May 17, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
911 
PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT 
BRITAIN, NORTH BRITISH BRANCH, EDIN¬ 
BURGH. 
The annual meeting of the North British Branch of the 
Society was held in St. Giles Street, on Monday, 12th 
May, at 12 o’clock, Mr. Baildon, President, in the chair. 
Mr. H. C. Baildon made a few valedictory remarks as 
President previous to vacating the chair. He said : To 
the exhaustive report of the past session presently to be 
read by our Honorary Secretary, little remains for me to 
add. But I have the pleasing duty to perform of asking 
you to pass a cordial vote of thanks to those gentlemen 
who have so kindly contributed lectures at the various 
scientific meetings during last session, viz. to Professor 
Crum Brown, to Dr. Stevenson Macadam, to Dr. J. G. 
M‘Kendrick, to Mr. Paton, and to Mr. Mackay. All these 
lectures have been extremely interesting and instructive, 
and they have upon the whole been well attended. The 
recent official visit of the President, Vice-President, and 
the Secretary of the London Council, accompanied by 
Mr. Williams, has been most gratifying to the Council 
and to the Board of Examiners of the North British 
Branch, and will, I feel satisfied, be attended with very 
beneficial results. You will, I am sure, be pleased to 
hear in connection with pharmaceutical education in Scot¬ 
land, that our indefatigable Secretary has now completed 
arrangements which will enable our students to obtain 
tickets through him for each of the subjects required by 
them upon very moderate terms. During the last session 
no less than 14 took tickets for Dr. Stevenson Macadam’s 
class, whilst 3 attended his practical, and 1 his analytical 
chemistry. Eleven tickets have now been issued for Pro¬ 
fessor Balfour’s botanical class, and each succeeding year 
should add considerably to these numbers. I have now 
great pleasure in stating that if elected, my friend Mr. 
Young has consented again to place his valuable services 
at the command of the Society as President of our North 
British Branch,—we all know how well he has on two pre¬ 
vious occasions filled the chair; and our friend Mr. Gilmour 
is willing, if elected, to continue in the vice-presidential 
chair, in preference to taking that of president this year, 
but we all look forward to his filling the higher office, 
which indeed nothing but his extreme diffidence has 
caused him for the present to decline. In retiring for the 
second time from the honourable position of President of 
the North British Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society, 
I wish to return my sincere thanks to the Council for the 
kindness and support which I have invariably received at 
their hands during my two years’ term of office. 
The following report was then read:— 
Annual Report. 
In this the Annual Report of the proceedings of the 
North British Branch of the Society, there can be nothing 
of more importance to the members generally, than the 
occupation of the new premises, in which have been car¬ 
ried on, since November last, the operations of the Society 
in Scotland. 
The room which was set apart for the museum has been 
used for all the examinations. Though somewhat small, 
and scant in accommodation when many candidates were 
present, it yet has answered the purpose fairly. The 
same room has also been made available for the ordinary 
evening scientific meetings, which have, the Committee 
are glad to say, been on the whole well attended through¬ 
out the session now closing. It must be admitted, how¬ 
ever, that practical experience, even during the short time 
the rooms have been in use, points to the necessity ere 
long of having more space both for examinations and 
meetings. 
The second room, set apart as a library, has also been 
used as a reading-room. Here a visitors’ book is laid on 
the table, and it is gratifying to know that since November 
last, when the rooms were opened, 432 names are entered 
as having, on various occasions, paid visits to the rooms. 
There have been twenty-two tickets issued for the library, 
and regularly used; but many of the young men who 
have gone to St. Giles Street have made use of many of 
the volumes, by remaining during several hours at a time 
reading books and examining specimens together. 
The Council feel satisfied that the short experiment 
which has been made proves that it was a step in the 
right direction to give such opportunities to young men. 
in town and from the country, who were really desirous of 
spending a portion of their time in reading and study. 
It is hoped that still greater facilities will be afforded in 
this respect, as the Council have it in contemplation to fit 
up a more extensive series of specimens for the special 
use of students. 
It may also be here mentioned that while the rooms 
have been used for all the requirements of the Society, 
the Council, on an application from the Young Men’s 
Chemists and Druggists’ Association, had much pleasure 
in granting the free use of the rooms for the purpose of 
that Association holding their regular meetings for mutual 
improvement throughout the winter months, and at which 
meetings papers were read, and interesting discussions 
followed. 
The Board of Examiners have not been idle, and they 
beg to state that since last report, the following candi¬ 
dates have appeared:—Preliminary, 175; Major, 13; 
Minor, 54; Modified, 24—in all, 264. Of these failed 
in Preliminary, 74; Major, 6; Minor, 23; and in Modified, 
6 —in all 109 ; giving roughly 41 per cent, of failures. 
The Council cannot but regret the large percentage of 
failures which have occurred in all the above departments. 
The questions, as a rule, which are set for the first exa¬ 
mination are really so fair to the candidates, that it 
appears inexplicable how so many should fail; more espe¬ 
cially as the bulk of those who come up for this examina¬ 
tion are young and fresh from school, and who ought 
therefore to be quite conversant with Latin, arithmetic, 
and English, to the extent, at all events, required by the 
Board. 
Great as has been the extent of failure in the past, it is 
much feared that a recent change carried out by the 
Board in London, will very much increase the percentage 
for the future. It may be frankly stated that the exa¬ 
miners in Scotland do not concur in some of these altera¬ 
tions, and are very desirous that the old condition of 
things in respect to partial failures should be at once 
restored. They feel strongly on this point, sharing as 
they do the fear—if not the conviction—that if the change 
referred to be continued, it will so militate against parties 
entering the business, that the supply, both of apprentices 
and assistants, may yet be seriously interfered with if the 
new system be adhered to. Some correspondence has 
already taken place between the two Boards, London and 
Edinburgh, which the Council hope may result in some 
satisfactory arrangement being made. 
The annual statement of intromissions on the part of 
the Honorary Secretary and the Branch have been already 
rendei’ed, accounts vouched, passed, and settled. 
By a series of new bye-laws, already passed at the 
Council-table, and which it is expected will be confirmed 
by the Annual Meeting in London this month, provision 
has been made for electing examiners in December of 
each year, instead of June as heretofore. In accordance 
with this proposal it is intended that the present Board 
in England and Scotland will continue as already consti¬ 
tuted until the end of the year, when the new appointment 
for one year, to be confirmed by the Privy Council, will 
then take place. The gentlemen at present comprising 
the Board in Scotland will thus retain their position until 
December, when the Board will be elected anew. 
The Council had much gratification in having had the 
honour of receiving during last month a deputation from 
London. Ever actuated by a desire to assimilate the 
Branch here as much as possible to the Society in London, 
the Council are confident that from what the President, 
Vice-President, Secretary, and Mr. Williams saw while 
