ; but he might say that there was not a figure which 
could not be substantiated at the annual meeting either 
by the Finance Committee, or by the professional ac¬ 
countant whose services had been obtained. Of course, 
taking five quarters of one account and six quarters in 
another, the statement must appear somewhat involved on 
the fii’st occasion, but that would not occur again. There 
was always a little difficulty during a state of transition, 
but on the whole he believed it would be a wise act to 
vote for the publication of the whole details. The cashier 
was now engaged in going through the books to show the 
exact amount on which interest had been charged under 
various heads, and to verify the statements made by the 
Secretary, on which the amounts charged had been 
calculated. 
Mr. Savage thought it would look very strange to pub¬ 
lish two financial statements, one signed by the Auditors 
and the other not, and showing different results. 
Mr. Urwick said the difference was caused by the 
different principle on which the accounts were made out. 
For instance, the Auditors gave no credit for the cost of 
supplying the Journal, but the Committee had done so, 
and thus produced a different result. 
Mr. Savage said he did not in the least object to the 
fullest details of the accounts being given, but such ac¬ 
counts ought to be presented in so clear a form that 
everyone could understand them, and in the proposed 
statement there were many items which he believed would 
be very difficult of explanation. He proposed, therefore, 
that the accounts should be published as before on the 
present occasion, and that, with present experience to aid 
them, the accounts should be presented next year in an 
amended and more detailed form. He was not opposed 
to any amount of details, but he did object to the publica¬ 
tion of an imperfect statement. 
Mr. Schacht agreed very much with what had fallen 
from Mr. Savage, and advised the postponement of the 
fuller statement for another year. 
Mr. Betty said the Auditors would never sign a state¬ 
ment of accounts containing estimated amounts, and 
therefore they would be in the same position next year. 
Mr. Williams did not think some of the items, such as 
rent, interest, etc., apportioned to different departments, 
were based on such exact calculations as they should be 
before publication, and feared they would create confusion. 
Mr. Schacht proposed the insertion of the word “ esti¬ 
mated ” in the title of the accounts, and after a consider¬ 
able amount of discussion, it was decided to put the 
motion in the following form:— 
“ That the statement marked B, with the addition of 
the word ‘ estimated ’ before the words ‘ Financial 
statement ’ be published.” 
A ballot was demanded, the result being that ten votes 
were given for and ten against the motion. 
The President was thereupon called to give a casting 
vote, which he did against the motion, saying he believed 
the detailed accounts as presented would only cause some 
misunderstandings and difficulty of explanation. 
The Amended Bye-Laws. 
The Solicitor attended at two o’clock, when the 
amended bye-laws were put and confirmed in legal form, 
and a resolution was passed for holding a special meeting 
of the Members at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting 
on the 21st inst., to submit them for approval and con¬ 
firmation by the Society. 
The following, being duly registered as Pharmaceutical 
Chemists, were respectively granted a diploma stamped 
with the seal of the Society.— 
Adams, Frank .Bodiam. 
Crisp, Frederick Arthur .Clapham. 
